dbrow010 Staff asked 8 years ago
Can a postdoc with an F1 OPT Visa charge the fees to have their expired Visa converted to an H1 Visa on an NIH grant?
dbrow010 Staff answered 8 years ago
VISA changes are only allowable as part of recruitment expenses. Since this person is already employed, this is not an allowable charge as part of a recruitment. Please see below from the NIH Policy Statement:
Visa Costs
Allowable direct cost as part of recruiting costs on an NIH grant, as long as the institution has an employee/employer relationship with the individual. It is the responsibility of the institution to monitor the status of the individual’s visa and ensure they have sufficient time to fulfill the obligations of the research they are being paid for on the grant. However, if the person is already an employee and the cost in question is a visa renewal then this isn’t a recruiting cost so the cost would not be an allowable charge to a grant. Expedited processing fees are generally unallowable unless and until they become part of standard processing fees.