A regular digest for UW faculty with updates on federal and national issues of relevance to their teaching, research and service; actions the University is taking; and ways for faculty to be involved.
Federal Landscape
Government shutdown
As the federal shutdown carries on without a clear path to resolution, the effect on the UW has remained largely unchanged from what UW leadership noted last week. We will continue our state of “normal operations” through Nov. 14 and continue ongoing impact assessment work.
UW leadership anticipates continuing to make operational decisions on a two-week cadence, with the next update occurring prior to Nov. 14 and covering the period through the end of November.
The Office of Research continues to provide guidance and possible impacts to researchers and research award administrators who are directly affected by the shutdown. UW Finance, Planning and Budgeting, as well as the UW Federal Relations team, are keeping leadership apprised of developments. Check the UW Federal Relations blog for updates on federal government actions and developments.
Advance spending guidance
During an ongoing shutdown, the University imposes additional limits on advance spending on federal and federal flow-through awards. As departments, schools and colleges assume the risk of advance spend, chairs and deans may have additional restrictions. Please see the UW Guidance on Federal Administration Research Policy for the advance spend policy.
International
Automatic extensions eliminated for employment authorization
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) published an interim final rule on Oct. 30 eliminating most automatic extensions of Employment Authorization Documents (EADs) for certain visa categories. F-1 alumni in the U.S. under Optional Practical Training (OPT) applying for the STEM OPT extension benefit should not be impacted. It is our understanding that F-1 visa holders are exempt from this rule since OPT regulations are separately authorized under a different section of the federal regulations.
U.S. Department of Labor resumes visa-related application processing
The Department of Labor has resumed acceptance and processing of visa-related applications for H-1Bs, E-3s, and permanent residence, despite the ongoing government shutdown. ISO will work to move affected cases forward, with a focus on near-term start dates for H-1B visa requests.
Please note that petitions for new H-1Bs will still be held pursuant to the UW’s pause on filing new H-1Bs related to the $100,000 fee announced on Sept. 19. Guidance is being developed for H-1B applications subject to that fee, which is being challenged in court by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and Association of American Universities, among others. Petitions for extensions, amendments, and changes of employer should be able to move forward.
Key links
- Office of the Provost’s Federal Policy Updates
- UW Medicine’s Federal Policy Updates (UW NetID required)
- Office of Research’s Federal Policy Guidance
- UW Research Makes America
Tell us what you think
Resources for Researchers & Instructors
Strategies for international collaborations
For researchers interested in international collaboration, the Office of Research and Global Affairs are co-sponsoring a Zoom workshop from 3:30 p.m. to 5 p.m., Friday, Nov. 7, to brainstorm ways to enable and support ongoing and new international collaborations. This session will outline challenges to international research collaboration in the current funding environment, reaffirm the University’s commitment to global engagement, and explore strategies to support ongoing and new international collaborations. You can register by filling out this form.
REMINDER: Open private funding opportunities for faculty, researchers
Faculty and researchers may search current open funding opportunities from private sources for their research and programs through a dashboard developed by the UW Corporate & Foundation Relations team.
REMINDER: Office of Research Seminar Series: Working With Foundations
Join Office of Research leadership, staff from the Office of Corporate & Foundation Relations, and featured faculty to learn how foundations operate and how to strengthen grant-seeking efforts with private philanthropic funders. The online seminar will be 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., Friday, Nov. 14. Register by Nov. 12. The link will be sent upon registration.