B Visitors
In November 1998, Congress passed the American Competitiveness and Workforce Improvement Act of 1998 (ACWIA) granting academic institutions the authority to pay honoraria to visitors in B nonimmigrant status who enter the U.S. to provide usual academic services to the university. The legacy Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) (now U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, USCIS) issued a memo in November 1999 to all Regional INS Directors giving them instructions to fully implement the B honorarium provisions of ACWIA, pending publication of regulations (copy attached). Proposed regulations were published in May 2002, but no final regulations have been published yet. In the meantime, the 11/99 memo still offers good guidance, but UW-Madison is incorporating some of the provisions of the proposed INS regulations that are most likely to be included in the final regulations into its recommended procedures.
Under ACWIA, universities can reimburse expenses and pay an honorarium to individuals who enter the U.S. in B-1 or WB (business) or B-2 or WT (tourist) status. The individual must be engaged in “usual academic activities,” such as participating in conferences, giving lectures, engaging in collaborative research, attending meetings or seminars etc. Payments for performances are permitted only if the audience consists of non-paying students and/or the general public provided that general admission tickets have not been sold. No honorarium may be paid for a performance for which the audience must pay a fee. There is no maximum or minimum honorarium payment.
The 5/02 proposed regulations stipulate that if visitors know at the time of entry into the US that they will be participating in an activity for which they will receive an honorarium, they must enter as B-1 or WB visitors for business. If a person is already in the US for pleasure as a B-2 or WT, and is invited after arrival to participate in some academic activity for which an honorarium will be paid, payment is permitted. Anyone who is invited to come to UW-Madison who is currently outside the US and who will receive an honorarium should be advised to enter in B-1 or WB status to avoid possible problems.
Payments may be made for visits of nine days or less per institution, and the individual may not accept payment from more than six institutions within a six month period. The department making the payment should monitor the duration of the individual’s stay. Accounting Services will only approve honorarium payments for up to nine days. It is the visitor’s responsibility to ensure that no more than six payments are received within a six-month period. The Department should alert the visitor to these restrictions in its invitation letter. It would also be a good idea to refer to the ACWIA in the invitation letter (see attached sample).
Regulations that have been in effect for many years permit reimbursement of travel and/or per diem expenses to individuals in B-1 or WB status for any period of time, up to the limit on their stay as indicated on their I-94 Arrival/Departure record. These regulations have not changed, but the person must be in B-1 or WB status, and no honorarium may be paid for a stay of over nine days. All payments (including honorarium and travel reimbursements) to individuals in B-2 or WT status are limited to a stay of no more than nine days.
Most visitors will need to obtain a B-1/B-2 visa at a U.S. consulate outside the country. The visa is issued as a dual-purpose visa and the designation of B-1 or B-2 is made at the port of entry. Citizens of certain countries may enter the U.S. on a visa waiver, provided their visit will last less than 90 days and certain other conditions are met. Since the list of countries that benefit from the visa waiver can change, check the IFFS web site at: http://www.ohr.wisc.edu/ifss/visawaiver.doc to verify if the person who will be visiting can enter without a visa. Information about the Visa Waiver Program is also on the IFSS web page. Canadians never need a visa but they must get an I-94 at the port of entry showing their status as B-1 or B-2 and the date until which they may remain in the US.
Visitors will need a letter from the inviting UW-Madison department which includes the following information: reference to the ACWIA; details of their activities here; the duration of their visit; the amount and type of remuneration; and an alert that they may only be paid an honorarium for a stay of up to nine days and they may only receive six such payments within any six month period (see sample letter at the end of this memo). The visitor must present the letter to the Immigration officer at the port of entry.
It is important to keep in mind that this law does not change any existing tax provisions. B visitors who will receive an honorarium will need to have either a Social Security Number or an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number. Certain other documents are necessary in order for the University to make these payments, and may need to be obtained while the visitor is in the U.S. For more information on payments to foreign visitors, please visit the Payments to Foreign Nationals website:
http://www.bussvc.wisc.edu/acct/acimmtax.html
When INS publishes final implementing regulations, there may be significant changes in the types of payments that can be made. If this occurs, we will update this information.
Attachments: sample invitation letter, INS memo
Sample Invitation Letter
Date:
To: Name of International Visitor
From: Division or Department
Re: Reimbursement of Expenses and Payment of Honorarium
*The American Competitiveness and Workforce Improvement Act of 1998 grants academic institutions the authority to pay an honorarium and reimburse incidental expenses to an individual who enters the U.S. under Section 101(a)(15)(B) of the Immigration and Nationality Act as a visitor for business or pleasure.
*Extend an invitation to the individual, giving details of the activities, which will take place at UW-Madison.
*Give the specific dates, and location if not in Madison, of the person’s visit to UW-Madison.
*Give the amount and type(s) of remuneration, such as reimbursement of travel expenses and an honorarium of $XXX. Explain that the University may only pay an honorarium for activities that last up to a maximum of nine days, and the individual may only accept such payments from up to six institutions during a six month period, and that it is the visitor’s responsibility to monitor the number of payments. Reimbursement of expenses only (no honorarium) to a B-1 or WB may be for a longer stay, up to the validity of the I-94.
*Advise them to get a B-1/B-2 visa at a U.S. consulate and request B-1 status at the port of entry, or if their country participates in the Visa Waiver Pilot Program, they should obtain WB status at the port of entry into the U.S. They can check with the U.S. consulate in their home country or the USCIS web site to see if they can benefit from the visa waiver. Advise Canadians to be sure to get an I-94 at the port of entry.
*Attach a copy of the INS memo to all invitation letters.
11/06