Job Discussion Forums

[fridgemagnet]

Is the procedure for getting an employment visa for a direct hire public university position the same as the procedure for an employment visa with a private contracting company? What are the differences?

[nomad soul]

In the US, if you're a new direct hire with a public university, your employment visa application packet would go through the Saudi Arabian Cultural Mission (SACM) and not a private, expensive visa agent. The SACM reports directly to the Ministry of Higher Ed and does the administrative work of processing the visa application and booking the employee's flight to KSA.

[fridgemagnet]

Thank you for that informative response. How long do they usually take to do all that?

[nomad soul]

There's no definite processing time frame, but generally, it takes a minimum of 10 business days. Factor in the volume of visa application packets and degree authentication requests the SACM receives, the time of the year, whether the application packet is complete (all documents received), if the SACM is awaiting additional degree verification info from the applicant's university registrar (for direct and non-direct hires), if the Saudi Embassy's consulate office has passport-related questions, yada yada.

[fridgemagnet]

Thank you.