The University of Michigan is expanding legal support services for faculty and staff navigating work-related immigration matters and international work-related travel. The two-year pilot program provides eligible faculty and non-bargained staff up to $4,000 in financial assistance for immigration-related legal advice tied to their professional roles.
The pilot, which covers all three campuses, also expands existing student services via Student Legal Services (SLS). Currently SLS provides one 60-minute consultation per immigration issue. Under the new program, that free service increases to 90 minutes of consultation per issue.
The new program covers legal advice that is connected to an employee’s professional role at the university. It does not cover non-immigration-related personal legal matters; citizenship applications; issues stemming from status violations; or matters in which the employee or student is adverse to the university.
Faculty and staff participants will be required to use law firms pre-approved by the university, though all consultations will be private and attorney-client privilege remains with the employee. While the university will fund the services, it is not the client and will not have access to an employee’s legal file without legal written consent.
The international centers on each campus provide visa and immigration related advice to those employees, scholars, and students sponsored by the University for work, research, or study. The centers will continue to be responsible for providing these services. The two-year pilot is a separate and distinct program that will complement the centers’ ongoing work with U-M’s international community.
University leadership has heard concerns raised by the Faculty Senate regarding the immigration-related challenges facing international faculty and students. This pilot program is designed to provide targeted support in response, while remaining focused on immigration matters connected to an employee’s university role.
These legal services are a taxable benefit to employees and will be reported on participants’ W-2 forms.
More information will be available soon.
