When he gave up a permanent university job in Sweden for a tenure-track position at MSU in January 2002, Michael Shapiro said he didn't realize the nightmare that was about to begin.

Shapiro, a Russian native, was told he would obtain tenure within three years. One thing stood in his way — a green card, which he received last September.

"It's clearly affected me and even my research because I was worried about this," the associate math professor said.

Situations like Shapiro's have caused university officials to review the tenure policy, which hasn't been heavily revised since its creation in the 1950s, said Robert Banks, associate provost for academic human resources.

Under the current policy, MSU faculty members who do not have permanent residency or citizenship cannot obtain tenure status.

"It was very exceptional that you recruited foreign faculty to the MSU faculty in the '40s and '50s," Banks said, adding that the university was not sure how to handle revocation of tenure status at the time if a faculty member could not receive permanent residency.

Faculty members who meet all other requirements for tenure but are waiting on paperwork to be finished for their residency could soon receive the status. A proposal to change the policy has been approved by both faculty and academic councils. The proposed change would allow the faculty member and the provost to sign an agreement which would allow tenure status, contingent upon receiving permanent residency.

"The job market for top researchers has become much more competitive, and other universities are willing to grant tenure even if somebody doesn't have a green card or citizenship status," said Johannes Bauer, a member of the University Committee on Faculty Tenure. "So we are in danger of losing our best researchers to these other places, and they include very attractive universities like Berkeley or Northwestern, for example."

Shapiro said if another university offered him tenure before he received his green card, he would have seriously thought about accepting the job.

"It's very stressful because the main problem is that we are unable to plan anything," he said. "It's like you are a medical doctor on call."

Once when he and his family were in Sweden for Shapiro's research, they received a letter in the mail stating they needed to come home to be fingerprinted for the residency process. While he and his youngest son received their green cards in September, his wife and other son are still waiting for theirs.

"We had to give up our tickets and then buy new ones, which cost like three or four thousand for all of us," Shapiro said, adding that he had to be fingerprinted four times during the process.

There are four faculty members who are in similar situations, Banks said. They have been reviewed for tenure and meet all the requirements, but do not have permanent U.S. residency.

"I've got one faculty member that has been waiting three years," he said. "That just is not a good arrangement."

If professors are not comfortable signing the proposed contract, they still can choose the current option — an annual fixed-term contract, Bauer said.

Bauer, who came to MSU from Austria 16 years ago, said foreign professors often ask themselves, amid the bureaucracy of immigration, why they have left their home country.

"Tenure is really a very strong incentive for a foreigner to stay here," the telecommunication, information studies and media professor said.

Shapiro said he made the adjustment because he likes the friendly atmosphere and the enthusiasm in the MSU Department of Mathematics. However, when he took the job here, he said the restrictions regarding permanent residency were not clear.

"After a couple of years, you find out that you cannot apply for a permanent position because of these restrictions," he said.

The situation continues to be frustrating for Shapiro since there is no time frame for when the rest of his family will be considered permanent U.S. citizens.

"You have your job secured, and a big part of the worries about this permanent residency is not only travel," he said.

"You don't know what happens — if you are going to be stuck in this situation for 10 years or 15 years."

Sarah Harbison can be reached at harbiso9@msu.edu.