GENERAL SUMMARY OF POSITION:
Under the general direction of the Sr. Manager of Immigration Services, the Immigration Specialist provides advice and support to the international students, scholars, Academic Departments and Administration. Responsible for both student and employment based visa document processing and monitoring (i.e., J-1, F-1, H-1B, etc.).
MAJOR RESPONSIBILITIES:
- Advise departments, students, employees & medical residents on policies and procedures related to non-immigrant visas; Process appropriate documentation for obtaining J-1, F-1,TN or H-1B visa status for students and scholars. Ensures adherence to immigration guidelines for the processing of non-immigrant visas;
- Provide critical support to Sr. Manager in the development of internal policies and procedures related to the international population;
- Advise international community on complicated immigration issues including advanced travel advice, visa status of family members, bars to repeat participation, program transfers and extensions, etc;
- Liaison with government agencies (i.e. Department of State, Citizenship and Immigration Services, Department of Labor, etc.) and other organizations to facilitate on-boarding process, status maintenance & extensions, travel or other issues related to international students and employees;
- Issue Certificates of Eligibility to prospective and current students and scholars through the Student Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS) and maintain the data integrity of SEVIS and PeopleSoft records by timely updating SEVIS and PeopleSoft and coordinating updates to the Tax Navigator program with ISO staff members;
- Responsible for coordinating and implementing outreach programs to the international and university community, including immigration orientation sessions, cultural programming and informational brown bag presentations on current immigration topics;
- Manage office filing system and/or serve as unit’s publications manager including updates to forms, handouts and website as appropriate;
- Attend NAFSA Association of International Educators - Region XI and Worcester’s International Students Consortium meetings to remain current with regards to current trends and changes in laws impacting international students and scholars;
- Perform other duties as required
REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS:
- Bachelor’s Degree in a related field, or equivalent experience
- 3 years of experience in immigration advising ideally working with international students, and/or scholars
- Must be U.S. citizen or legal permanent resident
- Experience working with U.S. immigration regulations, particularly J-1, H-1B and F1 regulations
- Ability to work with a diverse international clientele
- High level of counseling, written and oral communication and organizational skills
- Excellent judgment and ability to deal with difficult situations
- Experience with Microsoft Office
PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS:
- MA in Higher Education, Administration, Student Personnel Services, International Education, Counseling or a related field MA in Higher Education, Administration, Student Personnel Services, International Education, Counseling or a related field.
- Experience providing immigration services in a Graduate Medical Education (GME) or clinical environment
- Experience using PeopleSoft.
