The Director for Visa and Immigration Services oversees the Visa and Immigration Services Office at Case Western Reserve University in order to ensure proper processing of immigration documentation for the university’s international community in compliance with federal immigration regulations. The director serves as the Primary Designated School Official and the Responsible Officer for the university and interfaces with various governmental agencies, including the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of State, and others. Additionally, the director provides advising services on immigration, academic, personal, financial, health, social, and cultural concerns, ensuring compliance with university policies on a wide array of complex employee immigration issues.

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

The essential functions of the job include, but are not limited to:

1. Immigration Compliance (Student, Faculty, Staff, and Scholars) (55%)

   • Establishing, reviewing, and communicating policies and procedures for all student- and employment-based immigration processing, including F-1, CPT, OPT, J-1, H-1B, TN, O-1, and others
   • Supervising the issuance and integrity of I-20 forms and updating SEVIS, assisting in student- and employment-based immigration preparation as needed
   • Serving as the Responsible Officer (RO) for the university’s J-1 Exchange Visitor Program and Primary Designated School Official (PDSO) and Responsible Officer for Case Western Reserve University’s F-1 visa program
   • Collaborating with various departments to monitor and advise international students on registration and progress toward educational objectives, as well as on their legal status compliance, and serving as a resource to the university community on immigration policies and practices
   • Providing guidance and expert knowledge on visa sponsorship, federal and state regulation compliance, and interpretation of university policies in regards to immigration issues
   • Providing oversight of the Visa and Immigration Services Office’s mission, services, mission continuity, goals, and priorities, and overseeing the Visa and Immigration Services team

2. International Tax Treaty Benefits (10%)

   • Overseeing and providing guidance to the Visa and Immigration Services team in tax treaty benefits analysis pursuant to the IRS guidelines
   • Ensuring collection of immigration documents and forms from the foreign national to determine record status, tax treaty status, FICA tax status, and immigration status
   • Ensuring foreign employees, scholars, faculty, and students are aware of tax treaties and that appropriate taxes are being deducted according to IRS guidelines
   • Ensuring year-end tax treaty renewal compliance is completed on an annual basis

3. Strategic Leadership and University Partnerships (10%)

   • Providing strategic planning, advice, and guidance within the university on immigration-related options, requirements, policies, and procedures
   • Collaborating with university leadership and staff to develop best practices and policies for the international community
   • Developing internal controls to mitigate risk and ensuring immigration processes remain in status, while leveraging data to improve efficiencies
   • Compiling and analyzing immigration data to track employee visas and creating statistical reports for university leadership to identify areas of progress and improvement
   • Supervising and building a strong Visa and Immigration Services team

4. Supervision (10%)

   • Providing informed and involved leadership to the Visa and Immigration Services staff and increasing their knowledge and promoting their professional development
   • Hiring, supervising, developing, and conducting timely annual performance reviews of Visa and Immigration Services staff
   • Auditing all work of the Visa and Immigration Services team for compliance with university and federal guidelines

5. International Student and Scholar Support and University Training (10%)

   • Providing advice, guidance, and clarification on immigration services and options to students, faculty, staff, scholars, and administrators
   • Overseeing the design and delivery of immigration and compliance education and training programs
   • Representing the Visa and Immigration Services Office and international community’s interests on various university committees, task forces, and special projects as assigned

6. Fiscal Management (5%)

   • Responsible for the overall management of the Visa and Immigration Services Office budget and ensuring that budgetary records are properly maintained and forecasting is conducted to anticipate needs and avoid problems
   • Assuring expense reconciliation is conducted regularly within the Visa and Immigration Services Office to monitor budget and make adjustments as needed

7. Nonessential Functions (<1%)

   • Providing feedback and recommendations on immigration policies and procedures annually
   • Participating in training sessions, monthly staff meetings, HR and Visa and Immigration Services projects, and team projects
   • Supporting university events planned by the HR event planning committee

Applicants must be US citizens or lawful permanent residents to meet ARO/DSO reporting requirements as required by the US Department of Homeland Security and US Department of State.