JOB SUMMARY/ESSENTIAL JOB FUNCTIONS: The Director of International Affairs manages the day-to-day operations providing service and support on immigration sponsorship and compliance for the university’s population of international students, scholars, staff, and faculty. This position ensures compliance with all applicable federal and state laws, rules and regulations regarding the employment and training of international workers, students, and visitors. This position provides guidance and advice to foreign nationals, supervisors and employees regarding all aspects of the visa/work authorization process and ensures the highest level of customer service to all UTHSC employees by the Office of International Affairs team.



DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

Provides expert immigration advice to international clients (students, faculty, staff, and scholars) with a primary focus on employment-based non-immigrant visas (J-1, H-1B, TN, E-3, O-1) and permanent residency as well as with F-1 and J-1 student visa issues.
Develops and maintains relationships with university departments that sponsor international faculty, staff, and scholars; provides consultation and guidance to department administrative staff to determine employment solutions, including assessing eligibility for various visa types and instructions on application processes.
Researches, interprets, and applies complex federal immigration regulations and institutional policies related to the employment of foreign nationals as well as related to international students.
Applies counseling, human development, and intercultural communication to work with international clients on issues related to career, academic, intercultural, and/or personal matters.
Prepares U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and Department of Labor (DOL) documents including I-129 and I-140 petitions, labor condition applications, prevailing wage requests, labor certifications, and public access files.
Serves as the Responsible Officer (RO) for the university’s J-1 Exchange Visitor program to maintain scholar and dependent records in SEVIS and serves as Principal Designated School Official (PDSO) for the university’s F-1 students to maintain student and dependent records in SEVIS.
Manages all SEVIS reporting, staying current with immigration policies, and ensuring student, scholar, and institutional compliance.
Conducts advising meetings with international employment-based clients to obtain information about employment history, immigration status history, and educational background to identify paths toward meeting personal, academic, and career objectives.
Monitors and/or manages multiple databases including Banner, Sunapsis, and FLAG. Manages Sunapsis alerts and reports, as needed.
Assists with the planning and presentation of training and information sessions for international faculty, staff, scholars, and their sponsoring departments.
Negotiates and reviews service contracts and approves invoices for the Office of International Affairs.
Leads and supervises Office of International Affairs staff.
Performs other related duties as assigned.


MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS:

EDUCATION: Bachelor’s Degree in International Education, International Studies, or related relevant field. (Master’s Degree preferred.) (TRANSCRIPT REQUIRED)

EXPERIENCE: Three (3) years of experience working in higher education preparing and filing employment-based non-immigrant petitions or advising on immigration matters in a high-volume international office, immigration law practice, or similar setting; OR Master’s Degree and (1) year of experience. Must be a U.S. citizen or legal permanent resident to serve as RO and PDSO, per federal government requirements.

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, AND ABILITIES:

Knowledge of H-1B, E-3, O, TN, B, F, J, and EB Permanent Residency immigration statuses.
Strong interpersonal, written, and oral communication skills.
Excellent organizational, analytical, problem-solving, and decision-making skills.
Strong cross-cultural communication skills and experience working in a diverse environment.
Ability to multitask, meet deadlines, and adapt to changing demands and priorities.
Ability to learn, understand, and apply complex immigration regulations to individual situations and hiring processes and to communicate information to others using clear, concise language.
Ability to exercise discretion and independent judgment.
Skilled using word processing, spreadsheet, and presentation applications, such as Word, PowerPoint, and Excel.
Knowledge of Sunapsis or similar international client databases.
Ability to work and communicate effectively with colleagues.