Senior International Advisor

Position Overview The Senior International Advisor is a key member of the International Support Services (ISS) staff, serving as a Designated School Official (DSO) for the F-1 student program and as an Alternate Responsible Officer (ARO) for the J-1 exchange visitor program. This position reports directly to the Assistant Director of Advising and Compliance and is responsible for providing a high level of experienced counseling and advising support to international students and scholars.

This position is expected to oversee one of the immigration compliance areas (initial document production or current student/scholar immigration advising) and supervise international advisors. This person will be a DSO with the Department of Homeland Security and an ARO with the Department of State. The U.S. government requires DSOs and AROs to have U.S. permanent residence or U.S. citizenship.

Job Description The percentages listed below might change during critical times and the responsibilities of the advisor include but are not limited to:

• Provides expert guidance on higher-level immigration policy and regulatory issues.
• Assists in monitoring regulatory compliance of the institution and individuals under KU’s F-1 or J-1 sponsorship.
• Serves as a Tier 2 level expert for newer immigration advisors in the office as well as for the front desk staff.
• Counsels, advises and consults with international students and scholars on matters related to F-1, J-1 and occasionally other non-immigrant status regulations.
• Interprets non-immigrant status regulations, policies and practices for students, scholars, faculty, and staff of the university community.
• Processes data and creates immigration documents for F-1 and J-1 nonimmigrants in the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS).
• Analyzes data and reports accurate and timely information to SEVIS to maintain Federal compliance requirements.
• Assists with monitoring institutional compliance.
• Assists in the development, implementation, and presentation of specialized and highly technical workshops on F-1 and J-1 regulations for students, scholars, and university departments.
• Interacts with appropriate government agencies including Department of State, Department of Homeland Security, Social Security Administration and Kansas Department of Revenue (for Kansas Driver’s Licenses).

• Supervises 1-2 International Advisors as a team lead in a compliance area such as initial document production or immigration advising for current students and scholars.
• Oversee the respective compliance area for efficiency, effectiveness and compliance.

• Designs and implements technical solutions for immigration-related regulations and policies to ensure compliance.
• Develops and maintain e-forms and checklists.

• Supports other projects and populations that KU ISS serves.
• Assists the ISS team in daily administrative duties and other designated responsibilities.
• May serve on departmental and university-wide committees.

• Trains non-DSOs in ISS about immigration basics.
• Provides training to KU departments on immigration rules impacting international students and scholars.
• Possesses a high level of knowledge about F-1 and J-1 immigration rules to educate departments how their business practices intersect with the immigration rules.
• Helps develop an internal training manual for immigration advisors.

Position Requirements U.S. Citizenship or U.S. Permanent Residence is required to comply with Federal regulation requirements to be a Designated School Official (DSO) and Alternate Responsible Officer (ARO) to issue and sign U.S. immigration documents.