Visa Specialist

Cultural Vistas•Washington, DC

About The Position

The Visa Specialist supports professional exchanges between U.S. host companies and international students and young professionals for Train USA’s approximately 3000 Intern/Trainee, Teach and Research Scholar programs annually. The Visa Specialist evaluates exchange visitor applications for visa sponsorship; and provides hosts and participants support throughout their visa application process. The Visa Specialist serves as an Alternate Responsible Officer (ARO) for DHS’s SEVIS database.

Requirements

Minimum of 2-4 years of administrative support, customer service, or program management experience required.
Strong critical thinking skills, problem-solving skills, analytical thinking and presentation skills.
Ability to comfortably and confidently represent organization in a professional manner in meetings, events, presentations and calls with various stakeholders.
Effectively communicates, both verbally and in writing, with supervisors, colleagues, external stakeholders and people of diverse backgrounds.
High level of concern for providing exceptional customer service.
Ability to multi-task, to prioritize workload, to organize, and to make decisions in a deadline sensitive environment.
Must possess extraordinary attention to detail for records and compliance responsibilities including internal policies and standard operating procedures.
Demonstrated ability to anticipate outcomes and problem solve.
Demonstrated ability to maintain proactive, flexible, inventive approach.
Ability to exhibit a collegial attitude and excel within a collaborative team working environment.
Strong personal commitment to continual professional development.
Interest in and commitment to cultural exchange and the mission of Cultural Vistas.

Nice To Haves

Proficiency in Salesforce or other CMS experience.
Experience with SEVIS and the J1 Intern/Trainee/Research Scholar/Specialist and Teacher Categories.

Responsibilities

Manages the application process and provides guidance and support for host companies and approximately 250-300 participants.
Evaluates visa sponsorship applications to determine compliance with J-1 visa regulations, as well as internal CV policies.
Ensures that the program provides robust and meaningful training opportunities that are in line with the participant’s educational and professional experience.
Assists host companies in the development of training programs by synthesizing information and succinctly expressing the goals and objectives of the program in a training plan.
Monitors SEVIS deadlines and collaborates with supervisor to ensure accurate records.
Serves as an Alternate Responsible Officer for U.S. government database (SEVIS) to issue visa sponsorship documents and update and maintain participant records.
Monitors SEVIS deadlines and reports, as well as participant arrival information.
Prioritizes tasks with attention to deadlines and customer expectations in a high-volume, time sensitive and client-focused environment.
Responsible for sending invoices and tracking payments.
May periodically conduct local site visits to ensure companies meet program requirements, participants are having a positive experience and to promote Cultural Vistas’ services.
Educates companies, partners, and attorneys on J-1 visa regulations and CV application process and sponsorship services.
Maintains communication with host companies, participants, immigration attorneys and Cultural Vistas’ partners around visa processing services to ensure high quality and consistent customer service.
Develops and maintains an advanced knowledge of J-1 visa regulations application requirements and Cultural Vistas policies in order to properly represent Cultural Vistas throughout the process and at events.
Develops and maintains industry knowledge by seeking out educational workshops, classes and related publications.
Takes pro-active approach to improve business functions and workflow within department.
Work in accordance with the mission, goals, values and strategic direction of Cultural Vistas.