David Fosnocht, NAFSA’s immigration regulation expert and director of immigration practice resources, sits down with the NAFSA blog team to talk about the NAFSA immigration resource suite. Read on to learn how you can elevate your expertise as an immigration adviser with our toolkit of practice resources. Equip yourself with the most up-to-date information, stay compliant, and confidently address the complexities of immigration policy and procedure within the higher education landscape.
Why did NAFSA create this suite of products? Can you speak a little about the need for resources like this in the field of higher education internationalization?
Although the vast majority of campus-based immigration advisers are not lawyers, as hosts of international students and scholars they do have to understand, apply, and comply with detailed laws governing the sponsorship and activities of several key immigration categories. The federal agencies involved in the immigration process (mostly the Departments of State, Homeland Security, and Labor) also have numerous policies and interpretations regarding these statutes and regulations, which advisers also have to be familiar with. All of this takes time and attention to detail. The products in NAFSA’s immigration advising suite are designed to distill the essentials so that advisers can concentrate more on interpersonal interactions and building trust with their international advisees and campus stakeholders.
Can you discuss the user experience and interface design of the Adviser’s Manual 360? How did you ensure that it is user friendly and accessible to a diverse range of users?
When I first joined NAFSA, the Adviser’s Manual 360 (AM 360) had been in existence in one form or another for 30 years (since 1966) as a member-written publication that was revised every few years. My first charge as a new NAFSA staff member in 1999 was to bring the content editing of the manual in-house and establish a regular updating process. We formed a member advisory group to scope the manual and guide us in taking it to the next level. In that group we discussed features, scope and depth, standardization, and the need to effectively link users to primary sources.
The first edition of the new Adviser’s Manual was published in 2000, and it remained a print publication until 2007, when we took the manual online, allowing real-time updates, searchability, and hyperlinks to sources. We are now in the third online iteration of the manual.
Beginning users will find checklists and explanations of key concepts. Advanced users will find tools like citations to sources of authority, balanced treatment of gray areas, and practice notes. A convenient On This Page feature lists the resources contained on the page you’re visiting.
Quickly finding what you need is made easier by the Adviser’s Manual Dashboard, which serves as a portal to recent news and updates, bookmarks you’ve placed within the manual, and information about your Adviser’s Manual license. And the AM 360’s Table of Contents and Search functions are available on every page of the manual.
You can also use the manual wherever you need it. The responsive design incorporated into the manual works on traditional computer and laptop screens as well as tablets and phones.
What are new or current trends and challenges related to student and scholar immigration?
On one hand, I can say that “there’s nothing new under the sun,” meaning that many of today’s issues are variations of evergreen issues. For example, agency processing times are always an issue, and advisers frequently struggle with the vagueness of the Curricular Practical Training (CPT) regulations. Additionally, prevailing wage determinations that might not reflect the reality of what employers pay are frustrating. These specific examples, though, are often rooted in the fact that as the complexity of the world increases and higher education changes to meet modern challenges, we still have an immigration system that is based in large part on the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952, and congressional gridlock doesn’t seem to be letting up. This means that immigration law and policy not only lag behind real-world change but sometimes rest at a standstill. Law and policy are, in a sense, staked to the ground and are stretched and stretched when needed to address the actual needs of the United States in both national and international contexts.
NAFSA offers a full range of immigration-related workshops, both in person and online. Check out the NAFSA Workshop and Current Topics Learning Lab Schedule page to explore NAFSA’s learning programs.
You can also connect with your colleagues in the discussion forums within Network.NAFSA. In particular, you can engage with the following forums: