The VISA Office provides comprehensive assistance to the Case Western Reserve University on all aspects of employment-based immigration and legal permanent residency.
The VISA office acts as the liaison between the University and all government agencies involved in immigration matters and assists both the institution and individuals in complying with immigration laws and regulations.
Services
- Advises CWRU departments and processes immigration-related documents for employment-based non-immigrant and immigrant statuses.
- Offers regular workshops on processing non-immigrant and permanent resident petitions to departments and employees/scholars.
- Processes all non-immigrant and many immigrant filings for the University’s international scholar and employee populations.
- Administers the University’s J scholar Exchange Visitor Program, which includes issuing J scholar documents, advising departments and scholars, and providing international employee/scholar orientation sessions.
- Acts as a resource for compliance questions regarding hiring, sponsoring, terminating and assisting international employees and scholars.
Questions or concerns regarding an immigration matter? Speak with a VISA Advisor first.
Immigration regulations are complex and often difficult to understand, with important changes occurring frequently and at times with little or no advance notice. The VISA Advisors expend significant time remaining current with all applicable regulations. Rather than attempting to navigate the difficult regulatory immigration environment alone, current and prospective faculty and staff should begin their immigration work by consulting with the VISA Office on how best to proceed.
Contact the VISA Office
Office Hours
8:30 a.m. – 5 p.m. Monday – Friday*
*Except for University holidays/breaks and weekends
Phone, Fax and Email
Phone: 216.368.6964
Fax: 216.368.1881
Email: visa@case.edu
Address
10900 Euclid Avenue
Crawford Hall, 2nd Floor
Cleveland, OH 44106
Meet the Team
Josh Forquer
Sr. Immigration Specialist
jhf55@case.edu
Josh Forquer has worked in Case’s Immigration and HR for more than 7 years. He started out working primarily with H1B visas and later transitioned to taking over the J1 processes and international tax analysis. Before coming to CWRU Josh worked for two years as paralegal for a small immigration law firm in Cleveland, dealing with everything from asylum to naturalization cases. Josh got his start working in immigration in New Jersey, around 16 years ago. There he worked for the Catholic Diocese of Trenton in their migration and refugee services helping immigrants petition for family members and becoming US citizens.
Josh became interested in international work as teenager when he was an exchange student in Chile in 1993-1994 and spending a semester in Rome during his university years. He is also a Returned Peace Corp Volunteer, having served in the West African country of Guinea from 2001-2003. Outside of work Josh enjoys watching sports, mainly soccer and American football, going to the beach in summer, skiing in the winter, and adding to his book and record collection whenever possible.
Adriana Nelson
Immigration Specialist
axn274@case.edu
Adriana is a HR Business Immigration Specialist at Case Western Reserve University. She graduated with a dual B.A. from John Carroll University in 2019 as a double major in Literature & Asian Studies, with a minor in Economics. She has received outstanding awards for her research endeavors and local community contributions, which also includes the prestigious Fulbright Research Grant for her work on Tangut Buddhist Artifacts in Beijing, China. Her diverse career experiences include working as a Museum Curatorial Aid and Tour Guide at the Cleveland Museum of Art, as well as a Global Program Supervisor & Teaching Assistant for her alma mater John Carroll University within the Boler School of Business. Adriana currently serves as a J-1 Specialist for the Immigration Department, while also coordinating the Post-Doctoral Orientations.
Adriana’s hobbies include drawing, painting, reading (favorite genres: historical - literature, drama, detective fiction), writing, research (Specializations: Inner Asian/South Asian Art, Nomadic Religious Traditions (East Asia), Macroeconomics, World Literature, and African American Literature), Fashion and Makeup.