Lessons from COVID-19 and How It Has Changed the Global Immigration Landscape
This panel is designed as a port-mortem roundtable discussion of what worked well, what did not, and what lessons were learned in terms of global mobility and university immigration program preparedness to deal with a crisis such as COVID-19. It will also address how COVID-19 has changed the global immigration landscape. Julia Onslow-Cole has managed numerous global mobility crises for multinational companies that were required to immediately evacuate staff from locations around the world. This panel will share corporate and university perspectives on what programmatic and data elements are critical to successfully navigate the challenges presented by an emergency and how to navigate the new global immigration environment.
Learning Objectives:
Learn what data are required to adequately track and monitor expats/students/scholars in the event of an emergency.
Better understand what university and global mobility program structures and policies are helpful in navigating crises.
Explore the importance of effective communication strategies - to management, the assignees/students/scholars and their managers - for times of crisis.
Reflect upon their own experience in navigating COVID-19 and identify action items to further shore up their programs
Discuss how the global immigration landscape has changed and how to best navigate the new environment.
Julia Onslow-Cole
Julia is a Partner at Fragomen specialising in Global Government Strategies and Compliance. She supports clients worldwide with immigration best practices, global mobility strategies and crisis management.
Julia works closely with governments and business on Brexit and provided expert evidence to the European Parliament. She has represented business at the UK Prime Minister’s immigration stock take meeting and acted as an advisor to the Home Office. Julia sits on SHRM’s Immigration Specialty Panel, the board of the London Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Mayor of London’s Brexit Advisory Group and the Home Office EU Immigration Employer’s Group.
Before joining Fragomen, Julia was a Partner and Head of Global Immigration at PwC leading complex multi-jurisdictional client engagements.
Geraldine Moralez
Geraldine has served with Intel for 24 years, the last 12 of which have been in the mobility space. Prior to becoming a Global Immigration Manager in 2016, she continually intersected with immigration while managing large-scale international group moves, spanning multiple countries and managing a project to increase Intel’s visibility to and legal compliance of business travelers. Geraldine is also passionate about immigration as a result of her personal experiences. She immigrated to the United States from Ireland in 1995, taught English in Japan to prospective business assignees and has worked internationally for Intel in the United States, Ireland and the Netherlands. These experiences keep her focused on the end user’s experience, while developing policies and practices that serve Intel’s business objectives. Geraldine is a lean six sigma green belt, has a bachelor’s degree in Business Studies and a master’s degree in Supply Chain Management.
James Brailer
Mr. Brailer joined Johns Hopkins University in April 2013 as Assistant Provost for International Student and Scholar Services. Now an Associate Vice Provost, Jim has led a transformation in the way JHU supports its growing international populations and serves sponsoring university departments through a reorganization and consolidation of the five offices that were serving international clientele, and has undertaken a comprehensive review of all international services policies and procedures. He also works with government relations staff to ensure policymakers at all levels appreciate the impact of immigration regulations on JHU. Jim was Executive Director of the Center for Global Education Services at Arizona State from 2010-13. He began his career at Ohio State in 1991 and has worked in international education for nearly three decades, presenting numerous sessions and workshops at national and regional professional conferences. He is a current member of the SHRM Specialty Immigration Panel. He has a BS in Business Administration from Ohio State and a JD from Capital University Law School.
Ryan Smith
Ryan is the US Immigration Operations and Strategy Manager for IBM Corporation, operating within the HR Global Mobility Organization. Ryan leads a global team responsible for the delivery of H-1B, L-1, TN, E-3, O-1, J-1, and Permanent Residency programs for all IBM US inbound immigration. Ryan is responsible for partnering with HR Talent Acquisition, Legal, Government Affairs, and Global Mobility.
Ryan joined IBM in 2013 working in US Immigration Operations. Ryan focuses on technology, data, and monitoring trends to navigate a dynamic United States immigration environment. Ryan is also dedicated to the personal aspect of supporting employees' personal lives and concerns through delivering quality immigration support. Recently, Ryan has held numerous speaking engagements within IBM in the United States to guide and inform senior leadership on recent changes and how the US Immigration Operation within IBM is adjusting to ensure continued success.
Sandra Sheridan Reguerin
Sandra Sheridan Reguerin has practiced business immigration law exclusively since 1996. She has extensive experience in the J-1 area including IGA, no objection and physician waivers, J-1 program designation applications, and 15 years as an Alternate Responsible Officer for a variety of corporate J-1 programs. Sandra orchestrates large-scale moves of temporary assignees for multinational companies with an emphasis on L-1 visa usage. She has represented individual and corporate clients before numerous U.S. Consular posts around the world and before the State Department. She currently serves as Vice Chair of the AILA DOS Liaison Committee for which she writes the monthly "Check-in With Charlie" column. Sandra speaks English and Spanish.