Look Who's Coming to the 2008 Regional Conferences

The regional conferences held each fall are great opportunities to network with U.S. government personnel and your NAFSA Regulatory Ombuds, and to stay current with the latest regulatory trends. See below for more information on Opportunities to Meet your NAFSA Regulatory Ombuds.

Government Speakers at the Regional Conferences

* Speakers are subject to change.

Key:
CBP	U.S. Customs and Border Protection	NSC	Nebraska Service Center
CSC	California Service Center	SEVP	Student and Exchange Visitor Program, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement
DOS	Department of State	USCIS	U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services
EVP	Exchange Visitor Program	VSC	Vermont Service Center
ICE	U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement

Region	Session Title	Date/Time	Government reps
I/XII	Aloha CBP	Wed, Nov. 12, 1:30-3pm	Arlene Mirza, CBP
	Consular Affairs and Visa Acquisition	Thu, Nov. 13, 3:30-5pm	Abigail Rupp, Deputy Chief, Post Liaison Division, Visa Office, DOS
	Employment-Based Update	Wed, Nov. 12, 8:30-10am	Kurt Gooselaw, Asst, Center Director, CSC, USCIS TBD, Supervisor, CSC, USCIS
	F/M Service Center Update	Wed, Nov. 12, 3:30-5pm	Kurt Gooselaw, Asst, Center Director, CSC, USCIS Lory Torres, Supervisor, I-765/OPT, CSC, USCIS
	F-1 Hot Topics	Thu, Nov. 13, 8:30-10am	David Gulick, Director, Honolulu Field Office, USCIS Darlene Kutara, Adjudicator, Honolulu Field Office, USCIS
	Immigration Status Verification	Thu, Nov. 13, 2:00-3:00pm	Cornelius Wyatt, Management and Program Analyst, Verification Div., USCIS
	J-1 Update	Fri, Nov. 14th, (time TBA am)	Constance Harley, Chief, Acad. & Gov. Programs, EVP, DOS Tammie King, Program Officer, Academic West Coast Regions and Government Programs, EVP, DOS
	Lucy Booth	Ongoing	Staffed by NAFSA Reg Ombuds with Special Guests: David Gulick, Director, Honolulu Field Office, USCIS Darlene Kutara, Adjudicator, Honolulu Field Office, USCIS
	SEVP Update	Fri, Nov. 14, 8:30-10am	Ann Balough, Acting Chief, IT Branch, SEVP Meghan Kelly, Management and Program Analyst, Policy Branch, SEVP JoAn Taylor, Chief, Public Outreach, SEVP
	What's ICE Got to Do With It	Wed, Nov. 12, 1:30-3pm	TBD, Honolulu District Office, ICE
II	SEVIS Updates	Thu, Oct. 23, 10:45 am	Elisabeth Royston, School Certification, SEVP Amy Bullock, IT Specialist, SEVP JoAn Taylor, Chief, Outreach Branch, SEVP
	Recertification Training	Oct. 23, 2:00 p.m.	Louis Farrell, Director, SEVP Elisabeth Royston, School Certification, SEVP Amy Bullock, IT Specialist, SEVP JoAn Taylor, Chief, Outreach Branch, SEVP
III	Consular Affairs	Tue, Nov. 4, 8:00- 9:15am	Paul Ghiotto, Merida Consulate, DOS
	SEVP Updates (SEVIS 101)	Wed, Nov. 5, 9:30-10:45am	Ken Bradley, School Certification Branch, SEVP Quintion Eaton, School Certification Branch, SEVP Sharon Snyder, Acting Chief, Policy Branch, SEVP
	SEVP Recertification and OPT Updates	Wed, Nov 5, 11:00am-12:15pm	Ken Bradley, School Certification Branch, SEVP Quintion Eaton, School Certification Branch, SEVP Sharon Snyder, Acting Chief, Policy Branch, SEVP
IV	Department of State Update - Consular Affairs and Exchange Visitor Program Office Update	Tue, Oct. 28, 10:15-11:30am	Joining via teleconference: Abigail Rupp, Deputy Chief, Post Liaison Division, Visa Office, DOS Ellen Conway, Director, Office of Public and Diplomatic Liaison, Visa Services, DOS Tammie King, Program Officer, Academic West Coast Regions and Government Programs, EVP, DOS Renee Francis, Program Officer, Academic East Coast Regions and Research Institutions, EVP, DOS
	NSC Student Update	Tue, Oct. 28, 8:30-9:45am	Barbara Ahlm, I-140 Supervisor Adjudications, Nebraska Service Center Lisa Fasnacht, I-765 Applications Adjudicator, NSC, USCIS
	Recertification Training	Tue, Oct. 28, 1:45-3:00pm	Tim Hanes, Management and Program Analyst, Policy Branch, SEVP Kerry Ann Dobies, School Certification, SEVP Diane Currie, Acting Chief, School Certification, SEVP Livia Russell, IT Branch, SEVP
	SEVIS Updates	Tue, Oct. 28, 3:30-4:45pm	Tim Hanes, Management and Program Analyst, Policy Branch, SEVP Kerry Ann Dobies, School Certification, SEVP Noel Gorospe, Public Outreach, SEVP Livia Russell, IT Branch, SEVP
	The SAVE Program (Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements)	Mon, Oct. 27, 10:15-11:30am	Francine Hill, Outreach Section Chief, Verification Office, USCIS Cornelius Wyatt, Management and Program Analyst, Verification Office, USCIS Phyllis Bell, Management and Program Analyst, Verification Office, USCIS
V	SEVP – SEVIS Updates	Thu, Nov. 6, 10:15-11:30am	Cynthia Alexander, SEVP Quintion Eaton, School Certification Branch, SEVP Sharon Snyder, Acting Chief, Policy Branch, SEVP
	SEVP – Recertification Training	Thu, Nov. 6, 1:30-2:45pm	Cynthia Alexander, SEVP Quintion Eaton, School Certification Branch, SEVP Sharon Snyder, Acting Chief, Policy Branch, SEVP
VI	SEVP Update	Tue, Nov. 11, 9:15-10:15am	Diane Currie, Acting Chief, School Certification, SEVP Mike Hallanan, Policy Branch, SEVP DC Shin, School Certification Branch, SEVP Valentine Thompson, IT Branch, SEVP
VII	SEVP Updates (SEVIS 101)	Wed, Oct. 29, 10:45-11:45am	Noel Gorospe, Public Outreach, SEVP Francine Hill, School Certification, SEVP Yvette Oliver, IT Branch, SEVP Sharon Snyder, Acting Chief, Policy Branch, SEVP
VIII	Consular Affairs Hot Topics	Fri, Nov. 7, TBA pm	Timothy Smith, Visa Office, DOS
	Department of State Exchange Visitor Program Update (teleconferenced)	Fri, Nov. 7, TBA am	Joining via teleconference: Tammie King, Program Officer, Academic West Coast Regions and Government Programs, EVP, DOS Renee Francis, Program Officer, Academic East Coast Regions and Research Institutions, EVP, DOS
	SEVIS and SAVE Update	Fri, Nov. 7, TBA am	Heather Bentrum, School Certification, SEVP Tim Hanes, Management and Program Analyst, Policy Branch, SEVP Livia Russell, IT Branch, SEVP
X	Government Q&A: SEVP, CBP, SS and More	Mon, Nov. 10, 2:00-3:30pm	Heidi Bijolle, Manager, Customer Service and Training, VSC, USCIS Dean Dimotsis, Border Security Coordinator, Customs Border Protection Angel Estrada, Manager, NJ Motor Vehicle Commission (Elizabeth, NJ) Louis Farrell, Director, SEVP Kelly Gray, NY Department of Motor Vehicles Carmen Ross, Social Security Administration Abigail Rupp, Deputy Chief, Post Liaison Division, Visa Office, DOS Liz Rybkins, NY Dept. of Motor Vehicles Sharon Snyder, Acting Chief, Policy Branch, SEVP TBA, VSC
	SEVP Update: OPT, Recertification	Mon, Nov. 10, 9-10:15am	Louis Farrell, Director, SEVP Robert Camilleri, Management and Program Analyst, School Certification Branch, SEVP Dale Potts, Public Outreach, SEVP Sharon Snyder, Acting Chief, Policy Branch, SEVP
	SEVP Update: SEVIS II	Mon, Nov. 10, 10:45am- 12:00pm	Louis Farrell, Director, SEVP Sharon Snyder, Acting Chief, Policy Branch, SEVP
	Newark Liberty International Airport CBP Tour	Sun, Nov. 9 10:00-2:00 pm	Paul Erdheim, Deputy Chief, Newark Liberty International Airport, CBP
XI	Exchange Visitor Program Update and Q&A	Wed, Nov. 5, at 2:00-3:30 pm	Joining via teleconference: Constance Harley, Chief, Acad. & Gov. Programs, EVP, DOS Tammie King, Program Officer, Academic West Coast Regions and Government Programs, EVP, DOS Renee Francis, Program Officer, Academic East Coast Regions and Research Institutions, EVP, DOS
	Government Q&A with State Department and Customs & Border Patrol	Thu, Nov. 6, 1:45-3:15pm	Vincent Beirne, Deputy Director, Office of Legislation, Regulations, and Advisory Assistance, Visa Services, DOS Gary J. Belanger, Officer, CBP
	SEVP Q&A	Wed, Nov. 5, 8:30-10:00am	Mike Hallahan, Policy Branch, SEVP Zobaida Karin, School Certification Branch, SEVP Elisabeth Royston, School Certification, SEVP
	SEVP Re-certification	Wed, Nov. 5, 10:30-11:45am	MikeHallahan, Policy Branch, SEVP Zobaida Karin, School Certification Branch, SEVP Elisabeth Royston, School Certification, SEVP
	VSC Update and Q&A	Thu, Nov. 6, 8:30-10:00am	Tim Smith, I-765 OPT Supervisor, VSC
XII	See above for Region I/XII joint Regional Conference information

Meet your NAFSA Regulatory Ombuds

Regional Conferences also offer great networking opportunities, not least of which is meeting your region's Regulatory Ombuds. See the list of special events below organized by your Reg Ombuds to explain the services they provide for immigration case assistance and resources available to advisers, including the NAFSA Web site and Adviser's Manual.

Region	Reg Ombud Event	Date/Time
I/XII	Lucy Booth with Region I/XII Regulatory Ombuds	Ongoing. See Conference Program for details.
VII	Resources and Updates by Region VII Regulatory Ombuds	Wed, Oct. 29, 10:50-11:50am