Semhar Okbazion, LLM
Assistant Director of the Office of International Services
Phone: (410) 706-7488
Email: sokbazion@umaryland.edu
Semhar Okbazion is Assistant Director of the Office of International Services and is the point person for employment visa sponsorship for international faculty and staff, including H-1B, TN, and E-3. She advises hiring units at UMB and international scholars on these visas, and serves as the backup F-1 student and J-1 scholar advisor. Semhar also maintains Sunapsis, the case management solution of OIS, to ensure compliance with relevant federal regulations. In addition, Semhar directs the Henriatta Selle Tiri scholarship, a scholarship program of the UMB School of Graduate Studies established in 2019 to create staff development opportunities for UMB affiliates internationally. Semhar manages the program in collaboration with the School of Graduate Studies and serves as the main point person for all Tiri scholars and applicants.
Previously, Semhar worked at Johns Hopkins University and American University in Washington, D.C. in similar roles and with boutique immigration law firms in the D.C. metropolitan area. Semhar obtained two LL.M. degrees from American University, one specializing in U.S. Immigration Law, and an LL.B. degree (equivalent to a U.S. JD) from the University of Asmara, where she worked as a lecturer for three years. In her spare time, Semhar helps refugees and displaced students to locate global study and postdoctoral opportunities.