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The T Visa provides critical relief to victims of human trafficking and can be particularly helpful now for certain clients given the current U visa and SIJS backlogs. This webinar will provide an overview of the T Visa requirements and process as well as a clearer understanding of what constitutes human trafficking. It will include tips on working with law enforcement and how to secure other temporary protection for trafficking victims.
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In many cases vacating a criminal conviction is the only solution for a noncitizen with a criminal record. This year, California passed a new form of post-conviction relief designed especially to help immigrants. See new Penal Code § 1473.7, which takes effect on January 1, 2017. This new law will permit immigrants to apply to vacate a criminal conviction based on their failure to understand the actual immigration consequences.
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This webinar will provide an up-to-date overview of the new USCIS guidance on extreme hardship that takes effect December 5, 2016. Panelists will review the factors outlined by USCIS as well as the legal standard required for a successful hardship waiver for different grounds of inadmissibility. An important component of the new guidance is the inclusion of “particularly significant factors” or circumstances that strongly support a finding of extreme hardship. Panelists will explore these scenarios in depth and provide tips on how to connect your client’s story with the elements highlighted in the new guidance.
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This webinar will explore emerging topics in asylum. We will discuss any policy changes as a result of the new administration, and hit hot topics such as crime bars to asylum among other issues. This webinar is geared to those already familiar with the basic legal framework for asylum claims.
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We will take a close look at issues that arise in a master calendar hearing. We will discuss how to contest removal and take pleadings, how to prepare for the master calendar hearing, and practical considerations so you aren’t caught off guard. This webinar is a great introduction to helping clients placed in removal proceedings and a good refresher on contesting removal for seasoned practitioners.
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In 2016, we will see several new California laws that benefit noncitizens. This webinar will provide a review of key laws that affect immigrants and the criminal justice system. We will discuss Penal Code § 1473.3 (AB 813) which provides a new vehicle to vacate a California conviction, Amendment to Penal Code § 18.5 (SB 1242) which makes the 364-Day misdemeanor law retroactive, the TRUTH Act, Government Code 7283 (SB 2792) which protects the rights of immigrants in California jails, Amendments to Government Code § 70615 and Penal Code § 186.34 and adding Penal Code § 186.35 (AB 2298), which provides notice requirements and the ability to challenge being placed on a gang database, and the immigration benefits of Proposition 64. This webinar will be presented by the ILRC staff attorneys who worked on drafting many of these bills and supported their passage.
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The majority of states in the U.S. legalize use of marijuana for some purpose. Twenty-nine states permit medical use of marijuana, and seven states – most recently, California, Massachusetts, and Nevada – have passed laws permitting recreational use. The District of Columbia permits both uses. However, use of marijuana remains a federal offense, although one that is rarely or never enforced. This can create serious problems for noncitizens who, in good faith and following state law, use marijuana and hashish for any reason. This interactive, national webinar will cover how state-legalized marijuana is helpful to immigrants, how it is potentially harmful, and strategies for how to advise and defend noncitizens in order to prevent legal damage.
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This webinar will cover the different types of background checks available for you and your client, including FOIA, FBI, state, and court-specific records requests. We will explain the types of records obtainable from each request and offer tips on how and where to file records requests. Using examples, we will walk through when each type of records request may or may not be appropriate for your client’s situation.
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In this webinar, we will discuss how to get your client released on bond as well as other considerations when your client is detained. Specifically, we will cover how to determine if your client is bond eligible, when and how to challenge this determination, and how to best present your bond case before the immigration judge. Finally, we will provide some tips regarding managing a case in the detained setting.
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This webinar will provide an up-to-date overview of USCIS guidance on extreme hardship that took effect December 5, 2016. Panelists will review the factors outlined by USCIS as well as the legal standard required for a successful hardship waiver for different grounds of inadmissibility. An important component of the new guidance is the inclusion of “particularly significant factors” or circumstances that strongly support a finding of extreme hardship. Panelists will explore these scenarios in depth and provide tips on how to connect your client’s story with the elements highlighted in the new guidance.
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This webinar covers various issues involving good moral character that frequently arise in naturalization cases. We will discuss discretionary and statutory bars to proving good moral character and the balance test that CIS must employ when deciding if an applicant who is not statutorily ineligible has good moral character. In this discussion, we will also cover how failure to register for the selective service, failure to pay child support, failure to file income taxes, illegal voting, false claim to U.S. citizenship, alien smuggling, and other issues affect one’s naturalization application. We will not discuss admissions or convictions of crimes during this session. This webinar is appropriate for practitioners who are new to naturalization, as well as those who are experienced and need a review or fine-tuning.
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Join national experts, longtime practitioners, and co-authors of the ILRC’s VAWA Manual to learn the requirements for self-petitioning for immigration status under the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), the process for applying, and practice tips for working with immigrant clients who have been abused by a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident family member.
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This webinar will provide updates on changes to SIJS practice, including the visa backlog, centralization, new policy guidance, and more. It will also provide strategies for success in this evolving context.
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Join national experts and co-authors of the ILRC’s U Visa Guide to learn the requirements for a U visa, process for applying, and practice tips for working with immigrant survivors of domestic violence and other crimes.
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We will review the role of parole in immigration law and its potential benefits, particularly regarding any post-election changes. This webinar covers three main types of parole: advance parole, humanitarian parole, especially as it relates to its use for children of U and VAWA derivatives, U visa applicants outside of the country, and the in-country refugee/parole program for certain minors, and parole in place. You will receive practice tips for applying for each form of parole.
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This webinar will explore how to use common clean slate relief to help erase or mitigate the impact of a criminal conviction. We will also discuss how new laws like Proposition 64 and California Penal Code 1203.43, 18.5(a) and (b), and 1473.7 can help eliminate immigration consequences.
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This webinar is geared to those new to bond practice and organizations hoping to support families prepare for bond proceedings. In this webinar, we will provide an introductory review of immigration detention and custody determinations, which will focus on preparing advocates new to bond proceedings. We will discuss how to find your client, tips for preparation, and the nuts and bolts of bond hearings. This webinar will prepare the advocate to argue legal eligibility as well as how to gather evidence in support of your case.
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This webinar is intended for those already familiar with basic bond practice or have participated in an introductory bond webinar. This webinar will provide an overview of the mandatory detention provisions and discuss legal challenges to overcome a mandatory detention finding. Additionally, we will cover arguments to combat prolonged detention, which will include a survey of current nationwide case law.
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This recording provides a review of San Francisco’s rapid response program, including a discussion of lessons learned and best practices. Topics include: Considerations when assessing whether a rapid response network is needed, and if so, what components to consider when establishing a local network, and lessons learned by guest presenters.
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An absence from the U.S. can affect one’s ability to naturalize in a myriad of ways. We will discuss the different ways in which an absence from the U.S. can affect a client’s naturalization application, including the effect upon his or her continuous residence, physical presence, abandonment of residence, and removability. We will discuss the law, important cases, and hypothetical cases.
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This webinar will review the legal requirements for non-LPR cancellation and how to build a winning case. We will cover some of the common obstacles to eligibility, such as the complicated crime bars and the stop-time rule. This webinar will prepare you to fully screen your client for eligibility and to present your case before the judge.
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A discussion of the basic elements of an asylum claim for advocates who are new to representing clients in the asylum application process. In this webinar, we will review the legal elements of an asylum claim, and practical approaches to crafting arguments for various elements. We will discuss ways to argue past persecution claims, mixed motive cases, imputed political opinion and particular social group claims.
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Join Her Justice, Inc. Managing Attorney Susanna Saul and The U Visa Manual co-authors Jessica Farb and Sally Kinoshita as they discuss the eligibility requirements, application process, and latest practice tips for assisting U nonimmigrant clients in obtaining legal permanent residency through adjustment of status.
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This webinar will discuss recent trends of increased requests for evidence (RFEs) and notices of intent to deny (NOIDs) in Special Immigrant Juvenile Status cases following the centralization of SIJS adjudications. We will cover common fact patterns that have resulted in RFEs or NOIDs and discuss strategies for success – both in avoiding these requests to begin with, and in responding to RFEs or NOIDs if encountered. The webinar will feature practitioners with expertise in this area.
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This webinar is for legal service providers who are new to the area of family-based immigration and will focus on the basics of the family visa petition. We will cover which relatives can qualify for family-based immigration and how they fit and move around the preference categories with events such as marriage, divorce or the naturalization of the petitioner. We will also review how priority dates are established, lost and recaptured, as well as the role of the visa bulletin and what happens when the visa availability date advances or regresses. We will review the various ways in which a family visa petition may get revoked and we will review the rules applying to widows and other beneficiaries when the qualifying relative dies. The discussion will include a brief overview of the Child Status Protection Act.
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Effective December 23, 2016, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) increased the filing fee for Form N-400, Application for Naturalization, to $640 (plus the biometrics fee). For many, the filing fee makes an application for naturalization insurmountable. In this webinar, we will review how to complete successful reduced fee and fee waiver applications for naturalization applicants.
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This webinar will cover the different types of background checks commonly used by immigration practitioners and their clients, including FOIA, FBI, state, and court-specific records requests. We will explain the types of records obtainable from each request and offer tips on how and where to file records requests. Using examples, we will walk through when each type of records request may or may not be appropriate for your client’s situation.
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Long-time permanent residents who have become deportable may be able to keep their green card if they are granted LPR cancellation of removal. This interactive webinar will start with the basics and go on to cover all statutory requirements for cancellation, with an emphasis on new challenges and defenses relating to the seven years' "stop-time" rule. This is an intermediate-level webinar that assumes some knowledge about the crimes grounds of removal, but does not require knowledge about LPR cancellation.
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For practitioners already familiar with the basics of family-based immigration, this webinar will focus on the adjustment of status process for individuals pursuing permanent resident status through a family member here in the United States, including various pathways to adjustment and red flags. We will compare 245(i) eligibility and traditional adjustment under 245(a), as well as strategies for establishing adjustment eligibility.
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Join national U visa and VAWA experts Mona Patel-Sikora and Sally Kinoshita as they discuss how to handle ethical considerations that arise when representing immigrant victims of domestic violence and other crimes. Among the issues they will cover are client conflicts, confidentiality, safety, and rules of professional conduct. This activity qualifies as 1.5 CA MCLE in legal ethics.