How many roads must a religious worker walk down before you call him/her a lawful permanent resident…the answer my friend is blowing in the wind at the RIS Breakfast! Join the RIS team for a cup of coffee and a conversation on recent updates to religious worker immigration law!

Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to get through this thing called "Religious Worker Permanent Residency."

This session will provide information and insight to managers and supervisors about how to identify burnout or vicarious trauma in themselves and in their staff. Strategies and solutions to prevent collective burnout or vicarious trauma will be discussed. Participants will learn what it looks like to be a leader who strives to prevent burnout or trauma in themselves and their staff and take steps to implement strategies. This session will answer questions like: How does a manager recognize burnout or trauma in their staff? How does burnout and trauma affect staff retention?

On Sept. 13, 2023, Judge Andrew Hanen, a federal judge in the U.S. Southern District of Texas, ruled DACA unlawful. This marked a pivotal point for the state of DACA- which is currently under review by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. With a looming decision, many advocates, practitioners, and Dreamers are left with a question: What’s next for the program? In this session, presenters will provide an overview of the case timeline, current advocacy for DACA, and potential relief, like Deferred Enforced Departure (DED), if the courts find DACA illegal.

You just received a denial of your client’s application or petition, and the clock is ticking. What remedies are available to challenge the denial and how can you pursue them? Is there an appeal you can file, or a motion to reopen or reconsider? If you can do both, which is the best option? This workshop, appropriate for practitioners of all levels, will review the various options available to challenge application and petition denials, and discuss strategic and procedural aspects to consider when deciding on a plan of action.

You have worked hard to prepare your client’s naturalization application and now your client is scheduled for an interview with USCIS. How do you prepare your client for that important day? What if your client is unable to comply with the English and/or U.S. history and civics requirements because of a physical or developmental disability or mental impairment? In this workshop presenters will cover what to expect at the naturalization interview, share tips for preparing clients, and explain the role of the advocate during the interview.

This session is geared for individuals who are attorneys or fully accredited representatives who practice in removal defense. At this session you will have an opportunity to start conversations that promote learning and sharing of effective legal practices and challenges around serving individuals in removal proceedings.

Well-established policies and procedures promote fairness and uniformity in our programs’ operations. The existence of solid policies is consistently identified as an important factor in avoiding staffing problems, technical errors, and more. However, faced with extreme numbers of newcomers with urgent direct representation needs, setting aside time to establish or reevaluate policies feels daunting. This workshop will be a space dedicated to drafting policies and procedures with support from CLINIC’s program management experts.

Over the past few years, many non-profit legal service providers have been inundated with new arrivals, asylum seekers, naturalization applicants, and TPS applicants. Without the capacity to help each person on a one-on-one basis, legal service providers have begun conducting pro se workshops or clinics, allowing some groups of clients to be assisted without the organization having to worry about their capacity to represent everyone. Join CLINIC staff and legal immigration practitioners as they discuss their best practices when conducting pro se workshops or clinics.

There is no shortage of agency updates in immigration law. In this session, speakers will discuss immigration hot topics and updates for 2024. This will include key areas of interest such as the new fee rule, family reunification parole, updated USCIS policy guidance, extension and redesignation of countries for TPS, new DOJ Recognition & Accreditation applications, and more. We will also discuss best practices in your immigration legal practice relevant to these updates.

Are you confused as to exactly when your client can retain an earlier priority date? What about the consequences of the petitioner naturalizing or the beneficiary marrying? What do you need to do when the derivative beneficiary ages out? If a petition is terminated or revoked, can it ever be reinstated? In this session, we will review how priority dates are established, how they can be lost, and under what circumstances they may be retained. We will also discuss the difference between the Visa Bulletin’s Chart A and Chart B, visa retrogression and cross-chargeability.

This session will cover a variety of situations where your client is in removal proceedings but is eligible for family-related relief. We will cover eligibility for I-130 petitions and how to navigate the petition process while the beneficiary is in proceedings, adjustment of status in immigration court, administratively closing proceedings pending the adjudication of an I-601A provisional waiver, and considerations for respondents who are eligible for Special Immigrant Juvenile Status.

As more immigrants arrive in different communities across the United States, states and localities have created programs, policies, and funding opportunities in order to assist their new neighbors. This panel, which will include partners from state and local government, will focus on how communities can welcome immigrants. Learn about collaboration efforts that have occurred in Minnesota and elsewhere in order to integrate new Americans into the workforce, expand their access to immigration legal services, language access, educational opportunities, and many other vital resources.

What’s the significance of an extension or a re-designation? Who needs to re-register and when? Will my client benefit from an automatic Employment Authorization Document (EAD) extension? Can you pursue Temporary Protected Status (TPS) and a more permanent immigration status at the same time? Presenters will provide an overview of TPS and share tips on navigating the registration process, addressing firm resettlement questions, avoiding gaps in employment authorization, as well as identifying eligibility for adjustment of status and other permanent relief.

All naturalization applicants must show that they are of “good moral character” in order to be granted U.S. citizenship. However, it is not always easy to determine which acts may bar an applicant from showing good moral character. This workshop will explain the temporary and permanent bars to showing good moral character. We will work with common examples relating to crimes, taxes, and false claims to U.S. citizenship to help practitioners determine what they need to screen for and how they can best advocate for their clients.

This session provides information and insight about how to identify and work through vicarious trauma and prevent burnout. Participants will have the opportunity to identify burnout or trauma and establish an individualized plan for a healthy lifestyle using strategies and solutions discussed throughout the session. This session will provide answers to questions like: What leads to burn out? What is vicarious trauma? How can someone recognize burnout or vicarious trauma? What can someone do to deal with and prevent vicarious trauma or burnout?

As legal representatives, we share responsibility for maintaining the integrity of the justice system and the legal profession. As immigration legal practitioners, we encounter some of the most complex issues any legal representative will encounter. And, while it is important we stay up to date on substantive immigration law, ensuring ethical compliance with the law is just as important. Virtual practice, language access, choice of law, fee structure, and ethical nonlawyer assistance are top of mind for today's immigration practitioners.

Every stage of the application process for seeking U status and adjustment can present significant eligibility challenges, from obtaining a law enforcement certification and identifying a qualifying crime to how to determine when a U status holder has sufficient time in U status to apply for adjustment. Advocates constantly face new challenges as wait times increase from filing to the bona fide determination process, to U approval and adjustment. Along the way, USCIS frequently shifts its policies and procedures and new issues emerge.

Panelists will cover the basics of consular processing: communicating with the NVC, uploading documents onto the CEAC website, preparing the client for the consular interview, and dealing with visa refusals. They will also cover topics such as consular jurisdiction, the role of the Visa Office, and paying the immigrant fee with USCIS.

Immigration court practice in 2024 presents unique challenges and opportunities. For noncitizens who are not priorities for immigration court enforcement, dismissing removal proceedings has never been easier. However, navigating court procedures and properly advising our clients continues to be complex. We will discuss hot topics and trends including unilateral motions filed by DHS and how to oppose them when appropriate; seeking a motion to reopen or termination based on defective NTAs; how to proceed when ICE OPLA doesn’t show up to court; and important updates to asylum law.