Description
For those of you who missed our online conference, "U Visas: Advanced & Emerging Issues," the recordings are now available for purchase. The online conference is composed of six separate sessions. Please be aware session 5: USCIS panel, does not offer a recording of the session. (You can buy all five sessions togheter or individual sessions)
During this interactive two-day training on U Visas, presenters will cover advanced and emerging issues related to U nonimmigrants, including those with complicated waiver or adjustment issues. Presenters will also address federal litigation options and strategies for creating survivor-friendly policies at the local level.
This course will be taught at an advanced level, assuming prior knowledge of the requirements for U nonimmigrant status and adjustment of status, and is intended for those who already have experience working on U visa cases.
Speakers include: ASISTA’s national experts, representatives from USCIS, and other national and local experts. See below the general agenda of the online training.
Session 1: Advancing Innovative Local Policies for Crime Survivors
With many communities across the country reimagining their approaches to law enforcement, now is the time to consider approaches that recognize the unique needs and circumstances of immigrant and immigrant survivors of violence. This session will highlight the work of advocates and local government officials to produce comprehensive policies for their county prosecutor’s office regarding immigration and immigration-adjacent issues, including U visa certifications. While not every practice will be suited to the needs of every locality, practitioners can benefit from thinking about whether the practices presented in this session offer new ideas or techniques that could improve their community’s law enforcement response to immigrants and immigrant survivors of violence.
Moderator: Laura Flores Bachman, Senior Legal Counsel, ASISTA
Speakers: Ruby Robinson, Managing Attorney, Michigan Immigrant Rights Center, Ypsilanti, MI & Eli Savit, District Attorney, Washtenaw County, MI.
Session 2: Strategies for Complex U Adjustment of Status Issues
Whether one is inheriting a case from another representative or dealing with ever-changing expectations from USCIS, adjustment of status for U visa clients can raise thorny issues. In this panel, speakers will address strategies for winning adjustment cases where the client’s U nonimmigrant status has already expired, there are unwaived inadmissibility grounds that pre-date the U visa approval, the client provided inaccurate information on their U visa application, the client has acquired new negative discretionary factors post-U visa grant, or where USCIS is “re-litigating” issues that were already addressed in the U visa application.
Moderator: Amy Cheung, Senior Legal Counsel, ASISTA
Speakers: Jason Baumetz, Alaska Immigration Justice Project & Ashley Piper, Supervising Attorney, NWIRP.
Session 3: USCIS Panel: “Updates in USCIS Policy and Practice”
Represesentatives from the CIS Ombudmsan and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will discuss policy updates and trends related to survivor-based forms of immigration relief. They will also answer questions submitted in advance by participants during the presentation.
Moderator: Cecelia Friedman Levin, Senior Policy Counsel, ASISTA
Speakers: Representative from USCIS OP&S (USCIS Office of Policy and Strategy) & Representative from CIS Ombudsman Office.
Session 4: Assisting U Visa Petitioners with a Criminal History
Over the last few years, USCIS has increasingly requested clients’ arrest reports as part of its adjudication of U Visa petitions and U adjustment of status applications. USCIS is requesting these reports even for clients who were never charged or convicted of a crime. This session focuses on how arrest reports can impact U Visa and U adjustment of status adjudications, how advocates can challenge the consideration of arrest reports, and best practices when responding to a request for an arrest report.
Moderator: Laura Flores Bachman, Senior Legal Counsel, ASISTA
Speakers: Sarah Bronstein, Senior Attorney, CLINIC & Elise Griesmyer, Associate Legal Director, Catholic Charities of Galveston-Houston.
Session 5: Arbitrary and Capricious: Challenging U Visa Denials under the APA
When USCIS denies a U visa or U-based adjustment of status, filing a motion or appeal can sometimes be frustrating and fruitless. In this panel, we will discuss options for litigating U visa and U adjustment of status denials in federal court under the Administrative Procedure Act. Panelists will address jurisdictional arguments in discretionary and non-discretionary denials and recent case law developments, along with common case scenarios and potential arguments.
Moderator: Amy Cheung, Senior Legal Counsel, ASISTA
Speakers: Mary Kenney, National Immigration Litigation Alliance & Nico Ratkowski, Contreras & Metelska.
Session 6: U visa Case Rounds: What would ASISTA Do?
In this interactive session, ASISTA staff will answer challenging procedural and legal questions that commonly arise in U visa submissions. This includes how to deal with problematic RFEs, strategies to amend I-192 submissions, consular processing issues, how to effectively frame victimization, qualifying crimes and more.
Moderator: Cecelia Friedmna Levin, Senior Policy Counsel, ASISTA
Speakers: Laura Flores Bachman, Senior Legal Counsel, ASISTA & Amy Cheung, Senior Legal Counsel, ASISTA.
