This course is designed for beginning and intermediate immigration practitioners, employment lawyers, criminal lawyers, family lawyers—in short, anyone involved with the increasingly complex area of removal proceedings. The focus is practical: you’ll not only learn the relevant law and procedure, but hear techniques and strategies for effectively handling typical problems.
Program for Immigration Fundamentals: Removal Proceedings
Registration Opens
Includes continental breakfast.
8:55 am
Welcoming Remarks
9:00 am
Grounds of Deportability and Inadmissibility 1.00 hr
Review of grounds of deportability and inadmissibility; strategies for contesting common grounds of removal.
10:00 am
Bond Proceedings .75 hr
Bond eligibility and strategies for presenting bond applications.
10:45 am
Break
11:00 am
Contesting Deportability 1.00 hr
Procedural challenges to the Notice to Appear; evidentiary challenges; and tele-video procedures and challenges.
DAY 1
AFTERNOON
12:00 pm
Adjourn to Lunch Break - 1 hour
Box lunch included in course registration.
1:00 pm
Citizenship 1.00 hr
How to identify citizenship claims in removal proceedings. Strategies for asserting claims in removal proceedings.
2:00 pm
Challenging Crime-Based Grounds of Deportability 1.00 hr
Review of crime-based removability grounds; proof of conviction; doctrine of divisibility; and recent case law.
3:00 pm
Break
3:15 pm
Demonstrations: Bond Re-Determination Proceedings and Master Calendar Hearings 1.00 hr
The session opens with a short general discussion of Removal Proceedings, then conference faculty will role-play a demonstration of bond re-determination proceedings and master calendar hearings.
4:15 pm
Ethical Issues in Immigration Law .50 hr ethics
A summary of some of the basic ethical issues facing immigration practitioners including: preparing witnesses to testify in court; preparation and presentation of documentary evidence to the court; and withdrawing as counsel when there is an ethical issue or conflict of interest.
4:45 pm
Questions and Answers .50 hr
Speakers discuss practical solutions to participants' questions and cases.
5:15 pm
Adjourn
DAY 2
MORNING
8:00 am
Conference Room Opens
Includes continental breakfast.
8:30 am
Family-Based Visas and Proceedings 1.00 hr including .25 hr ethics
Overview of the family-based visa process and practical tips on preparing applications including those in removal proceedings.
9:30 am
Priority Dates and Grandfathering .75 hr
Establishment of priority dates; loss and recoupment of priority dates; change in age and marital status; grandfathering; strategies to prove earlier filed petitions; and Child Status Protection Act.
10:15 am
Break
10:30 am
Relief in Immigration Court 1.00 hr
Dealing with relief once removability has been established. Tips for trial strategy including documentation, use of experts, and witness preparation.
11:30 am
Adjustment in Court 1.00 hr
Presenting an adjustment claim in court and dealing with possible waivers including 212(h), 212(i) and other less common waivers to overcome inadmissibility.
DAY 2
AFTERNOON
12:30 pm
Adjourn to Lunch Break - 45 minutes
Box lunch included in course registration.
1:15 pm
Cancellation of Removal and Other Discretionary Relief 1.00 hr
Establishing eligibility for Cancellation of Removal for permanent residents and non-permanent residents, section 212(c) waivers, stand-alone section 212(h) waivers, and other forms of relief from removal.
2:15 pm
Appeals and Motions to Reopen: The Basics .50 hr
An outline and overview of the basic rules for filing appeals and motions to reopen.
2:45 pm
Questions and Answers .50 hr
Speakers discuss practical solutions to participants' questions and cases.
3:15 pm
Adjourn Immigration Fundamentals Faculty
Nicolas Chavez
Chavez & Valko, LLP - Dallas, TX
Nancy A. Falgout
Nancy A. Falgout, P.C. - Houston, TX
Richard S. Fischer
The Law Office of Richard S. Fischer - Nacogdoches, TX
Jodi M. Goodwin
Law Office of Jodi Goodwin - Harlingen, TX
George Rodriguez
Saenz-Rodriguez & Associates, P.C. - Dallas, TX
Michelle L. Saenz-Rodriguez
Saenz-Rodriguez & Associates, P.C. - Dallas, TX
Jacqueline L. Watson
Hines & Leigh, P.C. - Austin, TX
Texas MCLE: Course #901196934 12.50 hrs, includes 0.75 hrs ethics
Credit is submitted to the State Bar of Texas within seven business days following the conference. To claim immediate credit, self-report via the SBOT web site at http://www.texasbarcle.com/CLE/home.asp
Legal Specialization: Immigration/Naturalization Law
California MCLE: Provider #1944 12.50 hrs, includes 0.75 hrs ethics
This course is approved for California MCLE credit. A Certificate of Completion and related course reporting documentation for CA MCLE credit will be available at the conference.
See CA Report Compliance for more information.
Other Jurisdictions: LA, NM, OK, NV, etc.
Many jurisdictions accept courses offered by the University of Texas School of Law, and approved by the State Bar of Texas, for CLE credit. Please check with your state bar association. A Certificate of Completion, and related course reporting documentation for MCLE credit will be available at the conference.
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