Immigration Law 2

What you will learn

• Explain the federal structure of the U.S. immigration system.
• Identify the roles of USCIS, CBP, ICE, EOIR, the Department of State and the Department of Labor.
• Interpret selected provisions of the INA and of Title 8 of the Code of Federal Regulations.
• Distinguish visa, petition, admission, status, adjustment of status and consular processing.
• Compare the main family, employment, humanitarian and business pathways.
• Distinguish inadmissibility from deportability, and the stages of a removal proceeding.
• Identify the defenses and forms of relief that call for deeper research.
• Analyze citizenship and naturalization issues.
• Prepare a case brief and research with reliable primary and secondary sources.
• Recognize conflicts of interest and the duties of confidentiality, candor and competence.
• Develop and defend a final research project on an immigration topic.

Before you start

Designed for foreign-trained lawyers, legal assistants and other professionals who work in immigration services. It helps to have taken Immigration Law 1 or to have legal training or experience in the field, to read Spanish comfortably, to be willing to work with legal vocabulary in English and to know the basics of the virtual classroom (Moodle).

Syllabus

Tap each week to see its topics.

1. Week 1Federal structure, agencies and sources

   The history of the immigration system and the roles of DHS, USCIS, CBP, ICE, EOIR, the Department of State and the Department of Labor.

2. Week 2The INA, Title 8 of the CFR and how to interpret them

   How to read statutes and regulations, principles of constitutional and administrative law, and legal research.

3. Week 3Temporary visas, admission and status

   Visa, petition, admission and status; visitors, students and temporary workers.

4. Week 4Family, employment and permanent residence

   Immediate relatives and preference categories, the Visa Bulletin, adjustment of status versus consular processing, and an introduction to PERM and Form I-140.

5. Week 5Asylum, refugees and protected grounds

   The refugee definition, affirmative and defensive asylum, and the five protected grounds.

6. Week 6Other forms of humanitarian protection

   TPS, humanitarian parole, T and U visas, VAWA, withholding of removal and the Convention against Torture.

7. Week 7Inadmissibility, deportability and the Notice to Appear

   Border enforcement, detention, expedited removal and the immigration consequences of criminal convictions.

8. Week 8Hearings, relief and appeals

   Hearings before the immigration judge, the burden of proof, cancellation of removal, voluntary departure, the BIA and federal review, with a mock hearing.

9. Week 9Citizenship and naturalization

   Citizenship by birth, acquisition and derivation, continuous residence, good moral character and the English and civics test.

10. Week 10Business immigration

    H, L, E and O visas, labor certification and PERM, the EB-1 to EB-5 categories and the National Interest Waiver.

11. Week 11Clinic: research, ethics and simulation

    From the initial interview to the case chronology, FOIA, memoranda, confidentiality and unauthorized practice, with a fictitious case file.

12. Week 12Review and final project

    Presentation and defense of the final project.

Materials

• The Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) and Title 8 of the Code of Federal Regulations.
• The USCIS Policy Manual, and the Department of State's Foreign Affairs Manual and Visa Bulletin.
• EOIR manuals and procedural materials, and precedent decisions of the Board of Immigration Appeals.
• Case law of the federal courts and the Supreme Court.
• Gordon, Mailman and Yale-Loehr, Immigration Law and Procedure, in assigned selections.
• Official publications of DHS, USCIS, CBP, ICE and the Department of Labor (FLAG).
• In the virtual classroom: readings, presentations, cases, forums and quizzes.

How you are assessed

What counts: attendance and participation, exams and application exercises, and a final research project: an essay, a case study, a legal memorandum, a public policy proposal or another format the professor approves. At the start of the course you receive the syllabus, with the weight of each part.

When you pass the course, you receive a NAFA certificate of completion.