2024 Annual Immigration Law Conference

Event Recap

The Federal Bar Association’s Immigration Law Section hosted its Annual Immigration Law Conference on Friday, May 10 – Saturday, May 11 in Salt Lake City, Utah. The two-day conference featured three tracks of legal education, covering topics ranging from asylum and humanitarian issues to family, removal, and business matters.  Approximately 250 attendees participated in the conference, making it a robust platform for networking and knowledge exchange. The diversity of attendees ensured rich discussions and perspectives on the complex landscape of immigration law. Keynote speeches, panel discussions, and impromptu conversations facilitated dynamic exchanges of ideas and best practices, fostering collaboration and innovation within the immigration law community. From navigating the intricacies of asylum cases to understanding the implications of policy changes on family reunification, the sessions provided practical knowledge and strategies to address the challenges faced by immigration practitioners.

Conference Dates for 2025 will be announced Summer 2024.

Co-Hosted by the Immigration Law Section.

Sponsorship

Event Partner

Educational Supporter (Custom)

Session Sponsor
Joorney
Visa Business Plans

Onsite Exhibitors
U.S. Department of Homeland Security | Office of the Immigration Detention Ombudsman (OIDO)
Filevine
Foundation for International Services (FIS)
Guidepost Solutions
Immigrant Legal Resource Center (ILRS)
Joorney
LawPay /MyCase
Visa Business Plans

Agenda

CLICK HERE to view the detailed conference agenda.

Session times are posted as Mountain Standard Time zone and subject to change.

Detailed panel information to be updated as panels are confirmed.

Thursday, May 9

6:00 – 8:00 p.m. | Welcome Dinner

• Join fellow conference attendees for an optional opening event at Gracie’s Salt Lake City. Dinner ticket ($60) is available to add-on during registration check-out process.

Friday, May 10

7:30 a.m. – 8:30 a.m. | Registration + Breakfast

8:30 a.m. – 10:00 a.m. | [CLE] Hot Topics with USCIS and DOS

10:15 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. | Concurrent CLE Tracks

• [Track 1] Asylum & Humanitarian: Strategizing a Winning Case
• [Track 2] Family & Removal: Hot Topics in Removal Defense
• [Track 3] Business: Office of Foreign Labor Certification Open Forum

11:45 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. | Keynote Luncheon
Keynote Remarks by Dr. Giovanni Batz, Assistant Professor, Chicana and Chicano Studies, UC Santa Barbara

1:15 p.m. – 2:30 p.m. | Concurrent CLE Tracks

• [Track 1] Asylum & Humanitarian: Particular Social Groups: Litigating Gender and Family-Based Asylum Claims
• [Track 2] Family & Removal: New Developments in Crimmigration
• [Track 3] Business: H-1B Alternatives and Workarounds

2:45 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. | Concurrent CLE Tracks

• [Track 1] Asylum & Humanitarian: Trauma-Informed Representation
• [Track 2] Family & Removal: Bona Fide Marriages, Sham Marriages and Everything in Between
• [Track 3] Business: Consular Conundrums >Sponsored by Visa Business Plans

4:15 p.m. – 5:30 p.m. | Concurrent CLE Tracks

• [Track 1] Asylum & Humanitarian: Bars to Asylum and Related Relief
• [Track 2] Family & Removal: Strategies for VAWA and U Visa Cases Before USCIS and EOIR
• [Track 3] Business: Alternatives to PERM >Sponsored by Joorney

5:30 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. | Awards Reception

Saturday, May 11

7:30 a.m. – 8:30 a.m. | Registration + Breakfast

8:30 a.m. – 10:00 a.m. | [CLE] Challenges of Language Access in the U.S. Immigration Practice

10:15 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. | Concurrent CLE Tracks

• [Track 1] Asylum & Humanitarian: Immigration Relief for Trafficking Survivors and Special Immigrant Juveniles
• [Track 2] Family & Removal: Litigating USCIS and Department of State Delays
• [Track 3] Business: AI, Ethics and the Practice of Immigration Law

11:45 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. | Luncheon Program
Q&A Session with the Office of the Immigration Detention Ombudsmen’s Office
Immigration Law Section Meeting

1:15 p.m. – 2:30 p.m. | Concurrent CLE Tracks

• [Track 1] Asylum & Humanitarian: Asylum and Due Process at the Border
• [Track 2] Family & Removal: Consular Processing Trends, Recent Developments and CSPA Updates
• [Track 3] Business: Preparing the PERM I-140

2:45 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. | Concurrent CLE Tracks

• [Track 1] Asylum & Humanitarian: State Challenges to Federal Asylum Law and Procedure
• [Track 2] Family & Removal: View from the Federal Bench
• [Track 3] Business: AOS, EB and Humanitarian Collide

4:15 p.m. – 5:30 p.m. | Concurrent CLE Tracks

• [Track 1] Asylum & Humanitarian: Ethical Representation in Your Humanitarian Case
• [Track 2] Family & Removal: Handling Complex Adjustment of Status
• [Track 3] Business: EB Litigation for the Amateur

CLE

The FBA will seek 13 total CLE credit hours (including 1.25 ethics) for 60-minute states, and 15.6 total CLE credit hours (including 1.5 ethics) for 50-minute states.

Posted credit hours are estimates and subject to respective state approval and reporting rules. CLE qualifications vary by state/jurisdiction and the FBA takes every measure to collaborate with presenters to ensure approval. Accrediting agencies typically decide whether a program qualifies for credit in their jurisdiction 4-8 weeks after the program application is submitted. For many live events, credit approval is not received prior to the program. Documentation for self-reporting states will be issued via email, upon state bar approval.

The FBA partners with ConferenceAdit LLC to track and report CLE credit for national conferences. Attendees are responsible for uploading their state bar information and tracking attendance through a dedicated webpage, issued in advance of the conference. Attendees will be instructed to check in and out of each panel to timestamp attendance. Approximately two weeks following the conference, personalized certificates will be issued via email.

Learn more about Continuing Legal Education (CLE) operations and reporting.

Email Communication Policy: By registering for this event, you agree to receive email communication from the Federal Bar Association and affiliated sponsors of the program concerning event details, Continuing Legal Education certification, programming changes, upcoming events, surveys, and post-event communications.

Recording Disclaimer: By registering for an online FBA program, you agree to the recording of audio and visual content presented during the live event and consent to subsequent use of the recording by the FBA. You agree that the recording is the sole property of the FBA and that the recording may be used by the FBA in any manner in its sole and absolute discretion. This recording may include questions and poll responses provided by you during the live event. If you do not consent to the recording and the FBA’s use of the same, do not register for the event.

Financial Assistance: Program registrants (both FBA members and nonmembers) who are unable to afford the registration fee may receive a 50% discount on the member rate. Qualifying attorneys include those who are unemployed or actively seeking employment. A formal letter requesting the discount must be emailed to meetings@fedbar.org. That letter needs to state the reason for the attorney’s interest in the course or activity, as well as proof of income or an explanation of the financial hardship, and it must be signed by the requesting lawyer.

If you have any questions regarding this program, please contact meetings@fedbar.org.