This six-week training will explore the process of gaining permanent residence through a family relationship. We will cover which individuals are eligible based on family relationships, and how each step of the process works. Throughout the course, participants will review both the law and procedure for immigrating through a family relationship, including examination and critique of sample application forms. Topics covered will include: immediate relatives and the preference system, retention of priority dates, the Child Status Protection Act, immigrating through marriages, the affidavit of support, adjustment of status and consular processing. The training will also include exercises and readings on these topics. The course requires a time commitment of approximately four hours per week for each of the six weeks of the course. This time will be spent in different activities, including reading assignments, exercises, and participation in seven webinars conducted on consecutive Tuesdays, as listed in the detailed course schedule.The course will be interactive, with opportunities for online and real-time discussion among students, and between the students and the instructors. The instructors for this course will be CLINIC attorneys Kristina Karpinski and Debbie Smith. For questions about the course content, please contact Debbie Smith at dsmith@cliniclegal.org. Click here for a more detailed course outline including the dates and times of the seven webinars. Before registering for this training, please make sure that you will be available for these webinars.

Training Level:
Introductory. This is an introduction to family-based immigration for the practitioner who already has some exposure to immigration law fundamentals. Basic familiarity with (a) immigration law vocabulary; (b) the ways in which an immigrant may gain legal status; and (c) the concepts of inadmissibility and deportability, is assumed. For a detailed course outline, including the dates and times of the required webinars, click here. Note that in this e-learning course, successful completion of the course requires participation, not simply registration. In order to receive a certificate of completion at the end of the course, participants are required to (a) attend the weekly webinars in person or view recordings of any webinar they have missed and (b) complete the weekly homework assignments. Before you register, please carefully consider the dates and times of the scheduled webinars, as well as the additional time required each week for completion of the reading and assignments.

Cost:
The cost is $270 per person for CLINIC affiliate agencies; $295 per person for other nonprofit agency staff and; $425 per person for private attorneys and staff.

Registration:
Register by clicking here. The training is for the staff of Catholic Charities and other community-based organizations with IRS 501(c)(3) status, and attorneys and legal staff of private law offices. If you are registering as staff of a community-based organization, you must fax a copy of your IRS 501(c)(3) letter designating your agency as a nonprofit entity to CLINIC at 202-635-2649 to the attention of Andres Abella. Your registration will be confirmed upon receipt of this letter. If you are an attorney, please include your state bar number. Payment is by credit card only. Please note that only the person who registers for the training has authorized access to course webinars, the el-learning website and course materials. Please be sure to register under the correct category and for the correct training. All registration changes or cancellations are subject to an administrative charge of $70.00. Please note that CLINIC can only issue refunds for an e-learning course until one week prior to the first day of the training. Please note that we need the full name and a working email address for each individual taking this course. We will communicate with each registrant via email only, so it is very important that we have the correct name and email address for each registrant. On the registration form, please provide us the name and email address of the individual who will be taking the course. Space is limited. The deadline for registration is March 8, 2012, or sooner if registration is filled. For registration information contact Andres Abella at aabella@cliniclegal.org.

Technical Requirements:
Our e-learning webinars will be hosted through a webinar carrier that permits listening through your computer speakers or by plugging headphones into your computer. Your computer must have this capacity in order to participate in the webinars.