Immigration Course

Lesson 1 • Sources of Immigration Authority

Maps the hierarchy of statutes, regulations, and agency guidance that govern immigration decisions. Students can identify which authority controls a given situation.

Lesson 2 • Visa Classification Framework

Surveys the major immigrant and nonimmigrant visa categories and their eligibility criteria. Provides the classification map used throughout the course.

Lesson 3 • Rights and Obligations of Noncitizens

Outlines the legal rights, procedural protections, and compliance duties of foreign nationals. Grounds students in the ethical and legal responsibilities of practitioners.

Lesson 4 • Core Immigration Terminology

Defines essential terms used across visa categories, petitions, and status documents. Precise vocabulary prevents misinterpretation of legal requirements.

Lesson 1 • Maintaining and Extending Nonimmigrant Status

Teaches the procedures for extending stay, changing status, and correcting violations. Students can identify and remedy common compliance failures before they escalate.

Lesson 2 • Temporary Work Visa Categories

Analyzes specialty occupation, intracompany, and treaty-based work visas. Prepares students to select and file the correct employment-based nonimmigrant petition.

Lesson 3 • Humanitarian Nonimmigrant Statuses

Reviews temporary protected status, deferred action, and humanitarian parole. Links these relief mechanisms to the broader asylum and refugee framework introduced later.

Lesson 4 • Visitor and Tourism Visas

Covers admission for pleasure, business visits, and visa-waiver programs. Establishes the nonimmigrant intent doctrine central to all temporary categories.

Lesson 1 • Consular Processing for Family Cases

Covers the National Visa Center process, consular interview preparation, and immigrant visa issuance. Prepares students to guide beneficiaries through overseas processing.

Lesson 2 • Adjustment of Status for Family Cases

Teaches the domestic path to permanent residence, including concurrent filing and interview preparation. Distinguishes adjustment eligibility from consular processing suitability.

Lesson 3 • Qualifying Family Relationships

Defines the spousal, parent-child, and sibling relationships that support immigrant petitions. Clarifies which relationships confer immediate relative status versus preference categories.

Lesson 4 • Priority Dates and Visa Availability

Explains the visa bulletin, cutoff dates, and strategies for managing long waits. Connects priority date mechanics to client counseling on realistic timelines.

Lesson 1 • Employment-Based Preference Categories

Maps the five employment-based preference tiers and their eligibility standards. Provides the classification foundation for all employer-sponsored petition work.

Lesson 2 • Employer Compliance Obligations

Reviews the ongoing duties employers assume when sponsoring workers, including wage and notification requirements. Prepares students to advise corporate clients on risk management.

Lesson 3 • Immigrant Petition Filing and Evidence

Covers petition preparation for each preference category, including extraordinary ability evidentiary standards. Students can build persuasive petition packages tailored to each tier.

Lesson 4 • Adjustment and Consular Processing

Applies adjustment of status and consular processing procedures to employment-based cases. Highlights differences from family-based processing, including portability rules.

Lesson 1 • Refugee Law Foundations

Introduces the international refugee definition, non-refoulement principle, and domestic implementation. Establishes the legal framework underlying all humanitarian protection claims.

Lesson 2 • Bars to Asylum and Withholding

Examines mandatory and discretionary bars that can defeat otherwise valid claims. Students can identify bar issues early and develop mitigation strategies.

Lesson 3 • Refugee Resettlement and Related Benefits

Covers the overseas refugee admissions process, resettlement benefits, and path to permanent residence. Connects humanitarian admission to long-term integration planning.

Lesson 4 • Asylum Application Process

Covers affirmative and defensive asylum filing, deadlines, and interview procedures. Students can identify the correct procedural track and prepare a complete application.

Lesson 1 • Criminal Immigration Consequences

Analyzes how criminal convictions trigger removability, inadmissibility, and bars to relief. Equips students to advise on immigration consequences before and after criminal proceedings.

Lesson 2 • Grounds of Inadmissibility and Removability

Surveys the statutory grounds that bar admission or trigger removal. Students can analyze a client's record to identify applicable grounds and potential waivers.

Lesson 3 • Removal Proceedings Mechanics

Explains the initiation, scheduling, and procedural stages of removal proceedings. Prepares students to navigate the immigration court process from notice to final order.

Lesson 4 • Appeals and Motions Practice

Teaches the appellate process, motions to reopen, and federal court review. Students can identify the correct appellate forum and draft effective post-hearing motions.

Lesson 1 • Naturalization Application and Interview

Walks through form preparation, biometrics, interview conduct, and oath ceremony. Prepares students to guide applicants through each procedural step.

Lesson 2 • Naturalization Eligibility Requirements

Covers continuous residence, physical presence, good moral character, and language requirements. Students can assess whether a client meets all statutory prerequisites.

Lesson 3 • Good Moral Character Issues

Analyzes criminal history, tax compliance, and other factors that affect good moral character findings. Students can identify and address character issues before filing.

Lesson 4 • Paths to U.S. Citizenship

Surveys acquisition at birth, derivation, and naturalization as the three citizenship pathways. Establishes the conceptual map for all citizenship analysis.

Lesson 1 • Ethics and Professional Responsibility

Reviews the ethical rules governing immigration practitioners, including unauthorized practice issues. Ensures students can identify and resolve ethical conflicts in daily practice.

Lesson 2 • Developing a Comprehensive Immigration Strategy

Teaches how to map a client's full immigration history and design a multi-step legal strategy. Synthesizes all prior course content into a unified case-planning framework.

Lesson 3 • Waivers and Discretionary Relief

Covers the major inadmissibility and removability waivers and the discretionary factors that govern them. Students can build compelling waiver packages for clients with adverse history.

Lesson 4 • Handling Complex and Mixed-Status Families

Addresses cases involving family members with different statuses, including undocumented individuals. Students can identify risks and opportunities across the entire family unit.