Business and Humanitarian Immigration: Strategies for Representing Employers and Employees with Humanitarian Protections
Course Details
- smart_display Format
On-Demand
- signal_cellular_alt Difficulty Level
Intermediate
- work Practice Area
Immigration
- event Date
Thursday, December 19, 2024
- schedule Time
1:00 p.m. ET./10:00 a.m. PT
- timer Program Length
90 minutes
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This 90-minute webinar is eligible in most states for 1.5 CLE credits.
This CLE course will provide guidance to business immigration attorneys on strategies for representing employees and employers where employees hold humanitarian protections such as Temporary Protected Status (TPS) or asylum and the employees seek permanent residency. The panel will also discuss the streamlined process for D-3 waivers for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients as well as the potential implications of the new administration.
Ms. Leja is a principal at the law firm of Minsky, McCormick & Hallagan, P.C. Her practice includes both employment-based and family-based immigration law. Ms. Leja is also an adjunct professor at the John Marshall Law School in Chicago, teaching Business Aspects of Immigration Law, and serves as a Board Member for the Young Center for Immigrant Children’s Rights, a national organization that advocates for the rights and best interests of immigrant children in removal proceedings. She was inspired to practice immigration law based on her own personal immigration story. Ms. Leja was born in Poland and immigrated to the United States when she was 8 years old. Her personal journey was featured in Super Lawyers Magazine.
Mr. Shah has the ability to take the complex and confusing nature of immigration law and simplify it for his clients. His goal is to not only help them comply with the multifaceted requirements of U.S. immigration law, but also to ensure that as clients source global talent, they thrive in environments that can be hostile to migration. Mr. Shah also counsels employers who seek assistance and counsel on self-audits and responding to I-9 audits by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Social Security Administration (SSA) no-match letters, and Department of Labor wage and hour audits of H-1B workers. He also maintains a pro bono practice assisting individuals and families through the National Immigrant Justice Center and Chicago Volunteer Legal Services.
Humanitarian programs like TPS and asylum offer pathways to legally join the U.S. workforce for individuals who have faced significant challenges. These humanitarian programs provide stability and security to those seeking to immigrate as well as open opportunities for professional development and community integration. The programs provide significant benefits to businesses as well by allowing them to access a diverse and skilled workforce, often filling critical gaps in the labor market. There is also the potential to apply for lawful permanent residency.
To make the immigration system more efficient and predictable, the White House recently announced an executive order aimed at streamlining the D-3 waiver process and thereby easing the pathway to work visas for DACA recipients, Dreamers, and undocumented individuals who have received a bachelor's degree or higher from a U.S. higher education institution.
How this initiative and others will fare in the hands of the new administration in 2025 and beyond remains to be seen. However, representing clients at the intersection of business immigration and humanitarian immigration will continue to present complex issues. Business immigration practitioners need to be aware of the emerging issues in this evolving area of immigration law and policy to provide effective representation to clients.
Listen as our experienced panel discusses the potential intersections and conflicts between business immigration law and humanitarian protections, how relief categories such as TPS and asylum can impact employment-based immigration strategies, the implications of the new administration, and more.
- Understanding humanitarian protections
- TPS
- Asylum
- DACA
- Eligibility for employment
- TPS and asylum holders
- Challenges and legal issues in maintaining employment while under humanitarian protection
- Effect on sponsorship for employment-based immigration petitions
- DACA and Dreamers
- TPS and asylum holders
- Pathways to permanent residency
- TPS or asylum to lawful permanent residency
- DACA: complexities and limitations
- Managing transitions between statuses
- Simultaneous or sequential petitions
- Impact of humanitarian protections on employment-based visas
- Legal and ethical considerations
- Managing client expectations and ethical concerns
- Avoiding common pitfalls in petitioning for business visas
- Implications of the new presidential administration
The panel will review these and other key issues:
- What are the key elements of TPS and asylum for those seeking work authorization and eventual permanent residency in the U.S.?
- What are the contours of the streamlined D-3 waiver process?
- What are strategies and best practices for navigating the interplay of business immigration petitions and humanitarian protections?
- Will it become more difficult to obtain permanent residency under the new administration?
- What are the potential impacts of the new administration on business immigration for those protected under humanitarian categories?
