Consular Processing for Experts Seminar 

Goel & Anderson attorneys will appear as invited speakers in a multi-part ILW.com Legal Education Seminar series titled "Consular Processing for Experts."

Firm partner Erik Anderson will appear as a panelist in the first session, "Expanded Attorney Vulnerabilities in International Practice" on May 21, 2009.

On June 11, 2009, Goel & Anderson's Managing Partner, Vic Goel, will join the panel for the second session in the series, "A New Universe of Risks - "Random" Audits by Federal Document and Benefits Fraud Task Forces."

The Consular Processing for Experts seminar series will cover the following topic areas:

First Session on May 21: Expanded Attorney Vulnerabilities in International Practice

  • Mitigating the loss of Attorney-Client Privilege - is there still any Reasonable Expectation of Privacy in international communications?
  • Specific changes in FISA law impacting international lawyers - risks associated with Attorney-Client communications and records systems.
  • The expanded Visa Waiver Program (VWP) - the new ESTA background check system, what gets checked, and derogatory information in DHS data banks.
  • Reviewing VWP and B-1/B-2 applications for 9 FAM grounds of inadmissibility
  • Sec. 214(b) and 221(g) grounds of inadmissibility - differentiating the routine from the permanent - how to deal with Category 1 and Category 2 visa denials.
  • Anticipating the Security Advisory Opinion (SAO) - when and how to communicate with the Visa Office.
  • Discussion of select consular posts
  • Hot topics update

Second Session on June 11: A New Universe of Risks - "Random" Audits by Federal Document and Benefits Fraud Task Forces

  • Hard lessons from the al-Haramain and Kuene Cases - Targeted Surveillance of Attorney-Client Communications and Task Force "Sting" Operations against Attorneys with Foreign Clients
  • Practice before multiple agencies pose special risks for immigration attorneys - risks and duties of lawyers along the lifespan of exposure from initial client contact to disposal of closed case records. Multiple agency data mining and information sharing of records obtained in the US and abroad.
  • Everyone's at Risk - random document and benefits fraud audits, ICE data mining process, profiling programs. Avoid being selected for "random" audits.
  • H and L cases, LCAs, evaluations, corporate records - prime targets for joint State Dept DS and DOL investigations, DBFTFs, and other multiple agency task forces.
  • The expanding view of attorney culpability and mandatory Due Diligence requirements in all practice areas before federal agencies -
  • Discussion of select consular posts
  • Hot topics update

Third Session on July 16: Consular Posts: Know Your Red Flags and At-Risk Clients. Do Your Due Diligence Like Your Career Depends on It

  • Avoiding Audits and Task Forces: Best Practices in an Environment of Data-Mining and Surveillance of Immigration and Consular Applications
  • Background Checks of Non-Immigrants and Immigrant Visa Applicants - Who Gets Checked, How it Gets Checked, and What to Expect
  • Specific systems and criteria that State Dept. visa officials and USCIS examiners use to identify problems
  • Law Firm Risk Management of high-risk clients
  • Profiling and red flags that DOS and various federal agencies use to assess the persons and entities they investigate
  • Resources for attorneys to develop their own risk assessments, and a practical guide to risk factors and self-audits. Guide to approaching cases like a consular examiner or USCIS examiner
  • Lessons learned from Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and counter-party risk reduction programs of large international banks and accounting firms to reduce/mitigate the risks counsel is ensnared in government databases and potential investigations
  • Approaches for solo practitioners and small companies to develop in-house systems to identify and mitigate risks
  • Discussion of select consular posts
  • Hot topics update

The Consular Processing for Experts seminar series features prominent immigration attorneys in a high-level discussion intended as legal education for other attorneys.

Information on how to register for the seminars or purchase audio CD recordings of the series is available through ILW.com, a leading Internet portal and legal publisher focused on immigration issues.

 

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