Nonimmigrant Visa Interview Best Practices: Planning for Success and Managing Denials
| Live Event Date: 05/13/2025 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Format | Length | CLE Eligible |
| Web Seminar | 90 min. | Yes |
Even though a nonimmigrant petition has been approved by USCIS, attorneys cannot rest, as the visa is not secured until it is approved at the U.S. embassy or consulate. How do attorneys effectively prepare a beneficiary for their visa interview? What steps can attorneys take if the consular officer refuses to issue the visa? Our panel of experts will offer guidance on how to plan for success and manage denials.
Featured Topics:
- Screening potential clients thoroughly, managing expectations, identifying risks at the start of a case (and communicating them to the parties)
- Counseling clients: offering advice on pre-interview travel and handling negative reaction after a denial (including disappointment, anger, and blame)
- Ensuring the beneficiary knows the importance of preserving the record
- Escalating the case at a U.S. embassy after denial, and when it is appropriate to engage LegalNet and/or reapply
- Evolving dropbox issues and other surprises
AILA Membership Benefit – Access to Free Seminar Recordings (CLE Credit Available for $35)
Enjoy access to free seminar recordings (from October 2020–present) as an AILA Member. AILA encourages live attendance for those wishing to ask the speaker questions. CLE credit is included with purchase for live participants.
Recordings will be available approximately two weeks after the live event date. AILA members can access these seminars, with no CLE credit, for free. Recordings are CLE eligible in most jurisdictions and an administration fee is required to obtain CLE credit.
Contact us at cle@aila.org or visit AILA’s Web Seminar Recordings page for more information about receiving CLE credit for a web seminar recording.
Eligible participants can receive up to 1.8 CLE credit hours. AILA will administer CLE credit only to individuals who register and log into the web seminar. AILA cannot verify your attendance and participation in this program unless you register directly for the web seminar and use your name to log in to participate in the program. Therefore, persons who log in or listen in on the web seminar as part of a group will not be able to obtain CLE credit.
Please note that your jurisdiction may limit the amount of distance learning credit you can earn. To view details on your jurisdiction's credit restrictions and CLE requirements, visit the CLE Center.
AILA has filed for CLE and specialized credit in all jurisdictions with mandatory CLE requirements. For details about specific approvals, contact us at cle@aila.org.
- AILA applies for accreditation upon attorneys’ request after participation for the following states: AR, DE, IA, ID, KS, KY, LA, ME, MN, MS, OR, TN and WY. Programs are typically approved.
- Florida and Rhode Island - Attorneys must apply on their own for approval of seminars in FL and RI. Programs are typically approved.
- The OnDemand Recording format does not qualify for CLE credit in the following jurisdictions: MO and PR. Please note that your jurisdiction may limit OnDemand credit based on the date of the original presentation. View the OnDemand Downloadable Expiration Chart for more details.
To receive CLE credit for the live event, attorneys must record web seminar attendance and the CLE code provided within one week of the web seminar date via webCLE.
Contact us at cle@aila.org or visit AILA’s Web Seminar Recordings page for more information about receiving CLE credit for a seminar recording.
Ravi Jain (DL), Toronto, Canada
Ravi Jain is the founder of Jain Immigration Law. He was presented with the Diamond Jubilee Medal by command of Her Majesty the Queen and is a certified immigration law specialist. He co-founded and is past President of the Canadian Immigration Lawyers Association and is past National Chair of the Canadian Bar Association Immigration Law Section. He has a BA(Hons) (Queen’s University), JD (The Osgoode Hall Law School) and LL.M. (The University of Michigan Law School).
Diane Holcombe-Geddens, AILA DOS Liaison Committee, Arlington, VA
Diane Holcombe-Geddens, a Senior Managing Attorney with Erickson Immigration Group, retired from the Department of State in 2023. As a consular-coned Foreign Service Officer, Diane’s overseas consular tours included Bogota, London, Matamoros, Berlin, and Islamabad, where she served as Consular Section Chief in Matamoros, Berlin, and Islamabad. Diane is a member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) and currently serves on the AILA-Department of State Liaison Committee and the RDC-EMEA Consular Liaison Committee.
Christi H. Jackson, AILA DOS Liaison Committee, London, UK
Christi H. Jackson is a Partner and Head of the US Practice at Laura Devine Immigration in London. She has 20 years of experience advising and preparing all categories of nonimmigrant and immigrant cases, with particular emphasis on consular cases, waivers of inadmissibility, and US citizen issues. Christi is currently serving her fourth term on AILA’s Department of State Liaison committee, is the American Citizen Services Interest Group leader, and is actively involved in AILA’s RDC-EMEA chapter.
José Miguel Marina, Pittsburgh, PA
José Miguel Marina is an Associate with Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney. He previously served as a consular officer for the U.S. State Department, where he was posted in Mexico and Colombia. Mr. Marina earned his JD from Georgetown University.
