Family-based immigration allows certain USCs and LPRs to petition for their spouses, children, and parents to become permanent residents. Some spouses, children, and parents who have been abused by USCs or LPRs are eligible to file self-petitions under the Violence Against Women Act and gain permanent residence without the involvement of the abusers. This four-week course provides an introduction to VAWA self-petitioning, focusing on eligibility, how, when and where to apply, and how to document VAWA self-petitions. We will also explore the dynamics of abusive relationships and working with survivors of domestic violence. The instructors for this course will be CLINIC attorneys Kristina Karpinski and Susan Schreiber. The course includes five webinars conducted on consecutive Thursdays at 2:00pm eastern time starting on September 6, 2012. Each webinar lasts approximately ninety minutes, and will be recorded and posted on the course website after the webinar is conducted. In addition to the weekly webinars, the e-learning course provides a variety of activities for self-directed learning, including reading assignments, exercises, sample case files to review, quizzes, and discussion questions. The course will be interactive, with opportunities for online and real-time discussion among students, and between the students and the instructors. Although we encourage participants to attend the live webinars each week, you will be able to listen to and view a recording of any webinar you are unable to attend, whenever you choose to do so.

Training Level:
Introductory. This is an introduction to VAWA self-petitioning 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 live webinars, click here. Course participants are required to attend or view recordings of all course webinars in order to receive a course completion certificate at the end of the course. Please note that in order to listen to the webinars, you will need either a speaker or a set of headphones for your computer. There will not be a telephone audio option.

Cost:
$200 per person for CLINIC affiliate agencies; $225 per person for other nonprofit agency staff and; $325 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 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 provide 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 listed on the registration form. Space is limited. The deadline for registration is August 31 or sooner if registration is filled. For registration information contact Andres Abella at aabella@cliniclegal.org. For questions about the course content, please contact Susan Schreiber at sschreiber@cliniclegal.org.