Have your clients been waiting for a decision for too long? Are your cases outside of standard processing times or are standard processing times beyond what is reasonable? Is the government unresponsive to status inquiries? There are remedies! Our panel of experts will provide practical tips regarding how to litigate your cases out of delay.

Featured Topics

• Mandamus: What Are the Requirements to File, and How Have Agencies and Courts Responded?
• "Unreasonable Delay" Claims Under the Administrative Procedure Act
• Practical Considerations for USCIS Delays: Family Petitions, Work Permits, U Visas, Naturalization, and Asylum Interviews
• Practical Considerations for Delays at DOS and Consulates Worldwide
• Where Should the Complaint Be Filed, and What Are the Steps to Successfully Complete Mandamus and Unreasonable Delay Litigation?

Free Downloadable Seminar Recording Included with Live Registration Included with registration, participants in the live seminar will receive a free downloadable recording of the seminar. It will be available in participant's Agora Digital Library approximately 4-7 business days from the seminar date.

Faculty

Bradley B. Banias, (DL) AILA Administrative Litigation Task Force, Mount Pleasant, SC

Brad Banias is an attorney with Wasden Banias, LLC. Brad started his career with the Justice Department’s Office of Immigration Litigation. At “OIL,” Brad defended various federal agencies in federal court litigation related to immigration benefits delays and denials. In private practice, Brad and his firm focus on federal court immigration litigation, and Wasden Banias was the recipient of the 2020 Jack Wasserman Memorial Award for excellence in litigation in the field of immigration law.

Jesse Bless, AILA Federal Litigation Director, Washington, DC

Jesse Matthew Bless is AILA’s Director of Federal Litigation, responsible for the development, filing and oversight of federal litigation and other legal strategies for AILA. Prior to joining AILA, Mr. Bless most worked for Jeff Goldman Immigration as Senior Litigation Counsel in Boston, Massachusetts, where he had responsibility for the federal litigation of business immigration cases. His experience prior to private practice includes more than a decade with the Department of Justice. He began his career as a member of the Attorney General's Honors Program working at the Executive Office for Immigration Review. He also worked as a Special Assistant United States Attorney in Washington, D.C., and spent the majority of his career at the Office of Immigration Litigation where he represented the U.S. Attorney General in all civil immigration litigation before the federal district courts and circuit courts of appeals.

Eleanor Pelta, AILA Past President/Administrative Litigation Task Force Vice Chair, Washington, DC

Eleanor Pelta is a past President of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA). A partner in the labor and employment law practice of Morgan Lewis & Bockius, she co-manages the firm’s global immigration practice, with practice groups in San Francisco, Washington, D.C., Boston, and London. The practice focuses on assisting corporate clients in the management of large-scale global immigration programs, implementation of immigration policies and procedures, as well as assistance with all aspects of immigration compliance. Ms. Pelta was named one of the leading U.S. immigration lawyers by Chambers USA and Chambers Global and is consistently listed in Best Lawyers in America. The Legal Times has named Ms. Pelta one of the “Top 10 Immigration Lawyers in DC.” Ms. Pelta is a member of AILA’s Board of Governors. She served as a trustee of the American Immigration Council for several years, helped to organize the first immigrant achievement awards ceremonies, and was a founder of what is now the AIC Community Education Center. Ms. Pelta is also a Board member of New York’s Lower East Side Tenement Museum. She is the 2014 recipient of AILA’s Edith Lowenstein Award for Excellence in Advancing the Practice of Immigration Law, and the 2015 recipient of the Susan D. Quarles AILA Service Excellence Award. Ms. Pelta is a recipient of the 2016 Golden Door Award, given by HIAS of Pennsylvania. In 2018, Ms. Pelta was named a National Law Journal Trailblazer in Immigration Law, and Immigration Lawyer of the Year for DC by Best Lawyers in America.

Sabrina Damast, Los Angeles, CA

Sabrina Damast is an attorney in Los Angeles, CA. Her practice focuses on removal defense, family immigration, humanitarian immigration, appeals, federal litigation, and post-conviction relief motions. She is the secretary of the AILA Southern California Chapter, a member of the Removal Defense Section Steering Committee, and the Chair of the Amicus Committee.

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