Steven D. Heller (DL), AILA DOS Liaison Committee Vice Chair, Lewes, East Sussex, UK

Steven D. Heller is the Director of Heller Immigration Law, Ltd., a UK-based US immigration law firm established in 2008 with a satellite office in New York. Steven is also Of Counsel to Chavin Immigration Law Office in London. A graduate of Binghamton University (BA) and Georgetown (JD), he has been practicing US immigration law since 1992, with particular interest in consular practice and inadmissibility issues. Before establishing his firm, Steven worked with USCIS at the US Embassy-London, USCIS Headquarters in Washington, DC, and the Newark and New York Asylum Offices. He was a supervising attorney with the New York Association for New Americans, and worked in small private law firms in New York, Washington, DC, and London. He is licensed to practice law in the State of New York and admitted to the Federal District Court for the Southern District of New York. he has spoken on US immigration matters before various groups and associations, including the American Bar Association, the American Academy of Adoption Attorneys, and AILA. He has been quoted in UK media and appeared on CNN as an expert in US immigration law. He has published articles on immigration in various journals. He is vice-chair of the AILA National DOS Liaison Committee.

Claire S. Pratt, AILA DOS Liaison Committee, San Francisco, CA

Claire S. Pratt is Principal & Managing Attorney at Jewell Stewart & Pratt PC in San Francisco, California. She is certified as a Legal Specialist in Immigration and Nationality Law by the Board of Legal Specialization of the State Bar of California. She practices primarily business- and employment-related immigration. Claire currently serves on AILA’s Department of State Liaison Committee and is Past Chair of the Northern California Chapter of AILA.

Bryan Y. Funai, Schaumburg, IL

Bryan Y. Funai is a principal in Masuda Funai in Chicago and advises clients on the immigration aspects in corporate structuring, business transactions, reorganizations and the establishment of subsidiaries, as well as regarding strategic business immigration. Bryan advises on the immigration consequences of corporate reorganizations, worksite compliance and employment verification audits. His knowledge of all types of immigrant and nonimmigrant visas allows him to determine which is best suited to the needs of each client he serves. He also advises executives on their eligibility for permanent residency and the application process required to obtain this status. Bryan is a founding member of the Alliance of Business Immigration Lawyers, an Illinois “Super Lawyer,” and listed in Who’s Who Legal in Corporate Immigration, Leading Lawyers Network (Thought Leader) and The Best Lawyers in America.

Jan M. Pederson, Bethesda, MD

Jan M. Pederson is a partner at Wright, Constable & Skeen, LLP. in the Washington, DC area. She is recognized by The Washington Post as a leading lawyer in Washington, D.C., as a “Super Lawyer,” and as a “Best Lawyer” by The Washingtonian magazine. She was awarded the prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award by the Daily Record and the Maryland State Bar Association. Ms. Pederson has dedicated over 40 years to the practice of immigration and nationality law, with a specialization in representing clients in consular processing, in representing foreign physicians and EB-5 investors. She served as Chair of the AILA D.C. Chapter and as an elected director of the AILA national Board of Governors for 18 years. She was an editor of AILA’s Visa Processing Guide and Consular Post Handbook since inception and is a frequent author and speaker on the topic of consular processing and J-1 Physicians locally, nationally and internationally. Ms. Pederson has traveled to 27 consular posts to represent clients in person and is a tireless advocate for access to counsel by visa applicants worldwide and has represented thousands of clients in consular processing, focusing on nonimmigrant visas.

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.