E-learning Course:  
Introduction to Family-Based Immigration   

This six-week training will explore the process of gaining permanent residence through a family relationship. We will cover which individuals are eligible based on family relationships, and how each step of the process works. Throughout the course, participants will review both the law and procedure for immigrating through a family relationship, including examination and critique of sample application forms. Topics covered will include: immediate relatives and the preference system, retention of priority dates, the Child Status Protection Act, immigrating through marriages, the affidavit of support, adjustment of status and consular processing. In addition, the first webinar of the course will provide an overview of DACA, Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals.

The course includes seven webinars conducted on consecutive Tuesdays at 2:00pm eastern time starting on October 16, 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, reviewing sample applications, 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.  The course requires a time commitment of approximately four hours per week for each of the six weeks of the course.  Although we encourage participants to attend the live webinars each week, participants will be able to listen to and view recordings of the webinars on the course website. The instructors for this course are CLINIC attorneys Kristina Karpinski and Debbie Smith.