Dependent family members in employment-based immigrant visa cases are facing intensified challenges under the current administration. Policies that once supported family unity have been deprioritized or eliminated, leading to unprecedented scrutiny, delays, and risk exposure for spouses and children. Our panel of experts will offer practical strategies on the optimal timing and procedures for filing cases amid evolving policies and changes to priority dates.

Featured Topics

• Keeping families together: navigating split files and staggered adjudications
• Getting specific: addressing the unique needs of each family member, including teens aging out and school concerns during the immigrant visa process
• Documenting dependent eligibility under heightened scrutiny: proving bona fide marital and parental relationships
  • What are the latest RFE trends?
• Family-owned sponsors: proactive approach to I-864 and affidavit of support challenges

Faculty

Ari J. Sauer (DL), AILA Author, AILA’s Immigration Law Practice and Procedure Manual, 4th ed., Memphis, TN
Ari J. Sauer is a Partner at Siskind Susser, PC, practicing exclusively U.S. immigration and nationality law. Ari represents both corporate clients and individuals in all areas of U.S. immigration law. He assists businesses in obtaining visas, permanent residence, and citizenship for their employees and their families. He also assists U.S. citizens and permanent residents in sponsoring their family members for immigrant and nonimmigrant visas, as well as helping individuals become U.S. citizens.

Olivia Serene Lee, AILA Board of Directors, San Francisco, CA
Olivia Serene Lee is an immigration law partner at Minami Tamaki LLP in San Francisco. She serves on AILA's Board of Governors, the Editorial Board of the AILA Law Journal, and Political Engagement Committee. Recognized with the 2018 Unity Award from the Minority Bar Coalition and 2022 AILA DEI Award, her accolades include Best Lawyers in America, SuperLawyers, Who’s Who Legal, Chambers USA, and Fellow of the American Bar Foundation.

Sasha N. Westerman-Keuning, AILA Family Section Steering Committee Vice Chair, Clayton, GA
Sasha N. Westerman-Keuning is a founding partner of Rostova Westerman Law Group. She is a Florida Bar Board Certified Specialist in Immigration and Nationality Law and sits on the Florida Bar Board Certification committee. She is the current Vice-Chair of the AILA Family Section Steering Committee. Ms. Westerman-Keuning received her BA from Boston College (2006) and JD from the University of Miami School of Law (2009).

Sharadha Kodem, Irving, TX
Sharadha Kodem, Managing Attorney at Kodem Law Firm, brings a deeply personal immigration journey to her legal practice. Arriving in the U.S. on an F-1 visa, then working as a software engineer on an H-1B, she later overcame a wrongful deportation process herself. That experience shapes her dual focus today: Business Immigration and Federal Litigation for IT organizations and start-ups, and humanitarian advocacy through U Visas, VAWA, Asylum, and Humanitarian Parole—delivering strategic counsel rooted in lived experience.

CLE Credit

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.

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• 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 by September 1, 2026 via My CLE. CLE certificates will be available for download the day after the deadline reporting date.

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. 

AILA Membership Benefit

AILA Membership Benefit – Access to Free Seminar Recordings (CLE Credit Available for $35)
Enjoy access to free seminar recordings 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 a $35 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.