Withdrawing a case with USCIS can be tricky: the practitioner must balance client autonomy with the duty of competent, ethical representation. In some situations, a client wants to withdraw an application for their own reasons. In other situations, the attorney discovers that a case should be withdrawn due to legal concerns or ethical obligations. Panelists will discuss the tightrope act that attorneys must walk evaluating when and if to withdraw a USCIS case.

Featured Topics

• Timing of filing the withdrawal request
• Informed consent
• Risks of withdrawal: Notice to Appear triggers, USCIS possibly still issuing a decision or finding fraud
• Ethical rules to consider with withdrawal requests
  • ABA Model Rules 1.1 (Competence) and 2.1 (Advisor)
  • ABA Model Rule 8.4: case withdrawn due to prior attorney misconduct, which necessitates the request

Faculty

Farah Al-khersan (DL), AILA Ethics Committee Chair, Ann Arbor, MI

Jesse M. Bless, AILA Benefits Litigation Committee Vice Chair/Federal Court Litigation Section Steering Committee, Georgetown, MA

Catherine Seitz, AILA VAWA, Us, and Ts Committee Chair, San Francisco, CA

Kenneth Craig Dobson, New York, NY

AILA Membership Benefit

AILA Membership Benefit – Access to Free Seminar Recordings
Enjoy access to free seminar recordings as an AILA Member. AILA encourages live attendance for those wishing to ask the speaker questions. Recordings will be available approximately two weeks after the live event date. AILA members can access these seminars, with no CLE credit, for free.