Heightened vetting is no longer limited to USCIS. DOS and EOIR adjudicators, too, are now reviewing old records and scrutinizing prior filings to identify fraud or misrepresentation under INA §212(a)(6)(C)(i). Our experts will outline practical, methodical strategies for challenging such findings at consulates, USCIS, or in removal proceedings. Learn how to spot potential issues early, respond effectively to government claims, and evaluate whether to contest inadmissibility or seek a waiver.

Featured Topics

• The new vetting landscape: how USCIS, consular officers, and EOIR are identifying and developing fraud allegations
• Understanding “willfulness” (subjective intent) and “materiality” (the “but-for” causation in the line of inquiry)
• Strategic rebuttals to RFEs, NOIDs, and consular findings alleging fraud or willful misrepresentation under INA §212(a)(6)(C)(i)
• Fighting the charge versus pivoting to a waiver strategy
• Adapting defense strategies for USCIS administrative adjudications, consular decisions, and the evolving landscape of EOIR removal proceedings

Faculty

Michael Sharma-Crawford (DL), AILA Board of Directors/Removal Defense Section Steering Committee, Kansas City, MO

Jesse Evans-Schroeder, AILA Federal Court Litigation Section Steering Committee, Tucson, AZ
Jesse Evans-Schroeder is a partner at Green Evans-Schroeder, where she leads the firm's removal defense, appellate, and federal litigation practice. She represents noncitizens in immigration courts nationwide, before the Board of Immigration Appeals, federal district courts, and the federal courts of appeals. She is known for her tenacious defense of noncitizens in high-stakes removal proceedings and federal court litigation. She serves on AILA's Federal Court Litigation Steering Committee and previously served on the Family Section Steering Committee.

Ana Maria Schwartz, AILA Family Section Steering Committee, Houston, TX
Ana Maria Schwartz is the owner of Schwartz Immigration Law, PLLC. She is a member of AILA's Family Section Steering Committee and SCOPE Committee, a former member of the Distance Learning Committee, and past chair of the AILA AC25 Family Track. She is a proud member of the Texas Chapter of AILA. Ms. Schwartz received her J.D. from Temple University Beasley School of Law.

Matt Mauntel-Medici, Des Moines, IA

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.
• 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 by September 29, 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.