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PRODID:-//AILA MidSouth Chapter//Vice v. Virtue 2026//EN
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METHOD:PUBLISH
X-WR-CALNAME:AILA MidSouth 2026 · Session 12
X-WR-TIMEZONE:America/Chicago
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TZID:America/Chicago
X-LIC-LOCATION:America/Chicago
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DTSTART:19700308T020000
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DTSTART:19701101T020000
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UID:aila-midsouth-2026-session-12@vice-v-virtue
DTSTAMP:20261112T130745Z
DTSTART;TZID=America/Chicago:20261113T152000
DTEND;TZID=America/Chicago:20261113T162000
SUMMARY:12 · Good People\, Bad Discretion: The New Morality of USCIS
LOCATION:Room B\, Renaissance New Orleans Arts Hotel\, 700 Tchoupitoulas St
 reet\, New Orleans\, LA 70130
DESCRIPTION:Vice v. Virtue: Immigration Law in a Complex World\nAILA MidSou
 th Chapter Conference 2026 · Session 12 · Room B · Professionalism\n\nP
 anelists:\n• Brittany Faith (Abbott\, Weiss & Faith\, Chattanooga\, Tenn
 essee)\n• Eszter Bardi (Sonoda Law Firm\, Atlanta\, Georgia)\n• Helen 
 Parsonage (Elliot Morgan Parsonage\, Winston-Salem\, North Carolina)\n\nUS
 CIS's May 2026 policy memorandum emphasizing adjustment of status as a dis
 cretionary benefit has shifted the focus from merely proving eligibility t
 o proving why a client deserves approval. Practitioners now face increased
  scrutiny of credibility\, character\, rehabilitation\, and the positive a
 nd negative equities that can influence an officer's exercise of discretio
 n.\n\nThis panel examines how Good Moral Character and discretionary adjud
 ications are evolving\, with a focus on interview preparation\, credibilit
 y issues\, and building a record that supports a favorable exercise of dis
 cretion. Through practical examples and mock interview scenarios\, partici
 pants will learn how to prepare clients for an increasingly subjective adj
 udication environment.\n\nThe panel will discuss:\n• USCIS's May 2026 di
 scretion memorandum and its impact on Good Moral Character and discretiona
 ry adjudications.\n• Framing Good Moral Character beyond the statutory m
 inimum by highlighting credibility\, rehabilitation\, and positive equitie
 s.\n• Identifying and addressing negative equities\, adverse facts\, and
  character concerns before they become interview problems.\n• Preparing 
 clients for difficult\, subjective\, or unexpected interview questions.\n
 • Mock interview scenarios and “Am I Being Punk’d?” moments to bui
 ld stronger\, more credible case presentations.
CATEGORIES:AILA MidSouth 2026,Room B,Professionalism
STATUS:CONFIRMED
TRANSP:OPAQUE
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