Is This a T Visa? - 4/30/24

Speakers: Emma Buckthal

Speaker Qualifications:

Emma Buckthal is an immigration attorney near Buffalo, New York. She was a one of the FBI's 2018 Director’s Community Leadership Award Recipients. In a ceremony at FBI Headquarters on May 3, 2019, Director Christopher Wray recognized the recipients of the 2018 Director’s Community Leadership Award. These leaders, selected by their area FBI field office, have demonstrated outstanding contributions to their local communities through service. She received her JD summa cum laude from the University at Buffalo Law School, and her BA magna cum laude from Alfred University. She worked for the Erie County Bar Association Volunteer Lawyers Project (VLP) from 2010 to 2022.

There, she focused her legal work on immigrants before USCIS, EOIR, and ICE. Before joining VLP, she volunteered at VLP for three years as a student intern, and spent summers at Kalikova & Associates in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, and Chadbourne and Parke LLP in New York, New York. She also taught English in Taiwan before attending law school. Emma is fluent in Spanish and conversational in Arabic and Turkish.

During these 2 hours, the following questions and answers will be reviewed in detail:

• What fact pattern may qualify an individual to apply for T visa status

• What might make a case for a T visa more difficult?

• If this is a more difficult case, are there tips for improving the case strategy, tips for what types of evidence may be helpful, and tips for reporting to law enforcement for that fact pattern?

• This is a fact intensive UNRECORDED live Zoom training – bring your questions and there should be time to go in depth on at least 2 specific hypotheticals proposed by audience members, using the rubric for analyzing T visa eligibility

• If we happen to go over time in the discussion, additional CLE credit not provided (just consider it fun extra info!)

For this event, it’s okay for lawyers and their paralegals to attend

Rules on recording:

• This will not be recorded so please join us for the live virtual

• All participants must honor these rules as the discussion topics are sensitive and involve law enforcement issues.

• Third-party recordings or participant recordings are strictly forbidden.

North Carolina CLE will be requested by Helen Tarokic Law PLLC

• NC CLE credit will be requested since the organizer is based in North Carolina

• Attorneys licensed outside of NC can attend. A certificate of attendance will be provided upon request for those who need proof of attendance.

• Attorney-supervised paralegals may attend for educational purposes.

• Attorney-supervised means the paralegal must be employed by a licensed attorney and under regular supervision to prevent the unauthorized practice of law.

• Attorneys signing up paralegals take responsibility for their employee’s registration fees and participation in the program and agree to pay full and fair wages for time the paralegal trains in the seminar as part of work hours/on-the-job training.

This is an interdisciplinary seminar, so please be mindful that we will have individuals of various levels of knowledge attending and have law enforcement, therapists, and other anti-trafficking professionals in attendance. It will be an excellent opportunity for all.