I recently had the immense honour of being asked to be a speaker for the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) Spring Conference, held on this occasion in Rome, Italy. As speaker and discussion leader, I had the pleasure of speaking on the panel with fellow US immigration Attorney Greg Boos. The presentation was followed by a lively discussion from our delightful audience, generating an array of thought-provoking questions.
We heard from a number of noted speakers on a wide variety of US immigration topics, including US immigration practitioners and representatives of the US government. We were particularly grateful to be able to hear from, and ask questions of, the Chief of the Legal Advisory Opinion Section of the US Department of State's Visa Office and the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Europe, Middle East and Africa Deputy District Director.
The conference was very well attended, bringing together US immigration lawyers who practice US immigration law around the world. The value of such conferences cannot be overstated as it allows an important exchange of ideas and experiences to take place which ultimately benefits the US immigration applicants we have the pleasure of assisting.
Beyond the conference, Rome was a truly amazing place to visit. A living history museum, the Colosseum was breath-taking once you managed to navigate past the crushing crowds and gain entry into what was formerly the gladiators' fighting arena. With an estimated seating capacity of around 50,000, this is truly a colossal structure well-worth a visit should you find yourself in Rome. Of course, no visit to Italy would be complete without sampling some of its well-documented culinary delights, making the trip to Rome a thoroughly enjoyable experience!