Artificial Intelligence (AI), Federal Court, Immigration Law

Citizenship Applications Are Now Enforcement Triggers: Advising and Litigating Under AI Vetting, IRS-ICE Data Sharing, and the Denaturalization Surge

Naturalization advice has changed: AI vetting, IRS-ICE data sharing, and a civil denaturalization surge now shadow every N-400. Learn to triage clients by risk, audit records before filing, and litigate delays and denials under the APA and due process doctrine.

2026-08-14 13:00:00

Live

Jesse Matthew Bless

Bless Litigation LLC

Lance Curtright

De Mott, Curtright & Armendáriz, LLP

Program Details

Live

2026-08-14 13:00:00

Over 1,000+ webinars

2026-08-14 13:00:00

Live

Jesse Matthew Bless

Bless Litigation LLC

Lance Curtright

De Mott, Curtright & Armendáriz, LLP

Program Details

Live

2026-08-14 13:00:00

Program Details

2026-08-14 13:00:00

Over 1,000+ webinars

2026-08-14 13:00:00

Live

Course Overview

Filing an N-400 now opens three federal enforcement pipelines at once

2026-08-14 13:00:00

Naturalization practice changed in 2025. USCIS issued vetting memoranda PM-602-0192 and PM-602-0194. The IRS opened a taxpayer data pipeline to ICE. The DOJ’s Shumate Memo directed a civil denaturalization surge. The nationwide vacatur in *Dorcas* and the April 2026 FBI NGI resubmission freeze reshaped pending cases. The Atlanta Vetting Center now screens applications with AI tools such as StateChat and ImmigrationOS.

The stakes compound quickly. A client files taxes with an ITIN, and the IRS-ICE memorandum of understanding exposes that record. An application clears approval, and the USCIS Vetting Center can still reopen review. A false statement meets the *Maslenjak* materiality test, and 8 U.S.C. § 1451(a) revocation follows. DOJ filed more than 64 civil denaturalization cases between January and March 2025. D.D.C. and D. Mass. injunctions constrain the data pipeline. Relief in *Doe v. Trump* reaches only 266 named plaintiffs.

Attendees leave with practitioner work product: client triage frameworks, pre-filing audit checklists for social media and financial records, administrative record checklists, and litigation roadmaps built on *Dorcas*, *Wagafe v. USCIS*, and *Doe v. Trump*. This is judgment work that no automated screening tool replaces.

Format

Live

CLE Credit

2h CLE Credits

Level

Intermediate

Length

Key topics that will be covered

Adjudication Freeze Triage

Determining whether a client’s N-400 is frozen, released, or unreasonably delayed under PM-602-0192, PM-602-0194, and the nationwide vacatur in Dorcas.

Expanded Criminal Checks

Preparing clients for the April 27, 2026, FBI Next Generation Identification resubmission and the expanded criminal history disclosures it triggers in pending cases.

IRS-ICE Data Exposure

Advising clients who filed with an ITIN or as nonresident aliens under the IRS-ICE memorandum of understanding and applying the IRC § 6103(i)(2) injunctions from the D.D.C. and D. Mass. that constrain ICE’s use of taxpayer data.

Holistic Vetting Audits

Running pre-filing audits of social media, financial records, and community interviews against the holistic vetting standard now applied by USCIS officers.

APA Litigation Theories

Identifying the APA and due process theories that succeeded and failed in Dorcas, Wagafe v. USCIS, and Doe v. Trump, including why injunctive relief remains limited to named plaintiffs.

Denaturalization Defense Strategy

Defending Shumate Memo cases through the Maslenjak materiality standard, the clear, convincing, and unequivocal evidence burden, and the statutory limits of 8 U.S.C. § 1451(a).

Program schedule

1:00 pm - 2:00 pm EST

Advising Naturalization Clients Under the New AI Vetting and Cross-Agency Data-Sharing Regime

This session equips immigration attorneys to advise N-400 clients navigating the post-2025 adjudication landscape, including USCIS policy memoranda PM-602-0192 and PM-602-0194, the aftermath of these policies due to the nationwide vacatur issued in Dorcas, the April 2026 FBI Next Generation Identification resubmission freeze, the Atlanta Vetting Center’s AI-driven screening tools, and the IRS-ICE data-sharing pipeline. Attorneys will learn how to prepare clients filing a N-400, awaiting an interview, preparation for an interview, and post-interview options to seek review.

Jesse Matthew Bless

Lance Curtright

2:10 pm - 3:10 pm EST

Federal Court Challenges to Algorithmic Adjudication, the IRS-ICE Data Pipeline, and Civil Denaturalization

This session examines the federal court remedies available to challenge naturalization delays, naturalization denials, and the DOJ’s civil denaturalization surge under the Shumate Memo. Attorneys will analyze the APA, due process, and statutory arguments that have succeeded and failed in live litigation, including Dorcas, Wagafe v. USCIS, and Doe v. Trump. Attendees will leave with a working framework for identifying viable claims, building the administrative record, and advising clients on exposure across all three enforcement pipelines.

Jesse Matthew Bless

Lance Curtright

Jesse Matthew Bless

Bless Litigation LLC

Lance Curtright

De Mott, Curtright & Armendáriz, LLP

Jesse Matthew Bless

Bless Litigation LLC

Jesse M. Bless is the founder and owner of Bless Litigation LLC. In 2004, Jesse was selected for the Attorney General’s Honors Program at the Department of Justice. Jesse worked at the DOJ between September 2004 and May 2017. In September 2019, Jesse was selected as the American Immigration Lawyers Association’s first Director of Federal Litigation. In September 2022, Jesse started Bless Litigation LLC.

Education & Credentials

Mr. Bless entered federal practice in 2004 through the Attorney General's Honors Program at the U.S. Department of Justice. He is admitted to practice law in Massachusetts and litigates in U.S. District Courts nationwide.

Recognition & Leadership

In 2025, Mr. Bless received the Jack Wasserman Award, presented annually by the American Immigration Lawyers Association to the attorney who has made the most significant contribution to the development of immigration law through federal litigation.

Professional Involvement

From 2019 to 2022, Mr. Bless served as AILA's first Director of Federal Litigation, shaping national strategy for federal immigration litigation and supporting attorneys across the country.

Experience

During thirteen years at the Department of Justice, Mr. Bless worked for the Executive Office for Immigration Review, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia, and the Office of Immigration Litigation. From 2017 to 2019, he managed the litigation practice group at Jeff Goldman Immigration in Boston. Today he represents companies and individuals seeking relief from immigration-related decisions and delays in federal court, including mandamus actions against USCIS, visa denial challenges, and circuit court petitions for review.

Lance Curtright

De Mott, Curtright & Armendáriz, LLP

Lance Curtright is the Managing Partner of De Mott, Curtright & Armendáriz, LLP in San Antonio, Texas. He has practiced immigration law since 2001 and is Board Certified in Immigration and Nationality Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. His practice spans removal defense, federal litigation, business immigration including TN and E visas, and family-based immigration.

Education & Credentials

Mr. Curtright earned his J.D. with distinction from the University of Nebraska, where he served on the National Moot Court team and received the Order of Barristers for advocacy. He holds a B.A. in Politics from the University of Dallas, where he graduated cum laude in 1998. He is Board Certified in Immigration and Nationality Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization.

Recognition & Leadership

Mr. Curtright has been selected for the Thomson Reuters Super Lawyers list and for the 2016 through 2024 editions of The Best Lawyers in America. Under his lead, the firm's Litigation Section received the 2013 Best Litigation Department of the Year award from Texas Lawyer magazine. In 2021, he was elected to the San Antonio Bar Foundation Class of Fellows.

Professional Involvement

He is a member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association, the Federal Bar Association, and the San Antonio Bar Association. He chaired the Texas/New Mexico/Oklahoma Chapter of AILA in 2019-2020 and previously served as the ICE liaison for the San Antonio district. He is admitted to practice before the United States Supreme Court, the Second, Fifth, and Sixth Circuits, the Western, Southern, Northern, and Eastern Districts of Texas, the District of Nebraska, and Texas state courts.

Experience

Mr. Curtright has represented hundreds of clients in federal removal proceedings and has helped individuals, corporations, and families secure permanent residency. His published decisions include Mejia v. Barr, Cabrera v. Sessions, Iruegas-Valdez v. Yates, Hosseini v. Johnson, Villegas-Sarabia v. Johnson, Amrollah v. Napolitano, Matter of Lamus, and Mortera-Cruz v. Gonzales. He has also advised on federal court matters involving Department of Labor and ICE I-9 employer compliance audits, publishes on immigration law, and speaks frequently at immigration law conferences.

Jesse Matthew Bless

Bless Litigation LLC

Education & Credentials

Recognition & Leadership

Professional Involvement

From 2019 to 2022, Mr. Bless served as AILA's first Director of Federal Litigation, shaping national strategy for federal immigration litigation and supporting attorneys across the country.

Experience

Lance Curtright

De Mott, Curtright & Armendáriz, LLP

Education & Credentials

Recognition & Leadership

Professional Involvement

Experience

Credits by state

AK2.0

AL2.0

AR2.0

AZ2.0

CA2.0

CO2.0

CT2.0

DC2.0

DE2.0

FL2.0

GA2.0

HI2.0

IA2.0

ID2.0

IL2.0

IN2.0

KS2.0

KY2.0

LA2.0

MA2.0

MD2.0

ME2.0

MI2.0

MN2.0

MO2.4

MS2.0

MT2.0

NC2.0

ND2.0

NE2.0

NH120.0

NJ2.4

NM2.0

NV2.0

NY2.0

OH2.0

OK2.5

OR2.0

PA2.0

RI2.5

SC2.0

SD2.0

TN2.0

TX2.0

UT2.0

VA2.0

VT2.0

WA2.0

WI2.0

WV2.4

WY2.0

Upcoming Live Online CLE Broadcasts

13th Annual IRS Representation Conference 2026 (Presented by Tax Rep Network)

July 15, 2026

Client Intake Under the Rules of Professional Conduct: Conflict Screening, Prospective Client Issues, and AI Considerations

July 15, 2026

When AI Waives Privilege: Attorney-Client Confidentiality and Work Product After the 2026 Federal Decisions

July 15, 2026

AI Ethics for Lawyers: Mastering Op. 512, Client Confidentiality, and Defensible Billing in 2026

July 15, 2026

The Great Wealth Transfer and the Coming Wave of Probate Litigation: Contested Estates, Fiduciary Claims, and Heirs’ Property Disputes Through 2040

July 15, 2026

Understanding the Corporate Veil: Strategies to Maintain and Pierce Limited Liability (2025 Edition)

July 15, 2026

Subpoenaing Social Media and Phone Records: How to Compel Production and Expose Hidden Evidence

July 15, 2026

Strategic Negotiation with Insurance Adjusters: Outsmarting the System with Negotiation Psychology and Proven Settlement Strategy

July 15, 2026

When AI Notetakers Break Privilege in Internal Investigations

July 16, 2026

1000+

Live stream programs

24/7

Access to live webinars & recordings

70,000+

Trusted by Legal Professionals

1000+

Live stream programs

24/7

Access to live webinars & recordings

70,000+

Trusted by Legal Professionals

1000+

Live stream programs

24/7

Access to live webinars & recordings

10,000+

Trusted by Legal Professionals

1000+

Live stream programs

24/7

Access to live webinars & recordings

70,000+

Trusted by Legal Professionals

Ready to Register?

MyLawCLE All-Access Pass

Live Video Broadcast

On-Demand Video

Citizenship Applications Are Now Enforcement Triggers: Advising and Litigating Under AI Vetting, IRS-ICE Data Sharing, and the Denaturalization Surge

Jesse Matthew Bless

Lance Curtright

Jesse Matthew Bless

Lance Curtright

Filing an N-400 now opens three federal enforcement pipelines at once

Format

CLE Credit

Level

Length

Key topics that will be covered

Program schedule

Advising Naturalization Clients Under the New AI Vetting and Cross-Agency Data-Sharing Regime

Federal Court Challenges to Algorithmic Adjudication, the IRS-ICE Data Pipeline, and Civil Denaturalization

Jesse Matthew Bless

Lance Curtright

Jesse Matthew Bless

Education & Credentials

Recognition & Leadership

Professional Involvement

Experience

Lance Curtright

Education & Credentials

Recognition & Leadership

Professional Involvement

Experience

Jesse Matthew Bless

Education & Credentials

Recognition & Leadership

Professional Involvement

Experience

Lance Curtright

Education & Credentials

Recognition & Leadership

Professional Involvement

Experience

Credits by state

Upcoming Live Online CLE Broadcasts

1000+

24/7

70,000+

1000+

24/7

70,000+

1000+

24/7

10,000+

1000+

24/7

70,000+

MCLE Credits

Alabama