Coming soon · Team Open Atlas
Michael Valverde at Open Atlas Summit 2026: What Happens Inside USCIS
Former USCIS Field Operations leader Michael Valverde joins Open Atlas Summit 2026 to discuss how USCIS adjudications, interviews, RFEs and internal processes work.
Who Is Michael Valverde?
Michael Valverde is the Founder of True North Pathways, where he provides immigration consulting to lawyers and organizations. Before launching the firm, he spent 28 years working inside the U.S. legal immigration system, including senior leadership experience with USCIS Field Operations.
His areas of experience include citizenship, adjustment of status, employment- and family-based immigration, EB-5 adjudications, fraud and national-security operations, interview policy and agency operations.
That experience makes his Open Atlas Summit session especially valuable for immigrants who often see USCIS only from the outside, as forms, notices, interviews, RFEs and decisions.
What Could Michael Valverde Cover?
How USCIS Actually Evaluates Cases
What happens after a petition reaches USCIS? Michael can help attendees better understand how officers approach evidence, adjudications and case review.
Why RFEs and Interviews Happen
The conversation can explore why USCIS may request more evidence, how interviews fit into the process and why preparation and consistency matter.
What Happens Behind USCIS Decisions
Policies are only one part of immigration adjudication. Staffing, agency priorities, training, workloads and operational processes can also shape how the system functions.
Fraud, Vetting and Compliance
With Michael’s experience in fraud and national-security operations, the session can provide context around the role of verification, background checks and credibility in immigration processing.
Why This Session Matters
For immigrants, founders and professionals navigating the U.S. immigration system, understanding how USCIS works internally can replace speculation with better-informed decision-making.
Michael Valverde’s experience gives Open Atlas Summit attendees the opportunity to hear from someone who has spent decades working inside the system they are trying to navigate.
Book your Summit tickets: https://luma.com/8c4qusfp
The session is educational and does not constitute individual legal advice.