August 2023

Urgent Special Immigrant Juvenile Status Application

One of my goals for the second year of my Equal Justice America fellowship at Ayuda was to work on a Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (SIJS) application. SIJS is a special kind of immigration status for minors under 21 years of age who have been abused, neglected, or abandoned by one of both parents and allows them to self-petition for a green card. To file an SIJS petition with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), the minor must first obtain an order from a state court which has jurisdiction over the minor and makes SIJS findings. Typically, this state court order can be sought in a petition for custody or guardianship. SIJS cases therefore involve representing the minor client and their proposed custodian or guardian in both a state court proceeding and an immigration application before USCIS.

Since starting at Ayuda, I have attended trainings about SIJS, observed and conducted SIJS-related consultations, advised clients about the possibility of seeking SIJS, and learned about the ins and outs of SIJS during our Maryland team meetings, in which we discuss recent consultations and new cases. I also observed a custody hearing in which my supervisor Kelly represented a plaintiff seeking custody of her minor child and SIJS findings. Up until this month, however, I had not taken on an SIJS case myself. A few months ago, someone called our office with questions about applying for SIJS for his brother-in-law. At the time, I did not have capacity to take on the case, and the potential plaintiffs were not living in the United States yet. We therefore agreed they might call back in a few months once they were in the United States. A few weeks ago, the young person’s brother-in-law reached back out and we agreed to do a consultation. After determining that he was eligible for SIJS and that the custody petition would have to be filed as soon as possible because he was going to turn 21 soon, we agreed to take the case. With help from my supervisor Kelly who has a lot of experience with SIJS cases, as well as the rest of the Maryland immigration team, I am preparing the custody petition and planning to file it this week. Then, I will need to file a motion for an emergency hearing, and the clients will have to have someone serve the minor’s parents in the country of origin and obtain a signed affidavit of service. Additionally, the parents have agreed to sign a consent to custody. We are hoping that we will get a hearing fast enough to get the custody order and SIJS findings and then file for SIJS before the young person turns 21.

Taking on this emergency case has been a good learning experience for me. I am having to work hard on organizing my time, as I am also working on finalizing an affirmative asylum supplemental filing by the end of the month and preparing for a defensive asylum individual hearing at the end of November.

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June 2023

Update on newly arrived migrants

Over the last couple months, I have participated in a few interviews regarding the arrival of migrant families and individuals in the DC area, particularly around the time of the end of Title 42 in May. Here is an NBC4 report I participated in: https://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/aide-groups-ask-for-help-as-more-migrants-stay-in-dc/3351870/?amp=1

Cuban Adjustment of Status

One of my goals is to expand full representation services to newly arrived families and individuals so that they can hopefully obtain lawful immigration status and build stable lives here in the DMV.

A few months ago, I met with some people living at one of the hotels that is functioning as a shelter for migrant families to provide legal orientations. One of the families I met with was a Cuban family that had arrived within the past year. The husband, Jon*, arrived in June 2022 and was sent to DC on one of the buses from Texas. His wife and child joined him in DC when they arrived a few months laters.

I did a consult with Jon and determined that once he reached one year of presence in the United States, he would be eligible to apply for a green card through the Cuban Adjustment Act of 1966 (CAA). Under the CAA, a native or citizen of Cuba who was admitted or paroled into the United States, has been physically present in the United States for at least one year at the time of filing, is admissible to the United States, and merits the favorable exercise of USCIS’ discretion, is eligible to apply for adjustment of status.

When Jon arrived at the border, he was detained by immigration and released with a 2-month humanitarian parole. I determined that he met all the requirements for Cuban adjustment but would just have to wait until he had been present for over a year to file his application. I worked with Jon to gather all the necessary evidence, including evidence of his continuous physical presence in the US since he arrived in June 2022 and police clearance certificates from Maryland and DC. The application is now complete and ready to file as soon as he will have reached one year of physical presence. In about 6 months, Jon’s wife and their child will also become eligible to file for Cuban adjustment.

It is exciting to be able to file a green card application for this family that recently arrived as they settle into the DC area. Cuban adjustment is a very specific opportunity for Cubans and unfortunately, most recently arrived families do not have a similar option to apply for a green card so soon after arriving. Most people who are arriving from the Southern border are eligible to apply for asylum and there is still a great need for legal assistance with asylum applications, both before the immigration court and with US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). I hope that we can continue to expand our services to meet the great need for full representation of newly arrived families and individuals in their immigration matters.

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May 2023

Work With Newly Arrived Migrants

It has been about a year since I became involved with welcoming and providing legal orientations and brief services to newly arrived migrants who were bused to DC from the Southern Border. My colleague Alicja Johnson from Communication posted an update here: https://ayuda.com/ayuda-update-helping-migrants-bused-to-dc-1-year-and-counting/

For the past month or so, I have been working closely with Paralegal Alexandra Melinchok, who has been screening potential parole-based work permit applicants and preparing applications that I have been reviewing. Alex recently got one application approved in just under month from filing! A couple of the applications I prepared were also approved in about a month. Unfortunately, most of them are still pending, and many have been pending for about 3 months. However, we are continuing to assist with parole-based work permits and to look at ways in which we can expand our capacity to meet this great need. Alex and I are currently working with the pro bono team to partner with a law firm on a project through which we will train pro bono attorneys and summer associates to prepare a parole-based work permit application and then refer cases to them which they will prepare and Ayuda will mentor. Hopefully with initiatives like these and the help of our pro bono partners, we will continue to increase access to legal services for newly arriving migrants.

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April 2023

T Visa Approval for Five Clients

At the end of March, I received the approval notices for a T visa application that I filed for a family of five at the beginning of October. I couldn’t believe that the application was already approved! For the past few years, T visas had been taking about two years to be processed. I had heard that recently the processing times had decreased with a lot of application being approved in about a year, but I did not expect them to come through in only five and a half months!

I began working with Ana* in October 2021, at the very beginning of my fellowship. I first mentioned the case in my October 2021 EJA update and included some other updates about the progress of the case over the past year and a half. This was a challenging case which required many hours of work with my client, particularly due to the high level of trauma that she continues to suffer from. Ana was a survivor of multiple instances of sex and labor trafficking in the United States. We spent many hours developing her declarations and gathering other evidence for her case. Ana also participated in a psychological evaluation and cooperated in a Homeland Securities Investigations (HSI) investigation which included participating in a lengthy interview.

Ana has four children under 21 which we included in the application as derivatives. Her oldest child, her son Eduardo* is in danger in their country of origin, where he has received threats. We therefore requested expedited processing for the T visa, and it was granted in under six months. I am now working with Eduardo on his consular processing to the US. I am also working with Ana’s oldest daughter Marisa* who has an open case in immigration court to request dismissal of the removal proceedings now that she has an approved T visa. Ana and her two younger children have orders of removal which were issued in absentia, when they failed to attend an immigration hearing. We will therefore also request that their removal cases be reopened and dismissed following the T visa approvals.

Once the HSI investigation is closed and Eduardo is in the US, Ana and her four children should be able to apply for permanent residence (green cards) through adjustment of status. While there is still lots more work to be done for this family to receive their permanent residence, we are so excited that they have received their T visas!

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March 2023

ICE Accompaniment

Last Friday, I accompanied a client to the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) office in Baltimore. My client was granted a one-year parole by ICE last year when he arrived in the United States, so we wanted to ask ICE to extend his parole, so that he remains in lawful status while his recently filed T visa is pending and remains eligible for a parole-based work permit while his T visa is pending. Unfortunately, the ERO supervisor did not want to give us a document extending the parole. He did say that my client was still in parole status since he was complying with ICE obligations, but that may not be sufficient for his work permit to be granted.

Most people present were attending their regularly scheduled ICE check-ins. Most people who arrive at the border without a visa and present themselves to immigration are placed under ICE supervision. ICE uses a variety of tactics to monitor people, such as ankle monitors, phone apps, home visits, calling friends, and in-person check-ins. More information about ICE and the Intensive Supervision and Assistance Program (ISAP) can be found here: https://help.asylumadvocacy.org/faqs-ice-isap/.

The ERO office in Baltimore opens at 8AM, but people start lining up long before then to make sure they get a spot. My client arrived around 7:40AM, and we had to wait until about 11:15 for his turn. Around 10:30AM, they closed the doors and told the people waiting that there wasn’t enough space and they should come back Monday. I overheard one person asking to be let in, explaining that he had driven 8 hours from North Carolina to attend his check-in, but they told him there was no space and that he could have gone to ICE in North Carolina rather than drive all the way here.

We generally do not accompany clients to ICE for regular check-ins unless there is a particular reason to do so, as it would be too time-consuming and not very useful. I am glad to have had the opportunity to learn more about the process and what actually happens at these check-ins. I am also planning to accompany another client with a pending T visa to her next ICE check-in in June, because she has an order of removal and going to the check-ins on her own is very stressful for her.

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February 2023

Notice of Appeal

I recently filed my first Notice of Appeal to the Board of Immigration Appeals (“BIA”). I have been helping my office’s Managing Attorney Deepa Bijpuria to represent a client in a complicated asylum case. The individual hearing, where we presented the asylum case to the immigration judge (“IJ”), took place at the beginning of January, and the judge denied our client’s claims. Following the IJ’s decision, we have 30 days to submit a Notice of Appeal to the BIA, if we would like to appeal. The BIA requires that the reasons for appealing the IJ’s decision be explained in the Notice of Appeal, so it was a lengthy process. I read through the IJ’s 14-page decision a couple of times. The second time, I went through it very carefully, noting all of the factual and legal errors that the judge made. My supervisor Kelly Hii also read through the decision and provided her notes, which were helpful. Then, I drafted a lengthy addendum to the Notice of Appeal, detailing each error that the judge made. I followed a guide on “Identifying Issues for a BIA Appeal” from the Immigrant Legal Resource Center, which suggested dividing the errors into five categories: factual errors, legal errors, errors in discretionary determinations, due process violations and procedural errors, and mixed issues of fact and law. I identified many factual errors and mixed issues of fact and law, a few legal errors, and a couple of due process violations. I also used sample Notices of Appeal provided to me by my colleague Gabriela Brito. Deepa provided a lot of support by reviewing the Notice of Appeal and discussing it with me. After meeting with the client to explain the process and pay the online government fee, I filed the Notice of Appeal before the deadline through the Executive Office for Immigration Review’s (“EOIR”) electronic filing system. We must now wait for the BIA to provide a briefing schedule to know when the appeal brief will be due.

In the meantime, I will begin to develop the arguments I want to raise on appeal. Working on the Notice of Appeal gave me many ideas of areas to research and potential arguments to present to the BIA. I am working with intern Gabe Rody-Ramazani who is providing support for the BIA appeal by conducting legal research which will be crucial to drafting a strong brief.

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January 2023

(c)(11) EADs Project

Since last May, I have been providing support to newly arrived migrants through my work at Ayuda and as a volunteer of the Migrant Solidarity Mutual Aid Network. This experience has taught me a lot, and I am constantly learning new things about immigration law and how to best serve this population. The situation at the Southern border and the way that people from different countries are processed is constantly evolving. Most recently, USCIS extended its special parole program for Venezuelans to Cubans, Haitians, and Nicaraguans, and the government announced that it would expand its use of Title 42 to prevent people from those countries from seeking asylum at the border.

Due to this use of Title 42, Venezuelans who have arrived by land since about mid-October, and most recently Cubans, Haitians, and Nicaraguans, must seek a Title 42 exemption in order to enter through a port-of-entry and be able to seek asylum in the United States. Many of the recently arrived families who have settled in the DC area since Texas Governor Abbott began sending buses to DC are Venezuelan. Most of those who arrived within the past three months, therefore, entered with a Title 42 exemption.

Last week, as I was reading about Custom and Border Patrol (CBP)’s new process for requesting Title 42 exemptions via the CBP One app, I learned that people who enter the United States with a Title 42 exemption are generally granted a one-year parole, which means that they are eligible for a category (c)(11) employment authorization document (EAD), or work permit. I realized that helping newly arrived people apply for these EADs would be a great way for us to help support them and contribute to their stability. Being able to work with authorization for their first year here can make a big difference in their lives and help them to access legal services and achieve financial independence. Additionally, there have been issues with newly arrived migrants suffering abusive working conditions or not getting paid after a week of work, and having an EAD will hopefully help to protect them exploitation by employers.

I quickly reached out to my supervisor Kelly, my Legal Director Megan, and Executive Director Paula, and they were very supportive in the idea. I also mentioned the idea to the volunteers of the mutual aid network, and several attorneys, paralegals, and law students offered to help with the EAD applications.

I have learned from other attorneys and from personal experience that when filed online, (c)(11) EAD applications are processed way faster (as in, several months faster, which makes a big difference when the EAD is only going to last until the end of a one-year parole period). Unfortunately, USCIS does not allow fee waiver requests to be filed online, so people who are unable to pay the fee must paper-file, leading to longer processing times. Ayuda is helping to cover the fees for some of these applications, which I am so grateful for.

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December 2022

Advocacy with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Following Processing Delays

When I first started my fellowship at Ayuda in September 2021, the first application I filed was an application for derivative T Nonimmigrant Status (T visa) for a client who has been granted a T visa and was filing for her husband’s derivative status. We were unsure of how long it would take USCIS to process this application, because USCIS only publishes estimated processing times for principal T visa applications, not for derivative applications that are filed once the principal T visa has already been approved. These clients had an urgent need for the husband to obtain lawful immigration status as soon as possible, so that he could get a job and be able to afford his diabetes medication. In March of this year, I prepared and submitted a request for expedited processing, which was approved just a week later. However, months went by without a response from USCIS on the T derivative application. I emailed USCIS to ask about the status of the case and was informed that they had sent a Request for Evidence (RFE) in March and were waiting for our response. My colleagues and I checked all our past mail and confirmed that we had never received this RFE. I then asked USCIS to send the RFE again and to email it to me so I’d be sure to get it, but USCIS did not respond to my email or follow-ups for several months. Meanwhile, my client’s health was getting worse, and he now needs to get an eye operation due to glaucoma caused by his diabetes. Having heard nothing back from USCIS after multiple emails, I submitted a request for congressional assistance to Senator Chris Van Hollen’s office. Someone from Senator Van Hollen’s office responded saying that they would contact the appropriate officials. I also submitted a case assistance request to the Office of the USCIS Ombudsman.

Finally, USCIS got back to me last week and emailed me the missing RFE. I met with my clients and submitted the response to the RFE as soon as possible. Hopefully the application will be approved soon so that my client can receive the medical care that he urgently needs!

Pro Se Asylum Clinic with the Migrant Solidarity Mutual Aid Network

As I have mentioned in previous updates, I have been working with the Migrant Solidarity Mutual Aid Network, which was formed to welcome and support newly arrived migrants in the DC area after Texas Governor Abbott began busing migrants to DC. At the beginning, many of the people arriving on the buses were not staying in the DC area. They were arriving in DC just a day or two after entering the US, with little to no understanding of the immigration paperwork they were given at the border or of the US immigration system. Ayuda therefore began providing legal orientations, during which we provide some basic information about the immigration system, such as what ICE and EOIR are, how to update your address with each agency, how to check your A# in the EOIR Case Information System, what asylum is and the fact that there is a one-year filing deadline for asylum. For the past few months, the mutual aid network has been focusing a lot of its efforts on supporting the families and individuals who have remained in the DC area. One big need that we identified was to provide assistance with pro se asylum applications, so that asylum seekers are able to file in time to meet the one-year filing deadline. In September, a group of mutual aid network volunteers, including several immigration attorneys, began planning a pro se asylum clinic, based on a similar clinic that the New Sanctuary Coalition organized in New York for several years. One attorney and her law firm organized a training for volunteers who would be participating in the clinic by helping asylum seekers to fill out their applications. We held the first clinic date on December 10^th which went well, and we are excited to organize more dates beginning in January.

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November 2022

For the past month, I have been continuing my work on various cases. I am assisting with a defensive asylum case which is going to be heard by the Immigration Court at the Individual Hearing on January 6, 2023. Deepa Bijpuria, our team’s Managing Attorney, is the lead attorney on the case, and I’m learning a lot about how to prepare defensive asylum cases by working with her. Our client is applying for asylum because she and her family were targeted by gangs, and she witnessed the gang murder of her partner.

I have worked on getting a detailed witness affidavit from our client’s good friend who still lives in the client’s country of origin. This can be challenging, because it is not always easy to get in touch with witnesses, and preparing a detailed declaration takes several calls. Irene Zuniga, who is interning with us this semester, has taken the lead on preparing a declaration from a second witness, the client’s daughter. It has been helpful to work with Irene on getting the declarations ready. She has also been helping with translations, so that we can review the declarations with the declarants before finalizing them.

In addition to witness declarations, I have been helping with some legal research to prepare for the asylum hearing. In particular, I have been researching the Fourth Circuit case law on political opinion and particular social groups (PSGs) as protected grounds for asylum. Recently, the Fourth Circuit issued a harmful decision for PSGs based on being a witness of gang criminal activity. See Morales v. Garland, No. 20-1305, 2022 WL 13676323 (4th Cir. Oct. 24, 2022). Under asylum law, it is possible to be granted asylum by showing that one has a reasonable fear of persecution based on one’s membership in a PSG. An important part of the argument is crafting a cognizable PSG, or one that will be recognized as such by the immigration judge. A PSG must be particular, socially distinct, and involve immutable or fundamental traits that the members of the group cannot or should not be required to change.

In the Morales decision, the Fourth Circuit rejected the proposed PSG of “Salvadorean women who are witnesses to gang criminal activity and targeted because they filed a police report,” reasoning that it was neither particular, nor socially distinct. The court judged that the terms used to describe the respondent’s proposed PSG were not specific enough, including the term “witnesses,” reasoning that it could refer to “bystanders, informants, or those who testify in court.” This decision will likely make it difficult to articulate a successful PSG for witnesses of gang criminal activity in the Fourth Circuit.

Next, the court determined that the proposed PSG was not sufficiently socially distinct, reasoning that even though the Salvadorean government’s “abysmal efforts” to keep witnesses safe is documented in a State Department report, because the government “fails to keep all kinds of people safe” and that gang violence affects “large swaths of the Salvadorean public” and not just witnesses of gang criminal activity, the proposed PSG fails the social distinction requirement. The court’s reasoning on this point is unconvincing. As the court notes, for a PSG to be “socially distinct,” its members must generally be considered by their society to form a group. The fact that the government fails to keep people other than witnesses to gang criminal activity safe does not mean that Salvadorean society cannot recognize that witnesses to gang criminal activity form a socially distinct group.

Nonetheless, following this decision we will not be able to rely too heavily on asylum arguments based on a client’s membership in a PSG of witnesses to gang criminal activity.

Our client’s claim is also based on persecution on account of her political opinion of being against the gangs and criminal activity, and family-based particular social groups. We will also likely argue that our client should be granted humanitarian asylum based on the severity of the past persecution and the fact that she would suffer other serious harm were she forced to return to her country of origin.

For more information on particular social groups, see https://cliniclegal.org/resources/humanitarian-relief/asylum-and-refugee-law/bia-requires-asylum-seekers-identify.

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October 2022

Over the past month, I submitted several filings, including two DACA renewal applications, including one that was already approved, a response to Requests for Evidence for two work permit applications, an I-130 family petition for a permanent resident client’s son, and a T visa application which I have been working on since the beginning of my fellowship! I also have continued my work with the Migrant Solidarity Mutual Aid network which is supporting recently arrived people who were sent to DC on buses from Texas and Arizona.

University of Maryland Law Career Fair

A few months ago, I joined Ayuda’s internship committee. On September 30^th, I attended a career fair at UMD law school in Baltimore with my colleague from Ayuda’s DC office, Rebeca Garcia Gil, to share information about Ayuda and our internship program with students.

New Process for Venezuelans

The majority of the people who have arrived on the buses are from Venezuela. On October 12, 2022, the U.S. government announced a new process for Venezuelans to apply for a humanitarian authorization to come to the United States, similar to the one which was created for Ukrainians called Uniting for Ukraine. Venezuelans seeking to participate in the program must have a supporter in the United States who has lawful immigration status, has sufficient resources to receive and support them, and commits to supporting them once they arrive in the United States. Additionally, the beneficiary of the application must be a national of Venezuela or an immediate family member of an eligible Venezuelan and traveling with them. They must be outside the United States at the time of the application and, once the application is approved, travel to the United States via plane. Venezuelans who are permanent residents, dual nationals, refugees, or asylees of another country are not eligible to apply. This requirement is more stringent than the Uniting for Ukraine requirements, which allowed for Ukrainians who had dual citizenship or status in another country to apply. Unaccompanied children are not eligible for the program. More information on eligibility requirements and how to apply can be found on USCIS’ website here: https://www.uscis.gov/venezuela.

Unfortunately, the announcement of this new process was accompanied by an announcement that the U.S. government has decided to no longer let in Venezuelans seeking to the enter the United States at the border. For the past few months, many Venezuelans have come to the United States fleeing their country. Many of them were granted parole at the border, a type of temporary humanitarian authorization to enter and remain in the United States for a given period of time. However, the government announced that they will now be using Title 42 to turn away Venezuelans at the border, following an agreement with the Mexican government. The previous administration began using Title 42, a public emergency health order, to turn away migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border, including those wishing to seek asylum. The Biden administration first planned to end Title 42, which was met with legal challenges in the courts. Additionally, Texas Governor Greg Abbott began sending migrants on buses to DC in response to the administration’s plans to end Title 42. Now, the Administration has begun using Title 42 to systematically turn away people from Venezuela (in addition to Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras), thereby preventing them from seeking asylum, which is a human right under U.S. and international law. Last week, many human rights organizations, including Ayuda, submitted a letter to U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro N. Mayorkas critiquing the government’s expansion of Title 42 expulsions for Venezuelans.

Furthermore, anyone who tries to enter the United States without inspection, including those who are expulsed from the U.S. under Title 42, or who “unlawfully crosses the Mexican or Panamanian border” after October 19, 2022, will not be eligible for the new Process for Venezuelans described above.

Last year, the U.S. government designated Venezuela for Temporary Protected Status (TPS), thereby recognizing that the conditions in Venezuela prevent Venezuelans from returning safely to their country of origin. To benefit from TPS, Venezuelans must have continuously resided in the U.S. since March 8, 2021. Therefore, the many Venezuelan nationals who arrived in the U.S. between March 2021 and now, many of whom were granted parole at the border, are not eligible for TPS, nor are they eligible for the new Process for Venezuelans since they are in the U.S. The administration must also provide for a pathway to longer-term lawful status for these individuals who are unable or should not be forced to return to their country of origin.

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September 2022

Received Green Cards for Family of Five

Over the past few months, I have worked closely with a family of five who applied for their green cards more than three years ago and have been waiting for their applications to be processed. Charlie*, the father, came to the United States nearly 15 years ago in search of a better life for his family. Charlie was a victim of labor trafficking and was granted a T visa in 2015, which allowed his wife and three children to join him in the United States as T visa derivatives. In 2019, the family applied to adjust status to permanent residence – in other words, to receive their green cards. The case was pending for over three years, during which time they had to apply to renew their work authorization every year.

At the end of 2021, we received a request from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) for the family to submit their medical examinations, which is typically the last step in the process. We submitted the medical exams at the beginning of this year, hoping that their green cards would be approved a few weeks later. Several months went by, and the green cards still hadn’t arrived. At this point, they were well outside the estimated processing time published on USCIS’ website of 27.5 months, which is already extremely long. I sent several requests to USCIS asking for an update on the status of the case which went unanswered. In August, I worked with the clients to prepare a case assistance request for the USCIS ombudsman, an office that assists individuals with issues they are experiencing with USICS. It was particularly difficult for them to have to wait so long for their green cards as not having a green card made it more difficult for them to find steady employment and prevented them from receiving certain benefits and scholarships.

Just as we had completed the ombudsman request and I was about to send it out, we received a notification that the green cards had been approved and were being printed! The green cards arrived a couple weeks ago, and Charlie came to pick them up. In five years, Charlie and his family will likely be eligible to naturalize, completing what will have been a decades-long immigration process.

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August 2022

I am currently working on several asylum cases, which require a lot of time and organization. I began working on each of these cases after the initial asylum application was filed. Two of them are affirmative asylum cases, which means that the clients have applied for asylum with the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and are waiting for their interview date with an asylum officer. The two others are defensive asylum cases, which means that the clients are in removal proceedings in immigration court and we will present their asylum cases before an immigration judge.

In addition to filing the application on Form I-589, each asylum case involves many different tasks, such as:

-       Developing a detailed declaration with our client

-       Conducting country conditions research

-       Filing Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests to obtain information about our client’s immigration history

-       Collaborating with witnesses to draft witness declarations

-       Conducting legal research and drafting a legal brief

-       Coordinating a psychological evaluation for the client

-       Retaining and working with a country conditions expert

-       Prepare the client for their hearing or interview

In a defensive asylum case, we must also file motions with the court in preparation for the hearing and communicate with ICE counsel regarding stipulations or the potential narrowing of issues.

It can be difficult to plan and develop asylum cases consistently when we don’t have an interview or hearing date. Oftentimes, we receive the notice for the interview just a month or two before, so we must do a lot of the work in advance in order to prepare the best possible case. However, a lot of materials such as the client’s and witnesses’ declaration and the country conditions likely need to be updated.

One of my clients applied for asylum in January 2020. He was placed in removal proceedings but his initial master calendar hearing (MCH) has been postponed several times due to COVID-19 and the opening of the new Hyattsville Immigration Court to which his case was transferred. The MCH is now scheduled for February 2023. Ideally, my client would like to move his case forward, so we have agreed to work on preparing his case now so that we can submit a motion to request an individual merits hearing, so that hopefully he does not have to attend the MCH and will have the opportunity to present his case in immigration court sooner.

Even though I don’t yet have a date for the merits hearing, I used Ayuda’s Timeline for Defensive Asylum Cases to develop a timeline with target deadlines for each task relating to the case. This month, I have focused on meeting with my client regularly to further develop his declaration. Isabel McDonald, who interned with Ayuda over the summer, also helped me by doing some country conditions/legal research regarding one of our client’s asylum claims. I then plan to reach out to each of his parents to prepare witness declarations to support the application.

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July 2022

Last April, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott announced that he would begin sending recently arrived migrants to DC by bus to protest the end of Title 42, under which the federal government has largely suspended the right to seek asylum at the border since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. Over the past several months, around 100 buses have arrived in DC. Neither the federal government nor the local DC government have provided the necessary support for the asylum seekers arriving on the buses without food, clothes, or shelter. However, a group of DC activists came together to create a mutual aid network to support the people arriving on the buses. Every day, a group of volunteers heads to Union Station to welcome the people arriving on the buses, provide them some food and clothes, and assess their situation. The group then helps arriving folks who are not staying in DC get to their final destination. The network has also been providing shelter as well as medical, legal, and language support.

My Ayuda colleague Kirstie Sippola from the Social Services team became involved in these mutual aid efforts early on. After participating in some donation collection, I also signed up to volunteer some of my time. I participated in the in-person intake a couple of times and accompanied a family to their medical appointments to provide interpretation. More recently, I began providing brief legal consultations through a pilot project we started at Ayuda. These brief consultations are an opportunity to provide a brief overview of the immigration system, explain the immigration paperwork that the people arriving on the buses were given at the border, go over the basics of asylum and alert them to the one-year filing deadline, and answer any questions that they have at this point. Participating in this project has been a great learning opportunity as we are serving people who just recently arrived in the United States, welcoming them to the US, advising them about their first appointments with immigration, and introducing them to the US immigration system. More importantly, I am grateful to be able to dedicate time to providing legal assistance to some of the people arriving on the buses.

For more information about Gov. Abbott’s political stunt and the mutual aid effort: https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2022/07/14/migrant-buses-dc-bowser-silence/

https://dcist.com/story/22/05/24/local-mutual-aid-effort-migrants-bused-to-dc/

https://www.wusa9.com/article/news/local/dc/couple-from-cuba-recounts-experience-bused-dc-activists-push-city-government-action/65-6face92c-9b28-40f8-adb1-3a76675a9070

The Migrant Solidarity Network has also published a list of demands which can be viewed here.

Resources to support the mutual aid effort:

• Donate:

o   Paypal (preferred) or Venmo @SanctuaryDMV with "Texas Solidarity" in the memo line OR

o   Venmo @PeaceHDC or Paypal @PeaceHouseDC. Peace house is fiscally sponsored, if you need a receipt for tax purposes.

o   We spend about $50k a month on housing expenses alone.

• Volunteer:

o   Greet, drive, and house folks if you can! There are also many remote support opportunities!

o   Sign up: bit.ly/dcmigrantsupport22

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June 2022

Naturalization Applications

Over the past month, I prepared and submitted my first two applications for naturalization with the help of Ayuda Paralegal Blanca Arriola Palma. I was able to use the basics of naturalization law that I learned during CLINIC’s Comprehensive Overview of Immigration Law course to determine whether these clients were eligible to naturalize. In general, applicants for naturalization must meet the following eligibility requirements:

-       Be a lawful permanent resident (LPR)

-       Be at least 18 years old

-       Show continuous residence in the United States as an LPR for the past five years (or at least three years if the applicant is married to a U.S. citizen)

-       Show physical presence in the United States for at least half of the continuous residence period

-       Have good moral character

Additionally, most applicants must pass an English exam and a civics test on U.S. history and government and take an oath of allegiance to the United States.

Blanca and I met with our clients to prepare the naturalization and fee waiver applications with them, and my supervisor Kelly provided helpful feedback and answers to our questions. The applications are now pending with the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS). It was exciting to work on a different kind of application that I had not done before. Additionally, learning more about the naturalization procedure will enable me to better serve other clients as I will be able to better advise them about how to become eligible for naturalization and what the process looks like. For example, for I have been advising one client who is in the process of bringing his son to the United States through consular processing about how his trips abroad might affect his chances of naturalizing.

Work Permit Applications for Special Immigrant Juveniles

Under a new policy that the government announced after prolonged advocacy and litigation efforts from various organizations, many young people who have Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (SIJS) are now becoming eligible to apply for employment authorization. SIJS is a special status that allows certain young people under 21 who were abused, neglected, or abandoned by one or both of their parents to self-petition for a green card. However, once their application for SIJS is approved, they must first wait for a visa to be available to apply for their green card. For applicants from El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Mexico, this can take several years. Previously, these special immigrant juveniles were unable to obtain a work permit while they waited to become eligible to apply for a green card. Many of them are over 18 years old and it is important for them to be able to start working. It is also helpful for all special immigrant juveniles to get a work permit because it allows them to get a social security number. Under the new policy, the government is sending out new SIJS approval notices with a grant of deferred action to qualifying special immigrant juveniles, which allows them to apply for a work permit. We have begun receiving these new approval notices for many of our SIJS-approved clients. Over the last month, I met with two of my clients after receiving their approval notice granting them deferred action, and we prepared their work permit applications. One of my clients who recently turned 18 has been asking me since before this policy was announced if there was a way for him to get a work permit, so it is great that he is now able to apply. For more information and a link to a sample SIJS EAD application, see the End SIJS Backlog Coalition’s Frequently asked Questions About USCIS’s SIJS Deferred Action Policy.

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May 2022

Last week, I attended a comprehensive two-day training on T visas, hosted by the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) Carolinas Chapter and coordinated by Helen Tarokic. Deepa, the Managing Attorney at Ayuda’s Maryland office where I work, suggested this training to us and we all attended. The training covered a broad range of topics such as domestic violence & T visas, reporting to law enforcement, spiritual abuse, psychological evaluations and treatment for trafficking survivors, and suing in federal court. Each session was very informative. It was great to see such a broad range of practitioners come together to discuss the important topic of human trafficking and T visas. As one speaker explained, there is a statutory cap according to which only 5,000 T visas can be granted each year, but that cap is always far from being reached. For example, in Fiscal Year 2021, USCIS received 2,780 T visa applications, and granted 1,430.

I was particularly interested in attending this training because I am actively working on several T visa cases at the moment. Just last week, I submitted an application for derivative T status for a client who was granted T status at the end of last year. Because my client is under 21 years old, she was able to apply for derivative T status for her mother, who is in their country of origin. If the derivative application is granted, it will allow my client and her mother to be reunited in the United States and hopefully to apply to adjust to permanent resident status together.

During the past month, I have spent a lot of time working on a T visa application for another client, updating and completing the forms and addenda, collecting evidence, and coordinating with law enforcement so that my client can report the trafficking committed against her. I was particularly interested in attending the sessions of the T visa training about reporting to law enforcement, since this is the first time that I am working on that portion of a T visa case. The speakers included immigration lawyers and law enforcement officials from different agencies. It was helpful to hear about the different strategies for reporting and what happens on the law enforcement side of things.

While I am wrapping up my work on this T visa case, I am also beginning to work on a T visa case for another client. This client has already reported her trafficker and is waiting for a copy of the police report. I hope to use the insight from attorneys and mental health professionals who spoke at the T visa training to work with my client on developing a strong declaration and overall case while limiting re-traumatization.

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April 2022

Over the past month, I have continued to work on my long-term cases and have also started working on some new types of cases.

The new cases I have begun working on involve representing permanent residents in applications to renew their permanent resident cards, and in applications for naturalization. I met with a client yesterday who has been a permanent resident for about 20 years and wants to renew her green card. After we prepared the application, I let her know that if she would like to, she may be eligible to apply for naturalization. In general, one of the eligibility criteria for naturalization is to pass an exam showing basic knowledge of U.S. history and government and the ability to read, write, speak, and understand basic English. However, permanent residents who have resided in the United States for 20 years and are over age 50 or have resided in the United States for 15 years and are over age 55 are exempt from the English literacy requirement and may be interviewed in the language of their choice, with the assistance of an interpreter. It told my client that because she has been in the United States for over 15 years and is over 55, she is likely eligible to apply for naturalization even though she does not speak English. However, she told me that she does not feel ready to study for the civics test and therefore does not wish to naturalize for now.

My client’s decision reminded me how, while many immigration law clients aim to become citizens, some may not choose to apply for naturalization even though they are eligible. As lawyers, we may sometimes become so accustomed to looking for and recommending the “best” remedies available to our clients and end up assuming what is best for them. However, it is important not to make such assumptions and to listen to what each individual client wants for themselves. I let my client know that naturalization was in no way an obligation but just an option for her to consider. After our meeting, I did some additional research and remembered that applicants who are over 65 and have been a permanent resident for over 20 years can take a shorter version of the civics test with only 20 questions to learn, so I will make sure to let her know about this in case she decides to apply once she is 65.

I am also beginning to work on naturalization applications for two former Ayuda clients, a mother and son. My colleague Paralegal Blanca Arriola Palma is going to help with these cases, so that we can both gain experience with naturalization cases. This client told me that her goal is to become a U.S. citizen, and she has already been practicing for the civics test on her phone and getting high scores each time.

As I begin to work on new types of cases that I did not have experience with before working at Ayuda, CLINIC’s Introduction to Immigration Law training which I completed in March has been very useful, as it introduced me to the basics of citizenship and naturalization law, as well as family-based immigration. Additionally, the extensive support that I receive at Ayuda, both from my supervisor Kelly and the immigration team in general, allows me to confidently take on new types of cases and be able to provide quality representation as a new attorney.

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March 2022

My second semester as an Equal Justice America Fellow at Ayuda is off to a good start. I am wrapping up some cases that I have been working on for a while, such as a humanitarian parole application for the children of a client who has a pending U visa application, and I am beginning to work on some new cases and to conduct consultations.

Positive Outcomes

I recently received some good news on a couple of cases I’m working on. In one case, Aida* was granted T Nonimmigrant Status in early 2021 and petitioned for derivative T status for her husband Sam*. My colleagues and I are unsure of how long it takes U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to process applications for T derivative status that are submitted after the principal application has already been approved, and there is no indication of a timeframe on the USCIS website. Sam cannot find work without a work permit, and he and Aida are struggling to make ends meet. Furthermore, Sam and Aida both have medical needs which makes it particularly urgent for Sam to obtain lawful immigration status as soon as possible. We therefore submitted a well-documented request for expedited processing of the derivative T visa application, which was approved just a week later. Hopefully, the application will be processed quickly and be approved, which would allow Sam to obtain a work permit and both Aida and Sam to apply for adjustment of status to get their green cards. This case is an example of how working at Ayuda has helped me to think of different ways to help my clients. I had the idea of requesting expedited processing because an Ayuda colleague from the Virginia office, Senior Staff Attorney Katie Flannery, mentioned that she had recently gotten an expedite request approved. In drafting the request and collecting the supporting evidence, I worked closely with my supervisor Kelly Hii who provided helpful feedback and ideas.

Yesterday I also learned that an application for advance parole was approved for another client who is a T visa holder, Marco*. Individuals who apply for adjustment of status can also submit an application for advance parole which, if approved, allows them to travel outside the United States and return to the United States while their adjustment application is still pending. Marco was hoping to return to his country of origin to visit his father who is severely ill. Yesterday, I checked the status of his case on the USCIS website and saw that his application for advance parole had just been approved, so I let him know that once we receive the approval notice he will be able to travel outside the U.S.

Preparation for an Asylum Individual Hearing

I am working with the Maryland Immigration team’s Managing Attorney Deepa Bijpuria on a complex asylum case that has an individual hearing scheduled for May of this year. In immigration court, the individual hearing is the hearing where each side presents the merits of their case, and, in an asylum case, it often involves direct and cross-examination of the client (referred to as the “Respondent” in immigration court proceedings), who is often the main witness in their own case. Deepa, Paralegal Blanca Arriola Palma, and I are working with the client to gather as much evidence as we can before the hearing, and to update the materials that were prepared for prior court dates. Most of my past experience has been in affirmative immigration cases, so it will be a great learning experience for me to work on this case with Deepa, an experienced immigration attorney, to learn more about defensive asylum cases and immigration court hearings. I also hope to help build the strongest possible case for our client.

Consultations

This month, I began conducting some consultations with clients. Last October, I observed a consultation conducted by my then-supervisor Laurie and coordinated with the client to schedule follow-up calls. Last month, I observed two consultations by my supervisor Kelly. Earlier this month, I conducted a consultation with a client who wanted to know how divorcing her abusive husband would affect her immigration case and what her options would be. Kelly observed the consultation and provided ideas for follow-up questions. We will meet again with the client soon to finish the consultation and give her some advice on what her options are.

I also had a consultation with a former Ayuda client looking to renew her green card. After each consultation, we discuss with the Maryland immigration team as a whole what options the potential client may have, and whether we can offer them representation. It is helpful to brainstorm ideas with the other members of the team, as we all have different experiences to draw from.

*Names have been modified to protect client confidentiality.

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February 2022

I realized yesterday that by the end of this month, I will have been at Ayuda as an Equal Justice America fellow for six months already – time has gone by so fast! While I am now well-settled in my role and continue to make progress on my cases, my job remains exciting and interesting and I feel like I am constantly learning from my clients and Ayuda colleagues.

Reviewing Medical Exams for Adjustment of Status Case

For the past several weeks, I have worked closely with a family of 5 who received requests from USCIS, the immigration agency that is processing their adjustment of status/green card applications, to submit their medical exams. For adjustment applications that do not typically require an interview, such as adjustment of status for T Nonimmigrants, submitting the medical exam is frequently the last step in the process. The adjustment applications for this family have been pending for over two years, so it is exciting that their case is proceeding to this final step. As I had never participated in this part of the process before, my supervisor Kelly guided me in reviewing the USCIS forms that were filled out by the doctors who performed the clients’ medical exams. At the clients’ request, I also communicated with the doctors’ offices about some issues that we spotted in the forms. I also received some helpful tips from other Ayuda immigration attorneys during our weekly Case Review meeting.

Obtaining Witness Affidavits for Asylum Application

My colleagues at the Maryland office, Tamara and Gaby, have been working hard to prepare for asylum interviews for two of their clients. Over the past couple of weeks, I helped out on the preparation of the materials for Tamara’s case by interviewing the client’s parents and preparing witness affidavits for them to submit to support their son’s asylum application. I have seen how preparing for a big event in a case such as an asylum interview is truly a team effort, as all of the members of our team have pitched in to support Tamara and Gaby.

Challenges with Client Communication

I have been working on an asylum case for a client who has been difficult to reach. I requested a physical and psychological evaluation from Physicians for Human Rights, an organization that partners with doctors and psychologists to provide free evaluations for asylum applicants. PHR put me in contact with a doctor who offered to perform the evaluation for my client, which would be very helpful for his case. However, it has been hard to get in touch with him. My supervisor Kelly has been helping me brainstorm ways to get in touch with him, and I have also received support from Legal Director Laurie, regarding the ethical considerations of what I can discuss with the client’s father and at what point I might have to withdraw from the case if I am unable to reach the client. Through this experience, I am learning about how we must sometimes get creative to figure out how to reach our clients and how, unfortunately, if nothing works, we may be unable to continue to represent them.

Participating in CLINIC’s Comprehensive Overview of Immigration Law Training

Ayuda has given me the opportunity to take an intensive six-week course that is offered each year by CLINIC, Comprehensive Overview of Immigration Law. This course has been very helpful both in terms of reviewing the basics of immigration law and expanding my knowledge and understanding of certain areas of immigration law, particularly with regards to grounds of inadmissibility and family-based immigration. I still have two more weeks to go before completing the course.

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January 2022

January is National Human Trafficking Prevention Month. This month’s blog post discusses the importance of expanding access to immigration status and social services to combat trafficking. In addition to other resources, the discussion references a webinar that I attended this month entitled “The Impact of COVID-19 on Human Trafficking in the Labor Market,” which was sponsored by the Task Force on Human Trafficking and the Committee on Continuing Legal Education of the New York State Bar Association (NYSBA). More information about this webinar and the program faculty can be found here.

About the author: I am currently working as an Immigration Staff Attorney/Equal Justice America Fellow at Ayuda, where I represent clients in their immigration proceedings. Many of the clients that we work with are survivors of trafficking which, in some cases, makes them eligible for a T Visa. Before working at Ayuda, while I was in law school, I worked at Sanctuary for Families’ Anti-Trafficking Initiative, where I provided immigration direct services to survivors of human trafficking. Before then, I worked at a nonprofit organization in my home country of France called Equipes d’Action Contre le Proxenetisme (EACP, “Action Against Sex Trafficking”), which provided legal and social services to survivors of the sex trade.

What Is Human Trafficking?

Under U.S. federal law, “human trafficking is a crime that involves exploiting a person for labor, services, or commercial sex.” As noted in the above-referenced NYSBA webinar, human trafficking does not necessarily have to include sale or movement. A person can be trafficked from one country to another, but a person can also be trafficked without crossing state lines, or within a single location.

The Trafficking Victims Protection Act distinguishes between two types of human trafficking:

• Sex trafficking, which refers to inducing a person by force, fraud, or coercion, or inducing a person under 18 in any way, to perform a commercial sex act;
• “The recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision, or obtaining of a person for labor or services, through the use of force, fraud, or coercion for the purpose of subjection to involuntary servitude, peonage, debt bondage, or slavery.” This type of trafficking is commonly referred to as labor trafficking.

The United Nations’ Palermo Protocol also distinguishes between different types of exploitation that can constitute the ends of human trafficking, including prostitution and other forms of sexual exploitation, forced labor or services, slavery or similar practices, servitude, or the removal of organs.

Many of my clients at Ayuda have survived different forms of labor trafficking. For example, Aida* is a survivor of diplomatic trafficking. She was brought to the United States by her employer, a diplomat for whom Aida worked as a nanny in her home country of Senegal*. Once they arrived in the United States, Aida’s employer took away her passport and did not let her leave the home, making her cook, clean, and take care of her child. Aida was made to work long hours with no time off and was paid only a few hundred dollars per month. When Aida became very sick and her employer refused to bring her to the doctor, she finally found a way to escape.

Another client, Marco*, was preyed upon by members of a trafficking ring on his way to the United States. Marco was targeted by a man who saw that he was young and had very little to eat. The man offered him food and said that he would help him get to the United States. Marco was brought a strange place where he was kept for days and horribly treated. He was not able to bathe, was physically beaten, and was given hardly anything to eat. After some time, the traffickers made Marco carry a very heavy bag from Mexico into the United States, threatening to kill him if he refused.

There are also many different types of sex trafficking. At a previous job, I worked with a client who had fled gender-based violence in her home country and come to the United States. Once she was here, she did not have a work permit, so it was hard for her to find work, and she ended up living in the street. She was approached by a man who offered her food and a place to sleep. This man forced her to have non-consensual sex with strangers for months, until she was able to escape. Sex trafficking may also occur without an exchange of money. For example, a landlord demanding sexual acts in exchange for letting a tenant stay in their apartment is an instance of sex trafficking.

In some cases, sex and/or labor trafficking intersect with domestic violence. For example, an abusive partner may demand that his partner cooks and cleans for him, prohibit her from working outside the home, and force her to have sex with him whenever he demands it. If the victim is undocumented, her abusive partner may threaten to have her deported if she tries to leave him or to call the police.

As these examples show, undocumented individuals are more vulnerable to human trafficking due to their lack of immigration status. According to Estelle Davis, Counsel to the Division of Immigrant Policies and Affairs at the New York State Department of Labor, the majority of labor trafficking victims are likely undocumented individuals.

What Is the T Visa?

The Trafficking Victims Protection Act created a specific immigration remedy for survivors of human trafficking in the United States, the T Visa. The T Visa is a form of nonimmigrant status which gives a person lawful immigration status for 4 years with employment authorization, the possibility to obtain immigration status for certain family members who qualify as derivatives, access to certain social services and public benefits, and a pathway to lawful permanent resident status (a green card).

As Estelle Davis explained in the NYSBA webinar, T visas are usually reserved for individuals who have been or are likely to be useful in the investigation or prosecution of the crime of trafficking that they survived. Additionally, while the T Visa provides a much-needed form of immigration status for survivors of human trafficking, it does little to protect undocumented individuals who have not been trafficked from being trafficked in the future.

Why Increased Access to Immigration Status and Social Services
Is Crucial to the Prevention of Human Trafficking

As the above-mentioned cases illustrate, many clients I have worked with were vulnerable to sex or labor trafficking due to their lack of immigration status. Lack of work authorization makes it difficult for undocumented individuals to find safe work. Additionally, traffickers frequently use the threat of deportation and take advantage of the fact that the people they are exploiting are not familiar with the laws of the United States, do not know where to get help, and in many cases do not speak English.

Increasing access to legal services and immigration status, particularly work authorization, and simplifying immigration processes for newly arrived individuals is just as important as providing immigration status to people who have survived human trafficking.

Additionally, combatting human trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation requires a holistic approach and increased access to legal, social, and economic empowerment services for survivors. The Exited Prostitution Survivor Policy Platform, drafted by a collective of prostitution survivors, emphasizes the need for access to fair employment as well as physical and mental health care.

This article, co-authored by Ayuda’s Legal Director Laurie Ball Cooper and Development Director Laura Trask, discusses why immigrant survivors of trafficking require a holistic approach. Ayuda’s annual Human Trafficking Awareness Month panel: A Conversation with Survivors of Trafficking, will honor the lived experiences of trafficking survivors and activists Evelyn Chumbow and Ronny Marty, who will be joined by my Ayuda colleagues case manager Kirstie Sippola and immigration attorney Gaby Brito to discuss the importance of providing a wide array of services that support survivors and their sustained exit from trafficking. This virtual panel will take place on Wednesday, January 26 from 5 to 6 PM and you can register at this link.

*Names and countries have been modified to protect client confidentiality.

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December 2021

Here is an update on a few of the cases I have been working on for the past month:

With the help of my supervisor Kelly Hii, I finished preparing an adjustment of status application for one client that I filed today. This client is hoping to visit his father who is ill as soon as possible, so we included an I-131 Application for Advance Parole document along with his green card application, which, if approved, will allow him to travel internationally and reenter the United States while his green card application is pending. After discussing this case with Ayuda’s immigration team, other lawyers from the organization let me know that in their experience, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) takes a very long time to process I-765s and I-131s submitted with applications to adjust status, but that when the I-131 is submitted without the I-765, it is processed a lot faster. Because the client’s current work permit is still valid for several years, he decided that he preferred to submit the I-131 without the I-765, in the hopes that it will be approved faster.

At the end of November, I worked with a client who has a pending VAWA One-Step application to apply for the renewal of her employment authorization document (EAD). She was worried that her current EAD might expire before the new one is approved. Unfortunately, this often happens, because the current processing times for EAD applications in the Vermont Service Center are 6-11.5 months, and clients can usually only apply for their EAD renewal 6 months before the current one expires. However, my supervisor Kelly pointed out that many categories of EADs, including the category for people with pending green card applications, are automatically extended for 180 days (6 months) as long as the renewal application is submitted before the current EAD expires. Click here for more information.

I have also had the opportunity to help prepare a consent motion to dismiss removal proceedings for a client whose Special Immigrant Juvenile Status petition was approved, with my colleague Tamara Castro Marquez. We first prepared a draft motion and request for prosecutorial discretion which we submitted to the attorney from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS)’s Office of the Principal Legal Advisor (OPLA). The OPLA attorney promptly responded that they would not oppose our motion, so we were able to submit the consent motion to the immigration court.

I look forward to getting back to work on my cases after Ayuda’s holiday break!

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November 2021

Throughout the past month, I have continued working on a variety of immigration cases, a few of which are highlighted below, and attended some helpful trainings. I was admitted to the New York bar on Monday, November 8, so I can now directly represent clients in federal immigration proceedings. I am also applying to the Maryland bar so that I am able to represent clients in Maryland state courts when necessary. As of this week, former EJA fellow Kelly Hii is now my direct supervisor and has already been very helpful in answering my questions and sharing helpful tips on various cases.

The two T Adjustment of Status cases (green card applications for survivors of human trafficking who have T visas) that I have been working are almost ready to file. I have worked with the clients to collect supporting documentation and complete their applications. I have received ample support from colleagues and supervisors at Ayuda, particularly Gaby Brito, Tamara Castro Marquez, Kelly Hii, and Laurie Ball Cooper, who have been answering my questions, helping me brainstorm difficult questions, and reviewing final applications.

One of my clients, who is applying for a T visa, participated in a psychological evaluation that was provided free of charge by a psychologist through Physicians for Human Rights. I coordinated with the psychologist before the evaluation and spoke with the client about what to expect and why this would be helpful for her case. Psychological evaluations can be helpful evidence in asylum or other immigration applications to show our clients’ credibility, the psychological impact that the traumatic events they survived has had on them, and in some cases to explain why they might have difficulties discussing certain aspects of their cases.

I have also been communicating with a police department to obtain a certification for a U visa application, Form I-918B. This form is required to file for a U visa, which is a type of nonimmigrant status available to victims of certain qualifying crimes. Form I-918B must state which qualifying crimes were committed against the U visa applicant, detail the facts of the case, and be signed by the police department. In this case, we argued that our client had been a victim of both felonious assault and kidnapping, but the police department did not agree that kidnapping had occurred. I spoke with my then-supervisor Laurie Ball Cooper who helped to prepare arguments for why we believed kidnapping had also occurred. Ultimately, the police department did not want to include kidnapping, but they did agree to sign the form for felonious assault, which is what our client’s U visa application will be based on.

Ayuda provided me with the opportunity to attend a very interesting training hosted by the American Immigration Lawyers Association DC Chapter, their 2021 Mini CLE Conference. This training included three panels, “Updates to Asylum in 2021,” “Dealing With Hostile Adjudicators,” and “Crafting Cognizable Particular Social Groups.” All of these were very practice-oriented and will be helpful to me as I begin to work on asylum cases. I also attended a virtual training about immigrant eligibility for public benefits, which provided helpful context for working with clients who may have questions about how their benefits may affect their immigration case and vice-versa.

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October 2021

For the past month, I have been working with clients on different types of humanitarian-based immigration applications. I also conducted a training for pro bono attorneys on T visas. A few things that I would like to highlight are:

1.     Humanitarian Parole Applications for U Derivative Applicants

I am working with one client to prepare humanitarian parole applications for her children who are derivatives on her U visa application. U Nonimmigrant Status, also known as the U visa, is a form of immigration status that is available to people who have been victims of certain qualifying crimes. Many U visa applicants, such as my client, are survivors of domestic violence. When clients apply for U Nonimmigrant Status, they may petition for certain family members as U derivatives. Family members living abroad must wait for their application to be approved by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) before they can go through consular processing and be reunited with the principal applicant in the United States. Unfortunately, U visa applications have extremely long processing times. Further, due to a statutory cap, the government can only deliver 10,000 U visas per year, and there are many more than 10,000 applicants per year who qualify. There is a years-long backlog of cases and our clients must frequently wait years to be reunited with their families.

In this case, two of the client’s children are still in their home country awaiting the adjudication of their U visa petitions. Throughout this year, they have been receiving threatening messages from an unknown source and are afraid for their lives. Because of the extremely long processing times for U visas, it could be years before they are able to come to the United States on their U visas. We are therefore preparing humanitarian parole applications to ask the government to allow them to enter the United States to join their mother as they await the adjudication of their U visas. Humanitarian parole is a discretionary immigration benefit for which a person may qualify if they “have a compelling emergency and there is an urgent humanitarian reason or significant public benefit to allowing [them] to temporarily enter the United States.” Source: https://www.uscis.gov/forms/explore-my-options/humanitarian-parole.

I have received critical support from Ayuda’s full immigration team to help with this case by discussing it during our all-immigration case review. Ayuda immigration lawyers shared their thoughts on the likelihood of success and ideas of how we might include more evidence in the application. Immigration Staff Attorney Carina Villagra, who has extensive experience with humanitarian parole applications, has been particularly helpful in providing me with samples and sharing some of her experience with me.

2.     T Visa Application

I have also been working with a client on her application for T Nonimmigrant Status, which is a status available for certain people who have been victims of a severe form of trafficking, which can include sex or labor trafficking. Throughout this process, I am witnessing how, sadly, the retraumatization of applicants is inherent to many humanitarian-based forms of immigration relief. To establish eligibility for the T visa, we must submit a lengthy declaration from our client detailing the various aspects of the trafficking. It is very difficult for my client to share the details of what happened to her, and she feels that the process is making it impossible for her to move on from her trauma. In these types of cases, we work with Ayuda’s social services team to offer therapy and case management for the client, if she would like. Access to therapy and other social services can be important for many clients applying for a T visa or other humanitarian-based immigration remedy.

3.     T Adjustment of Status Applications

I have also been working on two T Adjustment of Status applications for clients who are currently T nonimmigrants. Adjustment of Status is an application for lawful permanent resident status, also known as a green card. In most cases, T nonimmigrants must wait until three years after their T visa was approved to apply to adjust status. However, T nonimmigrants may be eligible to adjust earlier if the investigation or prosecution of their trafficking is complete. Both cases that I am working on are early adjustment cases, so my clients will not have to wait three years to submit their applications.

4.     Immigration Consultations

Over the past month, I have also had the opportunity to observe two immigration consultations. The first one focused mainly on Special Immigrant Juvenile Status, and the second one involved a client who may be eligible for a T visa.

5.     T Visa Training for Latham & Watkins

On October 18, I delivered a presentation on T visas at a training for pro bono attorneys at Latham & Watkins, one of Ayuda’s pro bono partners. The training aimed to prepare pro bono attorneys to take on direct representation of clients who are eligible for a T visa and included an overview of T Nonimmigrant Status, details about each eligibility requirement, a guide to assembling a T visa application, and an explanation of the pro bono process by Ayuda’s Legal Director, Laurie Ball Cooper. Building on prior T visa trainings prepared by Ayuda immigration staff, Laurie and I worked together to prepare the presentation. Irfana Anwer, Ayuda’s Pro Bono Managing Attorney, coordinated with the firm to set up the training and introduced Ayuda’s pro bono program.

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September 2021

I began my Equal Justice America fellowship at Ayuda on September 1st. Since then, I have been assigned to work on various cases for several clients. I have contacted my clients to introduce myself, learned about the facts and main issues in their cases, and begun working with several of them. I have interacted with clients in French, Spanish, and English.

Last week, I finalized an application for T-derivative Nonimmigrant Status for a married couple, one of whom was petitioning for derivative status for her spouse as a T-1 Nonimmigrant. T Nonimmigrant Status allows certain survivors of a severe form of trafficking to acquire immigration status and is a pathway to lawful permanent residence (commonly referred to as a green card) through adjustment of status. At Ayuda, I will be working on several cases for clients who are applying for T Nonimmigrant Status, derivative status for their spouses and/or children, and T adjustment of status.

I also began working on cases before the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR), for clients who are in removal proceedings. I made calls to the EOIR hotline to check on clients’ hearing dates. For one client, I drafted a Mendez Rojas notice. U.S. immigration law generally requires asylum seekers to apply for asylum within one year of entering the country. Under the Mendez Rojas settlement agreement, certain asylum seekers may timely file for asylum even if they file within more than one year of entering the country, by filing a notice that they are a member of a Mendez Rojas class. My client qualifies as a member of Mendez Rojas Class B, because: (1) he was taken into custody by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) within fourteen days of entering the United States, (2) he expressed that he was afraid of returning to his country of origin, (3) he was placed in removal proceedings and released from DHS custody, and (4) DHS failed to give him individualized notice of the one-year filing deadline for asylum applications. Filing the Mendez Rojas notice may be important to preserve the timeliness of this client’s asylum application.

For more information about the Mendez Rojas settlement agreement, see https://www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/sites/default/files/mendez_rojas_v_johnson_faq.pdf.