ASISTA is aware that the USCIS “Contact Us” page does not include information about which hotline address should be contacted for U cases with receipt numbers that start with IOE. After reaching out to USCIS, until the Contact Us page is updated to reflect their “final determination,” practitioners inquiring about U cases with receipt numbers starting with IOE should reach out to the VSC 918/914 hotline. See this Practice Alert for more information.
ASISTA, the Immigrant Legal Resource Center (“ILRC”), and Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc. (“CLINIC”) co-authored the VAWA Practice Advisory: VAWA Self-Petition Policy Updates.
On April 20, 2022, ASISTA submitted this comment in response to the “Agency Information Collection Activities; Extension, Without a Change, of a Currently Approved Collection: Petition To Remove the Conditions on Residence,” initially published in the Federal Register on October 15, 20211 and reopened for 30 days for additional public comments on March 21, 2022.
Click here to access ASISTA’s full comment on USCIS Policy Manual Changes: Volume 3: Humanitarian Protection and Parole, Part D, Violence Against Women Act (VAWA).
ASISTA and other amici filed this brief regarding USCIS’s unreasonable delay in adjudicating U visa work authorization requests. Amici were represented pro bono by Nathan Warecki, Brianna Nassif, Lauren Maynard, and Myra Benjamin from Nixon Peabody. Click here to access the amicus brief.
As usual, there have been several important policy and practice updates over the last few weeks. From a new ICE directive on victim-centered approaches, to litigation updates, new calls for examples and stakeholder engagements. Read more about some of these updates in our latest edition of ICYMI here .
On April 6, 2021, ASISTA hosted a listening session with USCIS representatives regarding recent trends and issues with fee waiver adjudications related to survivor-based protections including VAWA self-petitions, U and T visa relief. The notes from that listening session can be found below.
There have been many policy and practice updates over the last few weeks. We’ve compiled a short list of a few important updates to help you keep track.
When case issues arise with DHS and your inquiries go unanswered, Congressional liaisons may be able to help. This advisory contains helpful tips for making effective Congressional liaison assistance requests.
COVID-19 is exacerbating the already tremendous barriers survivors face in accessing safety and secure status. Although we are pushing Congress to change its policies to recognize COVID’s impact on survivors and their ability to file paper, get work authorization extensions, etc., we need your help educating your Members of Congress .
While we continue to advocate and await further guidance, we have prepared this Practice Pointer, Filing Deadlines for RFEs, NOIDs, NOIRs and I-290Bs , to assist you in meeting deadlines during this national emergency. We encourage you to also visit ASISTA’s COVID-19 Resource Page and that of our partners, CLINIC and CAST .
On behalf of ASISTA organizational and individual members nationwide, ASISTA expressed our concerns regarding the impact of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) on USCIS’ survivor-based benefits operations. ASISTA called on USCIS to adopt measures that address the additional limitations faced by immigrant survivors’ of domestic violence, sexual assault, human trafficking and other serious crimes.
ASISTA ( https://asistahelp.org ) is looking for a new Executive Director followingthe retirement of its co-founderand Executive Director, Gail Pendleton, in the fall of 2020. ASISTA’s mission is to advance the dignity,rights, and liberty of immigrant survivors of domestic and sexual violence. TheExecutive Director will report to ASISTA’s 7-member Board of Directors. ASISTA has an annualbudget of approximately $650,000 and a talented staff of six, including fourattorneys. Candidates do not need to be attorneys.
In this practice pointer , ASISTA addresses what to do if your case was denied as abandoned because you did not respond to an RFE that was never received. In the Appendix, we include a sample keystroke FOIA request and redacted keystroke FOIA response. Click here to download the document in Word version.
ASISTA with support from the Alliance for Immigrant Survivors (AIS) has released an advocacy toolkit to help those who work with survivors engage in advocacy efforts with their member of Congress.
It is beyond overwhelming to track the myriad ways, large and small, in which DHS’ policy is eroding access to critical immigration protections, including those designed to protect immigrant crime survivors. Sometimes these policy changes don’t grab headlines, but they all contribute to DHS’ calculated and callous plan to weaken existing paths to immigration benefits. Given our mission and expertise, ASISTA is deeply concerned about these policy changes as they often diminish access to immigration protections for survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault and human trafficking.