In the beginning of November, two lawsuits were filed challenging the harmful revisions to USCIS fee waiver forms . USCIS’ new revisions limit the criteria for fee waivers and increase burdens on low-income applicants applying for immigration relief.
ASISTA condemns the Administration’s plans for mass raids, now slated to start this Su nday . These mass immigration enforcement actions create immense fear in communities nationwide. For immigrant survivors of violence, these raids exacerbate the trauma and fear they already endure because of the abuse they have experienced.
In May and June of 2019, some practitioners have reported that USCIS issued a number of NTAs in connection with denied U and T visa applications. Given these reports, ASISTA in conjunction with CAST, Freedom Network USA, American Association of Immigration Lawyers (AILA), Immigrant Legal Resource Center (ILRC), and Asian Americans Advancing Justice-Los Angeles created a practice update to addresses some of the actions practitioners can take in individual cases as well as to support policy-level advocacy efforts.
On May 29, 2019 AILA and ASISTA sent a letter to USCIS leadership as well as the CIS Ombudsman expressing concern that the two-month grace period to transition to the new Form I-918 is insufficient as it will cause hardship to survivors, advocates, as well as law enforcement agencies. Read the letter here .
ASISTA, along with Asian Pacific Institute On Gender-Based Violence, Casa De Esperanza, Futures Without Violence, National Alliance To End Sexual Violence, and the Tahirih Justice Center, submitted an amicus brief in the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals regarding how judges must follow the guidelines outlined in the 2012 BIA case Matter of Sanchez Sosa , and how failing to do so contravenes the protections in found int the Violence Against Women Act.
New USCIS Guidance will create a chilling effect on survivors coming forward to access protection.