As a national expert, the Immigrant Legal Resource Center (ILRC) provides technical assistance, trainings and practice manuals on critical immigration options for vulnerable immigrants including immigrant victims of domestic violence, human trafficking and other crimes.
U Visa: Immigration Relief for Survivors of Domestic Violence and Other Crimes
Immigrant victims of certain crimes who have been helpful in a criminal investigation or prosecution may qualify for a visa that can lead to a green card. The ILRC’s practice manual entitledThe U Visa: Obtaining Status for Immigrant Survivors of Crimeis a comprehensive explanation of the law and application process that also includes sample materials and practice tips.
VAWA: Immigration Relief for Survivors of Domestic Violence and Other Crimes
VAWA allows an abused spouse or child of a U.S. Citizen or Lawful Permanent Resident or an abused parent of a U.S. Citizen to self-petition for lawful status in the United States, receive employment authorization, and access public benefits. VAWA provides domestic violence survivors with the means that are essential to escaping violence and establishing safe, independent lives. ILRC has co-authoredThe VAWA Manual, a step-by-step guide to assist advocates working on VAWA cases.
T Visa: Immigration Relief for Survivors of Sex or Labor Trafficking
Human trafficking survivors may be eligible for lawful status, employment authorization, and a potential path to permanent residency, but they are a unique population with diverse and resource-intensive needs. The ILRC publishes a guide,Representing Survivors of Human Trafficking, on special considerations when working with human trafficking victims.
Use of the Term “Victim” vs. “Survivor”
Please note that the ILRC often uses the terms “victim” and “survivor” interchangeably. Because a “victim” is typically defined by harm done to them, many advocates choose to instead use the word “survivor” to refer to clients. “Survivors” are defined by their livesafterthe harm, allowing them to reclaim control of their lives and their recovery. While our goal as advocates is to help community members survive and thrive despite harms they have suffered, we sometimes use the term “victim” when referring to a particular aspect of the criminal legal system, penal code, or immigration law; when describing someone recently affected by crime; when talking about the actions of a perpetrator; or when discussing the harm inflicted on those who did not survive. When working with impacted community members, we recommend asking people which term they prefer, as some may identify with the term victim, while others may prefer the term survivor.
Latest Resources
Practice Advisory
Resources
AILA Stakeholder Meeting Notes with USCIS
Publication Date
04/18/2024
FAQs & Explainers
Resources
New Fee Exemptions for Immigrant Survivors of Abuse, Trafficking, and Other Crimes
Publication Date
05/15/2024
As of April 1, 2024, immigrant survivors of abuse, trafficking, and other crimes can now apply for certain immigration benefits for free. This Community Explainer details which survivor-based benefits are covered by the new fee exemptions, as well as other changes that may reduce financial barriers to accessing immigration benefits.
Public Comments / Sign-on Letters
Resources
ILRC Comment on Proposed I-131
Publication Date
02/27/2024
FAQs & Explainers
Resources
New USCIS Fee Rule: An Update on USCIS Filing Fees
Publication Date
02/12/2024
On January 31, 2024, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) released a final fee rule that will go into effect April 1, 2024. This Community Alert delves into the provisions of the new rule including increased fees, expanded fee exemptions, and changes to fee waiver policy. This downloadable guide also offers some key takeaways and resources to find support for your immigration case.
Practice Advisory
Resources
Practice Alert: USCIS Publishes Final Fee Rule, Effective April 1, 2024
Publication Date
02/09/2024
Practice Advisory
Resources
Using the T Visa Law Enforcement Resource Guide
Publication Date
02/05/2024
In October 2021, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued its T Visa Law Enforcement Resource Guide. The guide, published alongside updated guidance on T visas in the USCIS Policy Manual (USCIS-PM), advises law enforcement agencies on providing T visa certifications, a crucial form of evidence in T visa applications. This practice advisory gives an overview of the resource guide and how practitioners can utilize it to advocate for law enforcement agencies to provide law enforcement certifications to survivors.
Practice Advisory
Resources
California U Visa Law Update
Publication Date
01/18/2024
Law enforcement agencies in California have been responding to requests for U visa certifications for many years to allow immigrant survivors of crime and their family members to apply for U nonimmigrant status. However, until 2016 there was no statewide standard or protocol for certifications. Several bills have passed in the meantime to further streamline the process. Most recently, AB 1261 was signed into law in October 2023 and went into effect on 01/01/2024. The Immigrant Legal Resource Center and the Los Angeles Center for Law and Justice wrote this advisory to summarize California state laws on U visa certifications, including the newest provisions.
FAQs & Explainers
Resources
Options for Survivors in Criminal Court
Publication Date
01/09/2024
Criminal Convictions can have serious consequences on peoples’ lives – especially non-citizens who wish to stay in the United States. Many immigration benefits have criminal bars, meaning that certain convictions will prevent you from getting a lawful immigration status, like permanent residence (green card). This Community Explainer offers some options for those who have had certain convictions related to domestic violence or human trafficking, with insights about how to define these crimes, some example scenarios, and explanations about the benefits of a legal tool called a “vacatur.”
Public Comments / Sign-on Letters
Resources
ILRC Comment on Proposed Changes to U Visa Forms
Publication Date
01/08/2024
ILRC submitted this comment on the many proposed changes to U Visa Forms I-918, I-918A, and I-918B. ILRC commended the agency for many changes, including shortening Forms I-918 and I-918A and removing many questions about rare grounds of inadmissibility. ILRC also provided suggestions for how the agency could further streamline Forms I-918 and I-918A, and raised concerns about the expansion of Form I-918B.
Archive
Resources
Unofficial Notes from USCIS Stakeholder Call on VAWA, U, and T Issues
Publication Date
11/08/2023
AILA, ILRC, CAST, Lucas & Barba LLP, Urban Justice Center, Her Justice, and ASISTA coordinated a stakeholder meeting on May 8, 2023. These unofficial notes capture the questions asked and general information shared by USCIS staff.
Public Comments / Sign-on Letters
Resources
ILRC Comments on USCIS PM Changes – Safe Address and Special Procedures for Persons Protected by 8 USC § 1367
Publication Date
10/16/2023
The ILRC commented on USCIS policy guidance regarding Safe Address and Special Procedures for Persons Protected by 8 USC 1367. ILRC commends USCIS for this guidance and provides suggestions for further strengthening the guidance.
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Related Products
Webinar
Webinar
All About U Derivatives
This webinar will cover the different ways that U petitioners can include derivatives, including at the time of filing the principal application, after the principal application has been filed, and after the principal application has been approved. Using hypotheticals, the webinar will also discuss common challenges that arise in U derivative cases, such as after-acquired relationships, extensions of status, and U derivatives abroad.
Webinar
Webinar
VAWA: Beyond the Basics
This webinar will address some of the more challenging aspects of representing clients eligible for VAWA benefits, such as issues relating to the representation of VAWA applicants who do not identify as female, gathering evidence of emotional abuse, public benefits available to VAWA applicants, alternatives to VAWA adjustment, and selected adjustment and naturalization issues that may arise.
Publication
Publication
The U Visa: Obtaining Status for Immigrant Survivors of Crime
The U Visa: Obtaining Status for Immigrant Survivors of Crime will guide you through the entire process of handling an immigration case for a U visa petitioner—from eligibility screening for U nonimmigrant status, to communicating about the waitlist, bona fide determination, and deferred action, to adjustment of status, to assisting eligible family members, and to helping U nonimmigrants travel.
Publication
Publication
Parole in Immigration Law
The Immigrant Legal Resource Center created the first comprehensive manual about parole in immigration law in 2016 to provide practitioners with a one-stop guide to the legal requirements of all the different types of parole, practice pointers about when and how to file for parole, and discussions of the evolving issues in parole policy. Parole in Immigration Law thoroughly addresses the three main types of parole: advance parole, humanitarian parole, and parole-in-place. The appendices include numerous sample parole applications and cover letters; USCIS, ICE, and CBP memoranda on parole issues; a sample RFE; an advance parole cover letter template; travel checklist; and many other essential tools for both private attorneys and nonprofit practitioners exploring parole as an option for their clients.
Webinar
Webinar
VAWA Cancellation
Cancellation of removal under the Violence Against Women Act (“VAWA”) is a generous though often overlooked form of relief for abused noncitizens faced with removal proceedings. VAWA cancellation often benefits abused spouses and sons and daughters even when VAWA self-petitioning and adjustment is no longer possible due to missed deadlines and “age-outs.” This webinar will discuss the qualifying relationships necessary for relief, the basic eligibility requirements for VAWA cancellation, as well as the statutory and regulatory bars to cancellation that are applicable. We will also compare and contrast eligibility for VAWA cancellation with VAWA self-petitions and nonLPR cancellation.
Webinar
Webinar
U Visa Fundamentals
Level: Beginner
This webinar will cover the unique nature of U nonimmigrant status, including the U petition, U waiver, the bona fide determination process, the U waitlist, and U adjustment of status. The presenters will discuss in detail the eligibility criteria for U nonimmigrant status, covering trends and practice tips.
Presenters
Alison Kamhi - Legal Program Director, ILRC
Alison Kamhi is the Legal Program Director based in San Francisco. Alison is a dedicated immigrant advocate who brings significant experience in immigration law to the ILRC. Alison leads the ILRC's Immigrant Survivors Team and conducts frequent in-person and webinar trainings on naturalization and citizenship, family-based immigration, U visas, and FOIA requests. She also provides technical assistance through the ILRC’s Attorney of the Day program on a wide range of immigration issues, including immigration options for youth, consequences of criminal convictions for immigration purposes, removal defense strategy, and eligibility for immigration relief, including family-based immigration, U visas, VAWA, DACA, cancellation of removal, asylum, and naturalization.
She has co-authored a number of publications, including The U Visa: Obtaining Status for Immigrant Victims of Crimes (ILRC); FOIA Requests and Other Background Checks (ILRC); Naturalization and U.S. Citizenship (ILRC); Hardship in Immigration Law (ILRC); Parole in Immigration Law (ILRC); Special Immigrant Juvenile Status and Other Immigration Options for Children and Youth (ILRC); A Guide for Immigrant Advocates (ILRC); and Most In Need But Least Served: Legal and Practical Barriers to Special Immigrant Juvenile Status for Federally Detained Minors, 50 Fam. Ct. Rev. 4 (2012).
Alison facilitates the eight member Collaborative Resources for Immigrant Services on the Peninsula (CRISP) collaborative in San Mateo County to provide immigration services to low-income immigrants in Silicon Valley.
Prior to the ILRC, Alison worked as a Clinical Teaching Fellow at the Stanford Law School Immigrants' Rights Clinic, where she supervised removal defense cases and immigrants' rights advocacy projects. Before Stanford, she represented abandoned and abused immigrant youth as a Skadden Fellow at Bay Area Legal Aid and at Catholic Charities Community Services in New York. While in law school, Alison worked at the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the ACLU Immigrants' Rights Project, and Greater Boston Legal Services Immigration Unit. After law school, she clerked for the Honorable Julia Gibbons in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.
Alison received her J.D. from Harvard Law School and her B.A. from Stanford University. Alison is admitted to the bar in California and New York. She speaks German and Spanish.
Jennefer Canales-Pelaez - Texas Policy Attorney & Strategist, ILRC
Jennefer joined the ILRC in 2022. Jennefer has advocated for immigrant rights from the age of 11 when she advocated for her father’s immigration status to the President at the time, George W. Bush. Although her father was ultimately deported, Jennefer dedicated her life and career to ensuring that no one else experiences the trauma she felt at the age of 11.
She graduated from Occidental College with a B.A. in Sociology in 2012 and earned her Juris Doctor from Southwestern Law School in 2016. Jennefer is a member of the State Bar of California and the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. Jennefer has been involved with ICE out of LA, Southwestern Immigration Law Clinic, National Immigration Law Center (NILC), Esperanza Immigrant Rights Project, Immigrant Defenders Law Center (IMMDEF), Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights (CHIRLA) and worked with the Los Angeles Immigration Court. Jennefer is a former board member and co-president of the National Lawyers Guild-LA Chapter, former Apen Ideas Scholar and KIPP Accelerator. After moving back to her hometown, Houston, Texas in 2019, she represented survivors of gender-based violence at Tahirih Justice Center prior to joining the ILRC. Jennefer was nominated as one of Houston’s Unsung Heros in 2020 and is a current KIPP Texas board member.
Brooke Parr - Directing Attorney, ICWC San Diego
Brooke joined ICWC in 2011, helping to introduce ICWC services to the San Diego community. She represents clients in VAWA, U Visa, Adjustment of Status, guardianship, SIJS, and DACA cases. Brooke often provides trainings to local law enforcement agencies and community-based organizations on U Visa and VAWA. Prior to ICWC, Brooke worked at Casa Cornelia Law Center (CCLC) in San Diego, devoting her time to providing free legal services to indigent immigrants. During her time with CCLC, Brooke held various positions, including Pro Bono Program Director and Domestic Violence Program Director. Brooke received her J.D. degree from the University of Southern California Gould School of Law and graduated from Stanford University with a B.A. in Psychology and a B.A. in Spanish. During her time at USC, Brooke worked as an intern at Public Counsel Law Center in Los Angeles and participated in USC’s Children’s Rights Clinic. She gained experience assisting families who were adopting children who had been abused, abandoned, or neglected and assisted attorneys with guardianship and Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (SIJS) cases. She also served as Notes Editor for her honors journal, Southern California Review of Law and Social Justice (RLSJ) and authored a publication for RLSJ, regarding the benefits received by families adopting children from the foster care system who have special needs. Brooke is admitted to the California bar and is fluent in Spanish.
