Statement on the Violence Against Women Act Reauthorization Act of 2022 February 10, 2022

Yesterday, Senators Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Joni Ernst (R-IA), Richard Durbin (D-IL), and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) introduced the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2022. This important bill reflects a bipartisan consensus that the government needs to do more to prevent and respond to domestic violence, sexual assault, dating violence, and stalking. The bill addresses many…

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ASISTA Announces New Staff Attorneys

ASISTA Immigration Assistance is thrilled to welcome two new staff attorneys to the team. Lia will be working primarily with our private members, while Kelly will be working mainly with OVW grantees. Click here to learn more!

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ASISTA Weighs in on Barriers to Benefits for Immigrant Survivors (Oct. 18, 2021)

On October 18, 2021, ASISTA submitted a comment to DOS in response to a Request for Public Input identifying barriers that impede access to immigration benefits, fair and efficient adjudications of these benefits, and recommendations on how to remove these barriers. We focused our comment on the challenges immigrant survivors and their derivatives face when consular processing. Thank you to our…

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Afghanistan Resources

ASISTA does not provide direct legal services. However, we compiled some resources and we hope the information below, with associated links, will be helpful. Staring Monday, September 13, 2021, the Tahirih Justice Center’s Afghan Asylum Project will provide information, referrals, and asylum legal screenings for Afghan citizens who recently arrived in the U.S. through our…

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In Case You Missed It (ICYMI): August 24, 2021

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.

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New ASISTA Policy Alert, Q&A on ICE Directive: Using a Victim-Centered Approach with Noncitizen Crime Victims (Current as of August 23, 2021)

On August 10, 2021, ICE issued a new agency directive superseding guidance from 2019 regarding stay of removal requests and removal proceedings involving U visa petitioners (hereinafter “Directive”). The Directive outlines new policies and procedures regarding exercising prosecutorial discretion for victims of crime, including those eligible for victim-based immigration relief (including VAWA self-petitions, U and…

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ICYMI – Important Policy & Practice Updates, June 2021

June 2021 ICYMI As usual, there have been several policy and practice updates over the last few weeks, from new ICE guidance, Supreme Court decisions, a flurry of new updates from USCIS, some important consular processing information from NVC and a consolidated guide on CDC COVID travel restriction exemptions from CBP. Read more about these…

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ASISTA Statement on New Path to Work Authorization for U visa petitioners

June 14, 2021 ASISTA applauds USCIS’s policy alert announcing work authorization for U visa petitioners who present a bona fide case. This policy will help alleviate the myriad barriers that victims and their families face as a result of the significant processing delays in the U visa program.  Currently there are nearly 270,000 individuals with…

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