Update: FOIA Production on Fee Waiver Policy & Practice

In January 2019, Texas RioGrande Legal Aid (TRLA) filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request on behalf of Grassroots Leadership requesting information on fee waiver adjudication policies and procedures for VAWA self-petitions, T visa and U visa Humanitarian programs.   Due to a lack of response, Grassroots Leadership, represented by TRLA, was a plaintiff in…

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Litigation Update: Challenges to Fee Waiver Form Changes

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.  Public Citizen on behalf of the Northwest Immigrant Rights Network field a suit in the U.S. District Court for…

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Judge strikes down efforts to diminish protections for asylum seekers.

ASISTA applauds the federal court decision yesterday which restores critical protections for asylum seekers fleeing domestic violence and gang brutality.  The Center for Gender and Refugee Studies and ACLU challenged the Administration’s harmful expedited removal policies which instructed asylum officers to generally deny domestic violence and gang violence-related claims.  ASISTA is proud to have supported the…

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