The Immigration Project is happy to share three success stories for the month of April.
Naturalization Success Story
In April 2022, KT attended her Naturalization Oath of Allegiance Ceremony and officially became a naturalized U.S. citizen! She is excited to complete her master’s degree program and pursue a career in tourism. KT was brought to the U.S. from Grenada in 2006 at the age of 11 on a tourist visa and has been a VOLS client since 2012, when she first applied for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals. In 2013, KT was petitioned by her lawful permanent resident mother; in 2015, she became a lawful permanent resident. Cases like KT’s highlight the prolonged path towards citizenship and the need for consistent legal services as the immigration status of a person changes over time. Working with youth allows VOLS to build long relationships that foster trust and facilitate new avenues of relief as a client’s life circumstances – and forms of relief available relief – evolve.
Lawful Permanent Resident Though Special Immigrant Juvenile Status
Working with youth also allows VOLS to identify forms of relief such as Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (SIJS), which is available only to minors (under the age of 21). GV is a 19-year-old citizen of Mexico who came to the U.S. at the age of two with her mother. GV has been represented by VOLS since 2020, first in Family Court where she was granted a SIJS predicate order which allowed her to file an application for SIJS, along with a green card application. In April 2022, GV’s green card application was approved, and she is now a lawful permanent resident! GV is eager to return to college and apply for scholarships and financial aid that were previously not available to her. In five years, GV will be able to naturalize to become a U.S. citizen.
Identifying permanent forms of relief for immigrant youth opens educational and professional development opportunities previously not available. SIJS is one of the few forms of relief that offers a permanent relief with an eventual path to citizenship. VOLS partnerships with community organizations and New York City schools are essential to identifying youth who can benefit from forms of relief such as SIJS.
Temporary Protected Status
When a permanent form of relief is not available, humanitarian forms of relief like Temporary Protected Status (TPS) are equally as important to identify. TPS provides temporary work authorization and a social security number to nationals of designated countries. Although temporary, work authorization opens job opportunities and access to certain public benefits, in addition to the peace of mind knowing that there is temporary protection against deportation. BJWH is 18-years old Venezuelan citizen who is ethnically Chinese. He entered the U.S. in 2016 on a tourist visa and in June 2021, filed for TPS for Venezuelans, which was approved after a 10-month adjudication period. As a college student, BJWH is happy to have this temporary relief, despite its brief five-month protection.
Currently, the administration has not decided whether TPS for Venezuelans will be extended. Advocacy is extremely important in these cases in order to encourage the administration to extend TPS to the many people who waited upwards of 10 months – or who are still waiting – to receive an adjudication, only to have it cover a period of five months or less.