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Pro Bono Reporter Volume 21 Summer 2016 11
IMMIGRATION
Charlotte Office Responds to Crisis of Unaccompanied Minors
Fleeing Neglect and Abuse in Central America
Working with Legal Services of Southern Piedmont,
11 Charlotte office attorneys, including
Kobi Brinson,
David Ginzer, Tanielle Henriques, Elizabeth Ireland,
Stacie Knight, Rene LeBlanc-Allman, Eric Manor,
Amanda Muehlhausen, Pattie Rhame,
(former
associate) Michael Shaffer, and
Elizabeth Timkovich
,
are representing a group of children who fled abuse
and neglect in their homes in El Salvador, Honduras, and
Guatemala and came to the United States unaccompanied by a parent or an adult. The
Winston contingent is assisting with the initial step in the process of securing available
immigration relief: helping a responsible adult or family member secure guardianship
over the children so they can appropriately file legal documents seeking Special
Immigrant Juvenile Visa Status with the U. S. immigration service.
Chicago Office Clinic Assists Immigrant Victims of Violent Crime
Apply for U-visas
In collaboration with the National Immigrant Justice Center, the Chicago office
initiated a new pro bono clinic to assist eligible immigrant crime victims who
have cooperated with law enforcement apply for U nonimmigrant status. On the
day of the clinic, volunteers conducted an extensive client interview to assess
case facts and begin the process of completing the required immigration forms
and drafting the client’s supporting affidavit. Thereafter, volunteers worked with
their clients to finalize and file the U visa application. Participating attorneys
include:
Ariane Andrade
,
Mark Christy, A. J. Gatesman, Joe Kern, Matt
Langhorst, Heather Lehman, Jamie Lepri, Ryan Martin, Nick Pesavento,
Kaitlyn Quigley,
and
Jacob Schtevie
.
Charlotte Office Project Assists Immigrants Become United States
Citizens
The Charlotte office began a new collaboration with the Latin Coalition and
hosted a clinic to assist eligible Lawful Permanent Residents apply for United
States citizenship. Volunteers gathered client information on eligibility, prepared
and filed the citizenship application packet, and attended a non-adversarial
naturalization interview with their client at the local immigration office. Participating
were
Kobi Brinson, Tanielle Henriques, Morgan Stewart, Alyson Traw, Elizabeth
Timkovich, Joanna Wade,
and
Jeff Wilkerson.
Rene LeBlanc Allman
A.J. Gatesman
Tanielle Henriques