Amigos En Cristo Inc

AMIGOS CENTER PROVIDES STABILITY TO FAMILIES AND THE COMMUNITY BY PROVIDING EXPERT IMMIGRATION LEGAL SERVICES AT A LOW COST OR PRO BONO RATE.

IN 2023 WE SERVED 1,369 INDIVIDUAL, UNDUPLICATED CLIENTS. THAT TRANSLATES TO OVER 6,000 PEOPLE SERVED WHEN WE INCLUDE DERIVATIVE FAMILY MEMBERS. WE SERVED CLIENTS AND THEIR FAMILY MEMBERS FROM 44 COUNTRIES, SPANNING FIVE CONTINENTS. LAST YEAR WAS OUR FIRST YEAR AS A COMPLETELY INDEPENDENT AGENCY. WE TACKLED NEW ADMINISTRATIVE AND MANAGERIAL TASKS AND WERE STILL ABLE TO MEET OUR GOAL OF SERVING OVER 1,350 CLIENTS WITH JUST ONE FULL-TIME PRACTITIONER AND ONE PART-TIME PRACTITIONER. IT WAS QUITE A FEAT. WE ARE VERY EXCITED TO BE ABLE TO HIRE SOMEONE IN 2024, SO THAT NUMBER CAN CONTINUE TO GROW. SERVICES PROVIDED TO THE 1,369 CLIENTS WE SERVED IN 2023 INCLUDED A SIGNIFICANT FOCUS ON FAMILY-BASED CASES, WHERE A U.S. CITIZEN, LEGAL PERMANENT RESIDENT, ASYLEE PETITIONS THE GOVERNMENT TO BRING A CLOSE FAMILY MEMBER TO THE UNITED STATES. WE ALSO SERVE CLIENTS WHO APPLY FOR TEMPORARY STATUS- AND RENEW FREQUENTLY, SUCH AS TEMPORARY PROTECTED STATUS (TPS) AND DEFERRED ACTION FOR CHILDHOOD ARRIVALS (DACA OR DREAMERS). WE HELP CLIENTS TO APPLY FOR NATURALIZATION AND IN 2023, 79 OF OUR CLIENTS BECAME U.S. CITIZENS. IN ITS PRACTICE, AMIGOS CENTER SERVES HUNDREDS OF VICTIMS OF CRIME, ESPECIALLY THOSE WHO'VE SUFFERED FROM DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AND HUMAN TRAFFICKING. CLIENTS WHO HAVE BEEN THE VICTIM OF A VIOLENT CRIME CAN BE ELIGIBLE TO APPLY FOR A U VISA. WE SERVE SPOUSES OF U.S. CITIZENS OR PERMANENT RESIDENTS WHO WERE SUBJECT TO CRUELTY IN THEIR MARRIAGE BY FILING FOR THEIR PERMANENT RESIDENCY UNDER THE VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN ACT. ADDITIONALLY, WE HELP VICTIMS OF HUMAN TRAFFICKING AND THEIR FAMILIES, APPLY FOR LEGAL PERMANENT RESIDENCY. IN 2023, WE FILED 52 VICTIM-BASED CASES, IN ADDITION TO PROVIDING FOLLOW-UP SERVICES TO THE OVER 175 PENDING U VISA CASES. AMIGOS CENTER IS ALSO PROUD TO PARTICIPATE IN NEW GOVERNMENT PROGRAMS FOR IMMIGRANTS WHEN THEY ARISE. IN THE SPRING OF 2022, USCIS INTRODUCED "UNITING FOR UKRAINE" IN ORDER TO "WELCOME UKRAINIANS FLEEING RUSSIA'S INVASION." AMIGOS CENTER FILED A HANDFUL OF THOSE APPLICATIONS IN 2022. AS AN EXTENSION OF THE "UNITING FOR UKRAINE PROGRAM," IN THE FALL OF 2022, USCIS INTRODUCED "THE PROCESS FOR VENEZUELANS." THIS IS A WAY FOR CITIZENS OF VENEZUELA TO LAWFULLY COME TO THE U.S. TEMPORARILY BASED ON "URGENT HUMANITARIAN OR SIGNIFICANT PUBLIC BENEFIT REASONS." IN 2023, USCIS ADDED CUBA, HAITI, AND NICARAGUA TO THE LIST OF COUNTRIES THAT QUALIFIED FOR "THE PROCESS." AMIGOS CENTER FILED OVER 100 APPLICATIONS FOR "THE PROCESS" IN 2023, SERVING CITIZENS AND THEIR FAMILIES OF ALL QUALIFYING COUNTRIES.