Immigration Waivers Project with Catholic Charities of Central Texas

Students will work on complex family-based immigration cases where immigrant applicants require waivers of any applicable grounds of inadmissibility. This project will require students to work directly with clients and their families to document how the qualifying family member will suffer hardship should their immigrant relative not be admitted to the United States. This will require working with the clients on a declaration and obtaining and organizing evidence that supports the facts of the case. In addition, students will write a brief explaining the legal arguments for client's eligibility for the applicable waiver. By the end of the project, students will compile and submit a completed waiver application to the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) on behalf of their client.

Organization

Catholic Charities of Central Texas

Since 2002, Immigration Legal Services (ILS) of Catholic Charities of Central Texas has provided affordable legal consultations, representation, and assistance in Central Texas to low-income immigrants of all cultural and religious backgrounds. Our experienced staff guides clients through the complex immigration process in order to obtain immigration benefits for qualified individuals, to reunite families and to promote awareness of current immigration topics.

Project Details

Project Start Date
February 2015
Approximate hours of work requested
40-50 hours total over the course of spring semester
Training
A one-hour training will be held Friday, Feb. 6, 12pm-1pm in Goodwin Conference Room (CCJ 1.312)
Skills used
Legal research/writing; document preparation/review; client interviewing
Project location
Catholic Charities office (1625 Rutherford Lane, Austin, Texas 78754); limited work from home possible for some project tasks
Address
1625 Rutherford Lane, Austin TX
Number of student volunteers requested
8
Class year preference
1L, 2L, 3L, LLM
Required skills
Language: Spanish helpful but not necessary
To Apply
Submit email stating interest to Sarah Sedgwick at ssedgwick@law.utexas.edu