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Immigrant Women & Children Project

Overview

Immigration Intake Line: 212.382.6710immigrant-women-200

The Immigrant Women and Children Project began in the spring of 1996 in response to new developments in immigration law brought about by the 1994 Violence Against Women Act (VAWA). Since its inception, the Project has assisted many survivors of domestic violence with regularizing their immigration status in the United States.

The Immigrant Women and Children Project offers free legal assistance to immigrant women and children when their relationship to an abusive husband or parent makes them eligible for legal permanent residency in the United States. Volunteer attorneys assist clients with the preparation of self-petitions to obtain legal immigration without relying on the sponsorship of an abusive spouse or parent. The Project accepts cases from the general public as well as from community-based organizations and domestic violence organizations. Clients come from countries around the globe, including China, the Dominican Republic, Trinidad, Guyana, Great Britain, Colombia, Brazil, India, Nigeria, Russia, and many others.

In 2002, after the Trafficking Victims Protection Act was passed, which established the U.S. definition of human trafficking, an Anti-Trafficking component was added to the Immigrant Women and Children Project, and the mission was expanded to provide legal services to survivors of other violent crimes, including sexual assault, human trafficking and other crimes that disproportionately affect women and children. The project started representing survivors of trafficking in obtaining legal immigration status and public benefits, as well as counseling on civil, criminal and other legal issues.

As leading legal experts in this field, the Immigrant Women and Children Project trains attorneys, law enforcement, the judiciary, social service providers, healthcare professionals and others on human trafficking and domestic violence issues among immigrants and the legal remedies available to survivors.

For more information, please view our brochure.