Religious Immigration Services

 

The Religious Immigration Services (RIS) Team at CLINIC

Our mission is to assist religious organizations, and international religious workers navigate U.S. immigration laws and regulations to allow religious workers to live and work in the U.S. Since 1988, the RIS team of attorneys and paralegals have help hundreds of organizations and thousands of foreign-born religious workers obtain R-1 religious worker visas and U.S. permanent residence. Religious worker immigration law is our specialty, and we work with all faiths and denominations.

Looking for some help with an immigration matter? Please email us ris@cliniclegal.org or call at 301-565-4832 and one of our RIS team members will respond.

Some would-be immigrants left in limbo after Supreme Court travel ban order

The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to review the travel ban cases and allow parts of the ban to go into effect has left many immigrants in limbo, including applicants for “diversity visas.”  

CLINIC Staff Attorney Kiyanoush Razaghi spoke with Reuters regarding the grey area these applicants sit in

Read the full Reuters article

Advocates Discuss Strategies To Counteract The Problems Of Undocumented Immigrants

Immigration advocacy organizations, including Catholic Legal Immigration Network, met in Houston, Texas, to strategize ways to better help undocumented immigrants. One of the main conclusions drawn was the need for more low-cost or pro bono representation to help those at risk for deportation.

Read the full Houston Public Media article

Before family separations, Trump quietly removed protections for migrant kids

Over the last 18 months, the Trump administration has been significantly limiting protections for undocumented youth. CLINIC Executive Director Jeanne Atkinson, Training and Legal Support Director Charles Wheeler, and Jennifer Bibby-Gerth, an attorney with Catholic Charities Archdiocese of Washington, a CLINIC affiliate, weighs in on the impact of these policy changes.

Pregnant Women Say They Miscarried In Immigration Detention And Didn't Get The Care They Needed

Luis Guerra, Strategic Capacity Officer for CLINIC, comments on the increased detention of pregnant women since the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) changed their policy. Several women have reported miscarriages to advocates, despite the DHS secretary's insistence that the women are provided with prenatal care.

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