Powerpoint

What Every Family Lawyer Needs to Know When Representing Immigrant Survivors

Description

This training will provide an opportunity for attorneys working with immigrant victims to learn best practices for addressing issues that arise in family court cases involving immigrant domestic and sexual violence survivors and their children. Attendees will learn how to identify and develop litigation strategies to anticipate and counter perpetrator’s efforts to use immigration related issues to gain advantage in custody, divorce, and protection order cases. Topics to be covered will include enforcing Affidavits of Support in divorce/support proceedings and successfully using federal VAWA confidentiality laws to prevent family court discovery of information about or contents of a victim’s immigration case file. Attendees receive access to toolkits, tools, and resources on immigrant crime victims’ legal rights and to NIWAP’s web library, online webinars, and will learn about NIWAP’s technical assistance on individual cases of immigrant survivors that attorneys encounter in their work.

Advocates-Attorneys Training Materials (May 15, 2025)

• Bench Card on Immigration Relief for Battered Spouses, Children, and Immigrant Crime Victims

• SIJS Bench Book (Full Manual)

• U Visa Certification and T visa Declaration Toolkit for Federal, State and Local Judges, Commissioners, Magistrates and Other Judicial Officers

• Family Court Bench Card on Issues that Arise in Custody Cases Involving Immigrant Parents, Children, and Crime Victims

• Bench Card: Impact of Divorce on Immigration Status

• Bench Card for State Court Judges on Common Issues that Arise from Parties’ Immigration Status: Economic Remedies

• Affidavits of Support and Enforceability Bench Card

• Immigrants and Protection Orders Bench Card

• *All State Public Benefits Charts and Interactive Public Benefits Map

The Impact That Filing for Legal Immigration Status Has on Access to Benefits and Services for Immigrant Survivors in Pennsylvania

Description

Attorneys play a crucial role helping immigrant domestic violence, child/elder abuse, sexual assault, stalking, and human trafficking victims gain access to justice and the full range of services and assistance they are legally entitled to receive. This training will provide an overview of legal immigration status for immigrant survivors. It will then discuss the benefits and services immigrant survivors qualify or in Pennsylvania as they apply for and are granted legal immigration status. Participants will build skills to identify the benefits for which immigrant victims qualify and will learn best practices for accompanying immigrant survivors applying for benefits they or their children are eligible to receive. The workshop attendees will learn how to use NIWAP’s public benefits map and state charts and will receive tools, training materials, resources, and technical assistance to support their work with immigrant survivors and their children.

Public Benefits and Employment Protections Training Materials

Public benefits and services are open to all persons without regard to immigration status

• Programs Open to Immigrant Victims and All Immigrants Without Regard to Immigration Status 

• Legal Services Access Open to All Immigrant Survivors Materials

• Chapter 17.3: Post-Assault Healthcare and Crime Victim Compensation for Immigrant Victims of Violence

Public Benefits: Interactive Maps, State Charts, and Protections

• Interactive Public Benefits Map 

• All State Public Benefits Charts

• A Guide to Public Benefits Map for Immigrant Survivors of Crime

• Family Court Bench Card on Immigrant Crime Victim Access to Public Benefits and Services 

• Chapter 04.1: Access to Programs and Services that Can Help Battered Immigrants 

• Chapter 04.2: Public Benefits Access for Battered Immigrant Women and Children 

• Chapter 4.3 Barriers to Accessing Services: The Importance of Advocates Accompanying Battered Immigrants Applying for Public Benefits 

Public Charge

• Public Charge Test for Benefits Flow Chart 

• Infographic Public Charge Test for Housing Benefits

• Immigrant Crime Victims and Public Charge: Post-VAWA 2013

State Public Benefits Comparisons and Best Practices

• State-Funded Public Benefits Comparison Chart

• Benefits for Immigrant Crime Victims: Best Practices on Eligibility

Directory of Service Providers