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Making a Difference Testimonies (click me)

Immigration Legal Assistance Program
The Immigration Legal Assistance Program has been serving the San Luis since 1987, when it was formed under the auspices of San Luis Valley Christian Community Services. This program was formed to provide immigration legal assistance to the growing immigrant and refugee population who were locating to the San Luis Valley. The San Luis Valley Immigrant Resource Center is currently recognized and accredited as an Immigration Service Provider by the Board of Immigration Appeals and has been accredited for the past ten years.

The Immigration Legal Assistance Program provides, for a nominal fee, legal assistance and consultations for low-income persons needing assistance.

The program uses its limited resources to:

1. Provide immigration legal advice for U.S. citizens, immigrants, and undocumented people needing assistance.
2. Prepare immigration and naturalization forms, which include Adjustment of Status, Family Petitions, Conditional Residency, Naturalization, Renewing Resident Cards, Visa packets, and Affidavits of Support.
3. Translate, certify, notarize, and copy documents.
4. Make referrals as appropriate.

For more information please contact Accredited Representative, Flora Archuleta at 719-587-3225 ext. 11

Por Ti Misma-Assisting Battered Immigrants
The Por Ti Misma –Assisting Battered Immigrants program assists domestic violence victims in seeking legal residency under the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA). women who would otherwise be eligible to apply for legal immigration status through their husbands, yet their abusive husbands have refused to help them are assisted through this program. Through VAWA, we guide the women through the process of petitioning for residency, while effectively putting control of the immigration process in the hands of the victim. In the process, women gain much greater control of their own lives.

VAWA offers the opportunity to request legal permanent residency status for battered spouses and children, without the help or knowledge of the abuser. A battered immigrant may be able to:

• Self-petition with USCIS to request permanent residency
• Suspend deportation proceedings
• Obtain deferred action
• Change conditional residency status to permanent residency status
• Request a work permit

The decision to stay with or leave the abuser is a decision the victim makes on her own. The petition allows the victim to make this decision freely, without pressure from the spouse. In addition, the whole process is completely confidential. USCIS will not contact the applicant (victim) directly. Also, the abusive spouse will not be notified and the victim's choice to petition will not affect the abuser.

We also assist crime victims who qualify to apply for the U-visa. The purpose of the U-visa, which is a nonimmigrant visa, is to give victims of certain crimes temporary legal status and eligibility in the United States for up to 4 years. Family members may also be included in the petition including spouses, children, unmarried sisters and brothers under 18, mothers, fathers, as well as stepparents and adoptive parents. An approved U-visa petition will automatically grant the applicant work eligibility in the United States. 10,000 U-visas are issued every fiscal year. Each case is considered individually.

For more information, please call the Immigrant Advocate, Venus Valdez at (719) 587-3225 ext. 13.

Punto de Vista Education/Outreach Language Project
This project provides English as a Second Language (ESL) classes to approximately 125 adult immigrants in the San Luis Valley per year. Citizenship classes are also offered to help students prepare for the U.S. Citizenship test. This project has been in existence since 2001.

The focus of this project is to serve as many adult ESL students as possible by coordinating times and places in order to eliminate the barriers of work, transportation and childcare by providing evening classes in towns throughout the San Luis Valley.

Classes are held in schools, community centers, and churches in collaboration with agencies that provide donated space. Childcare is provided at the different sites so that parents are able to attend.

We utilize trained teachers, coupled with volunteers who receive yearly training. Classes are held two evenings a week at each site, for periods of 6-8 weeks at a time, for 2 hours per session. Frequently there are enough students to have beginning, intermediate, and advanced classes. Each site has at least a fall, winter, and spring session.

All students are pre-tested and post-tested using the Comprehensive Adult Student Assessment System (CASAS).

Current ESL Sites

• Alamosa
  • San Luis Valley Immigrant Resource Center
  • Tierra Nueva Farm Housing Unit
• Monte Vista
  • Valley Christian Fellowship Church
• Center
  • Tierra Nueva Farm Housing Unit
  • Even Start Building at Center Schools

For more information contact ESL Coordinator, Jim Sanchez at 719-587-3225 ext. 12

The "Voces del Valle" "Voices of the Valley" Immigrant Integration Project
In 2007, the SLV Immigrant Resource Center wrote and received a grant from The Colorado Trust for Immigrant Integration in the San Luis Valley. The Voces del Valle initiative is one of 19 sites in Colorado and each of the sites has a unique integration plan.

SLVIRC recognized that promoting and managing integration well, starts with the recognition that immigrants are capable of making long-term contributions to our communities, economy, culture, and civic life. However, the newcomer and host community usually are operating with incomplete and often erroneous information about each other. Misunderstandings intensify the different views that already exist between these two groups. Therefore, newcomers must be encouraged and assisted in weaving themselves into the host community as soon as possible after arrival and throughout their lives, by continuing education programs, by opening doors to receive them, and by encouraging their full participation.

Immigrant integration is a two-way process that, in the ideal, will transform both the immigrant and the receiving community. The overall goal of the project is that the receiving community will meet the challenge of valuing the skills, vitality, languages, cultures, and transnational ties that newcomers bring, considering them as assets that will enrich the overall community. We realize that integration can only happen with the involvement of all stakeholders in the immigrant community and the receiving community, including policymakers, businesspeople, educators, religious leaders, community activists, advocates, service providers, and immigrants themselves. These stakeholders need to work together to achieve a common understanding about immigrants' complex roles in our society. They also need to engage in candid, ongoing discussions about the realities facing our communities in the San Luis Valley, and come to an agreement about shared community goals and the mutual responsibility that is required to achieve them. Only through this two-way process and with ongoing participation, are the communities in the San Luis Valley going to realize a mutually beneficial situation in which the immigrant community and the receiving community of different experiences, histories, and backgrounds work together for a shared future. With the help of many community members, collaborators and supporters, the immigrant integration initiative is in several San Luis Valley communities

How does immigrant integration work under the "Voces del Valle" plan?
The Voces del Valle Immigrant Integration Initiative is lead by the Community Coordinator of the project, Antonio Sandoval. The Community Coordinator's responsibility is to help bridge both the immigrant and receiving communities and in particular in the focus areas mentioned below. The work group focus areas are: Civic Engagement, Education, Legal/Law Enforcement, Healthcare, Work Force and Housing. The project is in its last year of funding however we continue to work at our desired goal. We welcome anyone in the community to join any of the work groups and help achieve the goals of the project. Work Group Meetings The workgroups meet periodically to discuss the progress relevant to their focus area and to brainstorm ideas for upcoming events. These workgroups also help design small tasks to help in the accomplishment of the larger goals of the initiative. The overall collaborative, the combination of workgroups and concerned citizens, meet two or three times a year. These meetings are known as Collaborative Meetings. The Collaborative Meetings serve the purpose of informing the members of the initiative's progress. These meetings, in part, consist of a summary of what each group is doing to further integration. The collaborative meetings are always open to the public. Translation and Interpretation Services We offer document translation and interpretation services at a very reasonable rate.

Please call 587-3225 to inquire about our low rates. Let's work together, come join us!

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