Immigration, Small Law Firms

Afghanistan, Immigration, Lawyers In The U.S., And 3 Things You Can Do

You don't have to be an immigration lawyer to help.

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(Photo by -/AFP via Getty Images)

On August 16, as we learned of Kabul falling into the hands of the Taliban, immigration lawyers around the country realized that we were witnessing an unprecedented humanitarian crisis unfolding in real time. Our skills and knowledge were critical.

Our American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) listservs (and there are many) went haywire. An endless stream of questions started that day and continue, even now, to dominate our inboxes. The questions are fast-moving, tense, and evolving with the fluid situation on the ground:

  • “What do I do about my client whose special immigrant visa (SIV) is pending?”
  • “How do I get my client with an approved visa to the airport?”
  • “Are there consular officers at the Kabul airport still?”
  • “How do I file a humanitarian parole application?”
  • “How quickly can the HP application be approved?”
  • “Which senator or congressperson can we contact?”
  • “How do I get my client on a bus to the airport?”

The questions are unending.

Organized on short notice by some of the country’s top immigration lawyers leading these efforts, 650 of us joined an August 17 call to learn about this fast-developing situation. We all knew that we needed to come together for a humanitarian crisis that had no obvious end in sight.

Since then, a new listserv has been created by AILA and all of us are getting real-time information from clients on the ground that we are sharing among ourselves. Two weeks on, the urgency to get qualified Afghans out of the country and out of harm’s way continues.

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While we are all leaning on each other, one leader is Margaret Stock. She is an indomitable immigration lawyer and retired lieutenant colonel in the United States Army Reserve, who is generously and patiently answering our volleys of questions. And recently, on the same day last week that AILA put on emergency training for us immigration attorneys, the Department of Homeland Security held a meeting with stakeholder organizations and lawyers to update us on their actions. Additionally, on August 25, the International Refugee Assistance Program (IRAP) held a training event hosted by Skadden that was attended by 1,000 lawyers from around the United States.

It is heartwarming to see attorneys from across the country coming together to help bring to safety people whose lives are on the line. And while my immigration lawyer colleagues have been working around the clock, I know many nonimmigration lawyer colleagues have wondered what they might be able to do to help. Here are a few ideas:

Donate Money For Filing Fees

Many organizations across the country and the world are raising funds to help Afghans deal with this developing crisis. From an immigration perspective, however, many of those seeking help will need filing fees for their visas. At $575 per application, the fees are not affordable to destitute people fleeing for their lives. And for families of multiple people, those fees can add up very quickly. Even if the lawyer is donating time, the immigration filing fees need to be covered. One exemplary organization, Pars Equality Center, has stepped up in this crisis and is raising funds for immigration fees (among other things).

Seek Training On Humanitarian Parole Applications

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You may have heard the phrase “humanitarian parole” a lot since this crisis broke. In immigration-speak, parole means permission to enter the U.S. on a case-by-case basis and in exceptional circumstances at the discretion of Homeland Security. Immigration law requires applicants to meet certain requirements for parole. Those who had directly assisted the military and worked for U.S.-based organizations may be eligible to apply for SIVs. Many Afghans had pending SIV applications. It’s August 31 and the window is closing to evacuate Afghan nationals. Many of the remaining people would likely only have limited options, one of which is humanitarian parole applications. This is where you come in.

As practicing lawyers, you can learn to file HP applications with some guidance. The primary documents are Forms I-131 and I-134. You can check those out on www.uscis.gov and read instructions about the evidence required, filing fees, etc. Training events are happening at law firms and at bar associations across the country. IRAP and AILA are also both incredible resources.

I am personally helping to organize a free training event for nonimmigration lawyers on September 8 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. PST. The event is being co-sponsored by the South Asian Bar Association of North America (SABA), Washington Immigrant Defense Network (WIDEN), National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA), The Council on American-Islamic Relations-Washington Chapter (CAIR-WA), Alliance for International Women’s Rights (AIWR), Watson Immigration Law, and Pars Equality Center. Check it out.

Be The Voice For Your Clients

Many Afghan nationals are afraid to share their stories because their lives are in danger. Any media exposure could out them and their families to the Taliban. News media is accommodating anonymous reporting. The stories need to be shared. Be the voice for your client; sharing their stories may help them receive critical financial support and assistance with their cases. Here’s some guidance on how you can share.

The legal community will play an ongoing and essential role in the unfolding security situation in Afghanistan. Immigration lawyers cannot do it alone. I’m hoping we can all come together to save the lives of a lot of people.

Tahmina Watson is the founding attorney of Watson Immigration Law in Seattle, where she practices US immigration law focusing on business immigration. She has been blogging about immigration law since 2008 and has written numerous articles in many publications. She is the author of Legal Heroes in the Trump Era: Be Inspired. Expand Your Impact. Change the World and The Startup Visa: Key to Job Growth and Economic Prosperity in America.  She is also the founder of The Washington Immigrant Defense Network (WIDEN), which funds and facilitates legal representation in the immigration courtroom, and co-founder of Airport Lawyers, which provided critical services during the early travel bans. Tahmina is regularly quoted in the media and is the host of the podcast Tahmina Talks Immigration. She was recently honored by the Puget Sound Business Journal as one of the 2020 Women of Influence. You can reach her by email at [email protected] or follow her on Twitter at @tahminawatson.

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