Asylum Seeker Advocacy Project (ASAP)

Have you registered for our 2024 National Convening yet? If you haven’t, there are only 18 days left until registration closes! Don’t miss out on some of the sector’s leading voices on immigrant justice who will join us in Detroit this October, including Conchita Cruz of Asylum Seeker Advocacy Project (ASAP), Mauri Balanta Jaramillo of AfroResistance, and Sharif Aly of International Refugee Assistance Project.  Time to register is winding down, so make sure to secure your convening spot today! ⬇️ https://lnkd.in/e5fHJthh #GCIR2024 #DetroitLeads #DetroitMobilizing

Do You Know how hard it is to get a work permit? 🚨 As of March 2024, over 1.6 million people are waiting on work permits. Who are they? They're individuals eligible for lawful permanent resident status, survivors of gender-based violence, DACA recipients, asylum seekers, and more lawful newcomers. How long does it take? ⏳ Between 8 months to over a year! And it only takes about 12 minutes for an official to review a work permit application. Are more people applying? 📈 Absolutely! Approximately 550,000 spouses and children of U.S. citizens may soon join this growing backlog. Can USCIS overcome these backlogs? 💡 Yes, they can! In 2023, USCIS tackled the naturalization backlog. They have the blueprint and $34,374,000 in funding from Congress specifically for work permit processing. Steps to Take: 1. Increase Staff Capacity: 👥 Use the funds to hire contractors, authorize overtime, or request staff from other agencies. 2. Streamline Renewals: 🔄 Focus on new information, remove or refresh biometric requirements for renewals, most have to do fingerprinting and photos in-person. 3. Expand E-Filing: 💻 to include work permit applications for those needing fee waivers. 4. Extend Automatic Extensions: 🕒 Ensure no applicant loses work authorization by extending the period to 730 days. 5. Track Impact: 📊 Red tape is hurting our economy and workforce. It's time to track how many people are losing jobs and income because of backlogs. Upwardly Global is proud to join with nearly 200 organizations demanding the backlog be resolved by January 2025. Thanks to the leadership Asylum Seeker Advocacy Project (ASAP), American Immigration Lawyers Association, The Refugee Advocacy Lab #WorkPermits #USCIS

Support our panel, proposed by ASAP, Documented, Justicia Lab, and Mobile Pathways, about how nonprofits can use tech and AI to improve access to justice for immigrants. The #SXSW 2025 Panel Picker has opened! Voting closes on 8/18! https://lnkd.in/eYaEtvFT

Applications are now open for the @Fast Forward’s Startup Accelerator! Social entrepreneurs, apply by September 9 for $25K, training in everything from fundraising to measuring impact, and connections to people who can help you scale. The hybrid program runs from February - June 2025. Apply now: https://lnkd.in/egRmsDN

ASAP is sponsoring law students and recent law school graduates for the 2025 fellowship cycle! Apply here: https://lnkd.in/e7R3XTrM

Sign up to hear from ASAP's Co-Executive Director, Swapna Reddy, and other partners using technology to support asylum seekers, refugees, and immigrants!

Today, the Department of Homeland Security announced a temporary final rule will be published on Monday, April 8, 2024, extending work permits for 540 days for immigrants whose work permit renewal applications are stuck in processing backlogs! READ more about the effects of this rule: "Helen Muradyan, a doctor and asylum seeker from Armenia, said she was happy to see the new extension of work permits so no immigrants are forced to leave their jobs like she was for two months during the Covid-19 pandemic. “Backlogs have caused a great deal of unnecessary suffering in the past,” Muradyan, a member of the Asylum Seeker Advocacy Project, said in a statement. “I applaud the government for taking action before any more immigrants lose their jobs.” https://lnkd.in/eMP6PxJT

Great news! DHS has extended work permits! READ MORE about the impacts to our members: "Linda C., an asylum-seeker from Zimbabwe and member of the Asylum Seeker Advocacy Project, told The Hill in an email that the new rule is a “huge relief.” “I have been so worried about losing my job I had managed to successfully secure in order to survive and make ends meet. I am so grateful that the government extended work permits so we can continue to survive and not have the stress and pressure of losing our jobs as that is very worrisome,” she said." https://lnkd.in/ev-EfAAn

In 2022, we received a Digital Innovation Grant from Twilio.org, which has helped us enhance our technical capacity and get us closer to fulfilling our organization’s mission. Grants like these are vital in ensuring technology serves the greater good. To learn more about the crucial role that funders can play in strengthening the tech ecosystem for nonprofits, check out Twilio.org's feature in The Chronicle of Philanthropy. https://lnkd.in/gRJRXVRc

Democratic lawmakers are urging the Biden administration to expedite regulations offering relief for immigrants stuck in backlogs to renew their work permits #immigration #employment #labor