Vermont Asylum Assistance Project is a legal services and technical assistance organization that exists to mentor no-cost and low-cost immigration lawyers and legal workers; educate and serve VT immigrants and community members; maximize impact across sectors; and advocate to protect immigrants’ rights. Join us: www.vaapvt.org.
Want to read this newsletter in Spanish, French, Haitian Creole, Dari, or Portuguese? Visit www.vaapvt.org/newsletters and select your language in the top right corner.
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ALERT: INTAKE CLOSED FOR AUGUST
⚠️ Putting Existing Clients First for August
Throughout the month of August, the Vermont Asylum Assistance Project (VAAP) is temporarily pausing intake.
In a nutshell, this pause allows our legal team to focus on two important priorities.
First, we are dedicating our full attention to the dozenVAAP clients who have been scheduled for asylum interviews with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).
At the same time, we are preparing to launch a new and improved intake form in September that will make it easier for people to request legal assistance in their first best language and help us serve more individuals more effectively.
We know many people in our community rely on VAAP for legal assistance, and we recognize that this temporary pause means some individuals will not receive the triage and referral support they need this month.
We are truly sorry for the hardship this may cause and appreciate your patience and understanding as we focus on these critical priorities.
Below we provide some context for what VAAP is doing and why and offer self-help resources for people who navigating asylum interview and related immigration legal processes without a lawyer during this time.
❓What's With All the Asylum Interviews Happening at Once?
This month, our legal team is supporting a large number of VAAP clients who have been scheduled for affirmative asylum interviews.
An asylum interview is one of the most significant milestones in the asylum process. During the interview, an Asylum Officer asks detailed questions about an applicant's experiences, their fear of returning to their home country, and the information included in their asylum application. The interview often determines whether a person will be granted asylum, making careful preparation essential.
These interviews are taking place as part of USCIS "circuit rides" throughout rural areas that don't have their own Asylum Offices, like Vermont. During circuit rides, Asylum Officers travel from the Boston Asylum Office to locations across the region to conduct interviews closer to where applicants live. While this reduces travel for applicants, these interviews are frequently scheduled with very little advance notice, leaving applicants and legal representatives only a short time to prepare.
Because so many VAAP clients have received interview notices for next week, our staff are working around the clock to help existing clients prepare their written and spoken statements for these life-changing interviews.
❓What if I'm Scheduled for An Interview But Don't Have a Lawyer
We also know that many asylum seekers will attend their interviews without legal representation.
We have therefore created self-help videos in English and Spanish with crucial information about what Vermont asylum applicants can expect during an asylum interview.
These videos are available on Instagram and Youtube. They supplement the multilingual, self-help materials already available at vaapvt.org/library-asylum.
❓Why Aren't More Lawyers Available to Help
We share the community's frustration with there being too few lawyers to meet Vermont noncitizens' legal service needs. And we recognize that self-help videos and resources, like those at vaapvt.org/library-asylum, are not a comparable substitute for individualized legal advice. But we hope these resources at least help unrepresented applicants and their support people to understand a little bit more about what to expect, how to prepare, and how to feel more confident going into their interview.
Feeling frustrated about the continued undersupply of immigration lawyers in Vermont? Make your frustration known by making a record with the Vermont State Refugee Office, the Governor's Office, or your State House legislators. Join VAAP in demanding universal access to immigration counsel today!
🌱 A New and Improved Intake Form in September!
BeginningSeptember 1, VAAP will launch a redesigned intake form at vaapvt.org/help. The new form will make it easier to request our legal assistance while providing our team with more tailored information we need to better understand each person's immigration situation.
This improved intake tool will allow us to assist more people, prioritize cases more effectively, and provide support more efficiently.
In the meantime, we regret to have made the difficult decision to close our intake form for the month of August. This means we are not able to consult directly with any new asylum seekers this month who may have interviews, besides the people we already represent.
If you need legal assistance before September, please visit our referral page for a list of organizations that may be able to assist you.
Thank you for your patience, understanding, and continued trust in VAAP as we work to better serve our community.
