Amigos En Cristo Inc

“Form 990 is made available to the board members for review and comment before filing with the irs.”

“Each board member and staff are required to review and sign our conflict of interest statement annually.”

“The executive director establishes salaries for staff using quidlines published annually by the fl-ga district of lutheran church-missouri synod. Salaries are then reviewed and approved by the board of directors at the time of the budget approval for the new calendar year.”

“We make our governing documents, conflict of interest policy and financial statements available to the public upon request. We only ask they pay for the postage. We publish our financial reports and form 990 annual return on our website www.amigoscenter.org”

“Amigos center is a non-profit agency that provides immigration legal representation to clients for cases filed with u.s. Citizenship and immigration services and u.s. Department of state. In 2023 we had a three-person staff: christina leddin, is a u.s. Department of justice accredited representative and our chief operating officer; lindsay ray, an immigration attorney and our chief executive officer; and eva diaz, our legal assistant. Our new clients enter our program though a consultation - either by phone or in person - with one of our practitioners. Consultations allow the practitioner to ask the client(s) a myriad of questions in order to assess what the needs of the client are, what type of case can be filed for him or her based on several different factors (immigrant history, family dynamic, etc.), and whether the case should be filed based on potential risks. A large portion of our practice - just over fifty percent, is dedicated to family-based immigration. That is the process of a u.s. Citizen, legal permanent resident (lpr), or asylee, filing a petition with u.s. Citizenship and immigration services (uscis), to ask that their family member be allowed to immigrate to the u.s. The law allows the following relatives to be brought to the u.s., depending on the status of the petitioner: fiancs, spouses, parents, children and siblings. Once the initial family petition is approved, amigos center will continue representation of the petitioner and the beneficiary through the adjustment process (receiving lpr status in the u.s.), or consular processing (receiving an immigrant visa in the foreign country and then immigrating to the u.s.) amigos center represents hundreds of clients each year in country-specific immigration cases, including temporary protected status (tps), cuban adjustment and "the process," for cubans, haitians, nicaraguans, ukrainians, and venezuelans. In these cases, the government allows immigrants from designated countries to either obtain legal status in the u.s. (tps/cuban adjustment), or allows people to immigrate to the u.s. With a temporary status ("the process"). In 2023 uscis introduced the "family reunification parole (frp) process, allowing certain beneficiaries of approved family petitions, who are natives of colombia, cuba, ecuador, el salvador, guatemala, haiti, and honduras, to immigrate to the u.s. Prior to a visa becoming available to them. This allows families to lawfully reunite in the u.s. While waiting for the visa bulletin to become current in their specific category. Amigos center filed 8 of these frp process applications in 2023, and continues to offer this service to our clients. Amigos center offers a variety of services for victims of crimes. We represent clients in their filing for u nonimmigrant status when they've been the victim of a serious crime and then participated in the prosecution of the offender. We help clients when the apply for lpr status based on the violence against women act because they were subjected to extreme cruelty during their marriage to a u.s. Citizen or legal permanent resident. Additionally, amigos center helps clients who were victims of human trafficking file for legal permanent residency after holding their t visa for three years. Amigos center offers a variety of services which help clients become u.s. Citizens, from application for naturalization, (for lpr's), application for certificate of citizenship, for when a client automatically becomes a u.s. Citizen based on a parent's case, or consular report of birth abroad, when a client requests a u.s. Birth registration because he or she was born abroad to a u.s. Citizen. Amigos center also represents hundreds of clients each year when the file for the following types of cases: deferred action for childhood arrivals (daca), renewal or replacement of lpr card, freedom of information act request, application for work permit, app. For unlawful presence waiver, removal of conditions on residency, and appli”

“In 2023 we served 1,369 individual, unduplicated clients. That translates to over 6,000 people served when we include derivative family members. We served clients and their family members from 44 countries, spanning five continents. Last year was our first year as a completely independent agency. We tackled new administrative and managerial tasks and were still able to meet our goal of serving over 1,350 clients with just one full-time practitioner and one part-time practitioner. It was quite a feat. We are very excited to be able to hire someone in 2024, so that number can continue to grow. Services provided to the 1,369 clients we served in 2023 included a significant focus on family-based cases, where a u.s. Citizen, legal permanent resident, asylee petitions the government to bring a close family member to the united states. We also serve clients who apply for temporary status- and renew frequently, such as temporary protected status (tps) and deferred action for childhood arrivals (daca or dreamers). We help clients to apply for naturalization and in 2023, 79 of our clients became u.s. Citizens. In its practice, amigos center serves hundreds of victims of crime, especially those who've suffered from domestic violence and human trafficking. Clients who have been the victim of a violent crime can be eligible to apply for a u visa. We serve spouses of u.s. Citizens or permanent residents who were subject to cruelty in their marriage by filing for their permanent residency under the violence against women act. Additionally, we help victims of human trafficking and their families, apply for legal permanent residency. In 2023, we filed 52 victim-based cases, in addition to providing follow-up services to the over 175 pending u visa cases. Amigos center is also proud to participate in new government programs for immigrants when they arise. In the spring of 2022, uscis introduced "uniting for ukraine" in order to "welcome ukrainians fleeing russia's invasion." amigos center filed a handful of those applications in 2022. As an extension of the "uniting for ukraine program," in the fall of 2022, uscis introduced "the process for venezuelans." this is a way for citizens of venezuela to lawfully come to the u.s. Temporarily based on "urgent humanitarian or significant public benefit reasons." in 2023, uscis added cuba, haiti, and nicaragua to the list of countries that qualified for "the process." amigos center filed over 100 applications for "the process" in 2023, serving citizens and their families of all qualifying countries.”