Sponsoring Afghans Left Behind-Zoom Info session Oct 6 at 7:30 PM

[Judith Bernstein-Baker]

Dear Friends:

Below is the  link to register for a  zoom training on how to be a sponsor for Afghans seeking protection in the United States. This training is for concerned community members of all backgrounds and will focus on how to complete a sponsorship form known as an I-134.   Please pass on to your networks.  It is important for everyone who wishes to attend to register.  Please note: there is a cap of 100 attendees, so log on early.

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1mOSFeKhHodBEW5PRWh3SWuguVUFpfFe2VMluItfF9Do/edit

Background

Pro bono immigration and trained lawyers in the Philadelphia region are trying to get as many people at risk out of Afghanistan by filing applications for Humanitarian Parole.  Humanitarian Parole allows individuals to enter the U.S. legally.  Many Afghans in the U.S. are requesting that their relatives receive "humanitarian parole" because they are at risk, either because they worked with the military, a U.S. funded program, an international program,  the previous government or are targeted like women journalists.   Everytime we file an application, the person requesting humanitarian parole for an applicant, or the applicant her/himself needs to fill out a sponsorship form.  Because those seeking to have their relatives come to the U.S. have only themselves arrived recently and many are low income, they don't have sufficient resources to fill out the form.  We seek to identify individuals who will agree to be sponsors.  It is, in a sense, a theoretical gesture.  Although a sponsor completes a form called an I-134, the reality is there is not a high likelihood the individuals being sponsored will arrive anytime soon because they must get out of Afghanistan and they can't.   However, by completing a form, a person at risk in Afghanistan can bring themselves to the next level of approval.  Also, while the form shows a sponsor could support an individual, it is a moral and not legal obligation.  The family in the U.S. is likely to play a big role in assisting their relatives. Organizations, including congregations, can also be sponsors by sending letters without filling out the form, although the latter is preferable.

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Judith Bernstein-Baker, M.S.W., Esq.

judiberns...@gmail.com

(215) 205-0991(cell)

Recent publication: "Understanding Immigration Law and Practice"; Gansallo and Bernstein Baker, Second Edition, 2019; Publisher - Wolters Kluwer, https://www.wklegaledu.com/Gansallo-Immigration1

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