IMMIGRATION LEGAL SERVICES
B1C is accredited by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) as a provider of high-quality, low-cost immigration legal services. We have a staff immigration attorney and a team of staff and volunteer DOJ representatives who have gone through rigorous training and passed an exam to become accredited and qualified to provide immigration counseling.
Depending on the case and the services needed, different fees may apply. Any options and additional services will be discussed in advance.
Our Immigration Legal Services team also conducts legal clinics, information sessions, and educational presentations throughout the community, sometimes in partnership with other organizations.
B1C also provides other types of services, such as ELL and Citizenship classes, translations, notarizations, and wages representation.
GET STARTED
1. Contact us
Call us at (203) 391-4084 or (203) 674-8585 Ext. 109 or email us.
2. Submit our intake form
3. Schedule your consultation
We will give you an appointment at the earliest possible date.
4. Payment
$40 fee for consultations
Cash, check, or Paypal
After a consultation, we will determine if we can help you in these areas:
Petition for family members, apply for Green Card
If you are a U.S. citizen or permanent resident, we can assist you to petition for eligible family members, both relatives in the U.S. and abroad.
Become a Citizen
We can help eligible permanent residents apply for citizenship and prepare for the citizenship exam.
Get humanitarian protection
We can help you apply for protection under federal law where:
- You fled your home country because of persecution or fear of persecution
- You are the victim of a crime in the U.S.
- You are a victim of domestic violence
- You are a juvenile lacking parental protection.
Get temporary protection, DACA, TPS
If you came to the U.S. as a child, you may be eligible for DACA. If you came from certain countries as a result of a natural disaster or war, you may be eligible for TPS.
Other immigration legal needs
We can assist with Green Card renewals, travel permissions, certificates of citizenship, visa extensions, and many other USCIS processes.
Assist with your own asylum claim
We can help guide you file an initial asylum application, but without representing you.
Frequently asked questions about our Immigration Legal Services
Our fees recognize that many in the immigrant community have limited financial resources. Our fees are fixed based on the immigration process we are assisting with. We also provide fee waivers based on income and family circumstances.
Most of our staff and volunteers speak several languages, and we can arrange for interpreters. We carry out consultations in Spanish, Haitian Creole, Portuguese, Arabic, French, Polish, and other languages.
All information provided to Immigration Legal Services will be kept confidential to the maximum extent provided by law. No information is released to third parties without the express consent of the client.
Our initial consultations are by phone, Zoom, or WhatsApp. We have follow-up meetings in person at B1C when needed. All cases where we provide representation will require at least one in-person meeting.
We can assist a limited number of clients in Immigration Court in Hartford. Most of our work is focused on applications and petitions with the USCIS. If we cannot represent you in court, we will provide a list of other legal providers.
Yes, our representation agreement includes assistance after filing. This includes responding to “Requests for Evidence” from the government and preparation for interviews.
Immigration law is complex, and submitting applications prepared by unlicensed persons can result in serious consequences for the immigrant. We strongly recommend only using licensed immigration attorneys or DOJ Accredited Representatives.
Yes! Receiving public benefits -- including food stamps, Medicaid (Husky), or subsidized housing – for which a person is otherwise eligible is permitted. It will not have a negative effect on current immigration status or eligibility for future immigration benefits.
If we represent you, we will take full responsibility for completing and submitting forms based on the information you provide. However, we cannot review forms filled out by you or third parties and give a thumbs up or thumbs down.
Immigration Legal Services’ exclusive focus is on immigration law issues. Other areas of B1C can assist you or provide referrals for non-immigration issues. We can put you in touch with the right person.
Normally, an initial consultation tries to understand the general issues that an immigrant may be facing and answer questions. If there are documents that will help us understand your situation better, please provide us copies before the consultation.
Every month, we offer a free one-hour Q&A session with our immigration attorney on Zoom. Anyone can attend without registration, and ask any immigration-related question they have. The Q&A happens on the 2nd Wednesday of every month at 11:30 am. Contact us for information on how to log in.
Immigration News
Naturalization rates rebound from COVID
The number of people who became naturalized US citizens substantially increased in 2021. According to the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), 808,000 individuals naturalized in the 2021 fiscal year which ended on September 30, 2021. In the fiscal year 2020, only 625,400 people naturalized. This increase follows Covid-19 pandemic office reopenings and the Biden…
Read MoreBiden ‘Remains in Mexico’ to the dismay of many
On October 15, 2021, the Biden administration announced its decision to reinstate Trump’s “Remain in Mexico” policy to take effect in November. The policy requires migrants to remain in Mexico pending their asylum hearings. Earlier this year the Biden administration terminated the policy. Then the states of Texas and Missouri sued, the federal court ordered…
Read MoreLife under ‘extreme hardship’
From New York Magazine, a very well-told story of the family trauma inflicted by our irrational immigration laws. This is a story about how we came to understand and experience immigration law – what it’s like to feel the awful weight of the state in your daily life, pressing suddenly on the most intimate of…
Read MoreNew proposed DACA regulations are a modest step forward
The Department of Homeland Security published proposed new regulations for the DACA program. This is the first step in trying to get DACA established via the normal federal regulatory process. The original DACA program was created by a memo of the Secretary of Homeland Security in2012, rather than through legislation or a regulation based on…
Read MoreConnecticut’s population diversity continues to increase
Connecticut grew substantially more diverse in the past decade, based on newly released Census data. The Hispanic and Latino population increased from 13.4% to 17.3%. The Black population increased from 10.1% to 10.8%. The Asian population grew from 3.8% to 4.8%. Non-Hispanic whites decreased from 77.6% of the total in 2010 to 66.4% in 2020. …
Read MoreTowards more humane treatment of immigrant crime victims
On August 11, 2021 the Biden administration issued guidance instructing U.S. Immigration and Customers Enforcement (ICE) to stop the detention and deportation of immigrants who were victims of crime. ICE described the new policy as a “victim-centered approach.” ICE Director Tae Johnson said the guidance may help immigrants come forward to assist in investigations. “When…
Read MoreBiden Administration gives more flexibility for resolving Immigration Court cases
On July 15, 2021 Attorney General Merrick Garland restored the authority of immigration judges nationwide to pause and remove low priority immigration cases from the backlog of immigration court cases. There are now more than 1.3 million cases pending in Immigration Courts – a backlog that doubled under Trump. This decision issued in Matter of…
Read MoreNew DACA applicants back in limbo
It was a brief breath of fresh air for many Dreamers. In January, the government started accepting new DACA applicants for the first time since early in the Trump era. These are all persons who arrived as children and have been in the U.S. since at least 2007. On July 16, a federal judge in…
Read MoreNew hope for asylum claimants
On June 16th U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland reversed restrictions on asylum eligibility imposed by the Trump administration. Garland’s decision means that Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security will return to pre-Trump era immigration policies and guidelines for asylum protection. Individuals fleeing gender-based violence, gang brutality, and persecution because of familial ties…
Read MoreSupreme Court deals setback to TPS holders
On June 7th, the Supreme Court ruled unanimously in Sanchez v. Mayorkas that immigrants who entered the U.S. without inspection and were subsequently granted Temporary Protected Status (TPS) cannot qualify for permanent residency without leaving the country. The Court ruled that Adjustment of Status to obtain lawful permanent residency in the U.S. is solely for noncitizens who were inspected at the border and admitted by an immigration officer. Therefore, a majority of the approximate…
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