Submitted by Sarah Yanez, Senior Staff Attorney
Ms. Delgado (fictitious name) is middle-aged survivor of domestic violence who had obtained her U visa* when she contacted us, Community Legal Aid SoCal’s Immigration Unit, in 2023. She needed our assistance with filing her Application for Permanent Residence (green card).
I worked on her case—preparing and filing Ms. Delgado’s application. The entire process from filing to receiving her green card took a total of two years. During that time, I helped her apply for a work permit and travel permit. This allowed Ms. Delgado to legally work, earn a living and to travel to visit family, whom she had not seen since 2007, during the two year period prior to the approval of her green card, which was granted in June of this year.
* A U visa is a type of immigration relief available to someone who has been a victim of a certain qualifying crime and who can show that they assisted law enforcement in the investigation and prosecution of the crime and suffered substantial physical or mental harm because of the crime.
