Gallinger Law Successfully Assists Victim of Human Trafficking
Recently, Gallinger Law volunteered pro-bono through the Public Law Center assisted a victim of human trafficking obtain a T-Visa. The T Visa provides protection for victims of a severe form of human trafficking. A T Visa allows someone to stay in the US and help federal authorities while they investigate and prosecute human trafficking offenses. After obtaining a T Visa a victim can then qualify to apply for permanent residency.
Our client was one of hundreds of Thai workers coerced into coming into the US and subjected to forced labor. He was promised a job, a living space, and many other things that would have afforded him an opportunity to blossom here in the US. However, this was not the case. After arriving in the US, our client realized that what he was promised vastly differed from the reality he was forced to endure. The actions requested were so detrimental to his legal status back in his homeland that he would have suffered unusual and severe harm if he returned home.
He and other victims were trafficked to the US to provide forced labor or services through fraud and coercion, for the purpose of subjecting them to slavery, debt bondage or involuntary service. Our client was food deprived, forced to live in a one bedroom space with 30 other people, physically and emotionally abused/beaten, had his travel documents confiscated, and had his livelihood threatened. It wasn’t until he found a way to escape his confinement that he was able to seek help and legal aid. Our client along with other trafficked victims reported the organization that brought them here and aided federal prosecutors in their investigation.
Gallinger Law worked with a Los Angeles Based Community Center to help provide our client an opportunity to start a new life in the US by obtaining this T-1 Visa. Now, the chance to meaningfully provide for family, friends, and possibly others who may have been subjected to the same circumstance is at our client’s finger tips.
Throughout the history of the United States, people have been determined to come to here as a means to obtain a better life for themselves and their family members. Organizations and persons prey on those desires in unimaginable ways. Our firm was proud to help give back the American dream to our client. If you or anyone you know was been a victim of human trafficking, please contact an aid organization or a qualified attorney as soon as possible.
USCIS Introduces New Naturalization Test
Recently, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) introduced new versions of the civics and English tests which applicants for citizenship must pass. The new test will be required of all people who have their citizenship interview after October 1, 2009 and for those who applied after October 1, 2008.
Questions to the civics test have been changed and it now focuses on three areas: American government, American history, and integrated civics. The content of American government and history are relatively straightforward. The integrated civics section is a bit of a grab bag, with questions on geography, symbols of the US, and holidays. Though some questions have changed, the passing score remains the same: six out of ten asked questions.
The English test has undergone a much more extensive overhaul than the civics portion of the test. The English test is now broken up into three separate sections: speaking, reading, and writing. The speaking section remains the same, the interviewing officer reviews the applicants abilities in speaking the English language while going over the Naturalization application and while administering the civics test.
It is the reading and writing portions of the English test which have been significantly changed. On the reading portion of the test, the applicant must correctly read one of three sentences presented. Similarly, on the writing test, the applicant must correctly write one of three sentences read by the interviewing officer. The questions in both sections will focus on US history and civics. The USCIS is not releasing the sentences which will be used, however, they are releasing vocabulary lists containing the words that the sentences will be primarily composed of for study purposes.
More information, including study materials, can be found at the USCIS website, www.uscis.gov/newtest. People interested can also purchase study guides or flash cards from the U.S. Government Printing Office at bookstore.gpo.gov.
