This UnidosUS online app is the easiest way to find reliable and affordable help to become a citizen

Immilocal is a new tool brought to you by UnidosUS that helps users find immigration legal services close to them. This page is the only combined directory of nonprofit immigration legal service providers, as well as financial lenders which can, for example, offer financial aid for naturalization applications.

In this directory, users can look for providers who can answer their questions about immigration, help with filling out an application, or find ways to pay the immigration application fees. UnidosUS is proud that many of the nonprofits listed are part of our Affiliate Network, and we are happy to have financial service providers listed in this directory as well to help meet our community’s needs.

Financial inclusion—the ability to access affordable financial services and products—is a pillar of immigrant integration. But paying immigration application fees can be extraordinarily expensive, and out of reach for many.

Immigrants in America face a variety of financial challenges as they seek to build a better life for themselves and for their families, such as a lack of access to sound legal and financial advice and affordable credit.

For example, Legal Permanent Residents (LPRs) who are trying to transition status also come across several barriers. Currently, aspiring U.S. citizens eligible for naturalization are required to pay the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services agency an application fee of $640, plus a $85 biometric fee, for a total of $725 per applicant. Those expenses can quickly snowball if people must pay for legal assistance, English classes, and civics test preparation.

And if several family members are applying, costs multiply. LPRs who earn less than 150% of the federal poverty level can apply for a full fee waiver, and a reduced fee for those earning less than 200%. But the fee waivers do not apply to those making between 200 and 250% of the federal poverty level, many of whom still struggle to afford the fees associated with naturalization.

USCIS is proposing changing the eligibility requirements for fee waivers and limiting access to the naturalization fee waiver. Low-income immigrants are disproportionately impacted by these costs and they are often vulnerable to predatory products. Whether they are seeking to secure or renew a green card, apply for U.S. citizenship, or renew their DACA, immigrants struggle to find, and pay for, the legal assistance they need to successfully navigate the immigration system.

AN AFFORDABLE PATHWAY TO CITIZENSHIP

To alleviate these financial burdens for our community, UnidosUS has created Immilocal, a directory of both nonprofit immigration legal service providers and responsible financial lenders. With Immilocal, users can look for organizations that will help them if they have questions about immigration, need help filling out an application, or have questions about paying immigration application fees.

• Using the search bar on the top left of the map, anyone can search for an UnidosUS Affiliate or trusted organization that provides immigration legal services or for financial lenders in their area.
• On the top right, users can filter the information depending on the type of services they are specifically looking for, saving them time and energy as they work on filing their application.
• Using this filter, both the map and the list on the left will show the results the search brings up.
• However, if no legal service provider comes up, people can check org for a national directory of nonprofit legal service providers.

This tool is helping clients and service providers, since they can now check this tool first to find the help they need. It’s an easy access, user-friendly way of finding financial or immigration help in their area.

If you are a financial service provider that would like to be listed in Immilocal, you can reach out to us by email: [email protected].

Follow this link to learn more about Immilocal, and share it with your network!