LCFS is pleased to announce the recent decision by the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA), to grant official recognition to the Lancaster Refugee Office. This decision, which was approved on April 23, allows LCFS to provide clients with a variety of immigration legal services.
Lutheran Social Services of South Central Pennsylvania,
who partnered with LCFS to start this service, provided funding to lay
the groundwork for this service, paying for staff time and
immigration law trainings, an immigration law library, and immigration
software
needed for recognition.
LCFS will assist refugee and asylee clients with green card applications, replacement documents, family petitions and citizenship applications. Victoria Harris, Immigration Program Coordinator, who was previously accredited by the BIA to serve clients in LCFS's Philadelphia office, has now been approved to serve clients in Lancaster. Eric Kennel, Site Director, is also working towards BIA accreditation at this site.
"In today's
immigration climate, the services the BIA will allow us to provide are
absolutely crucial for
our refugee and asylee clients," says Janet Panning,
LCFS Refugee Program Director. "Fleeing persecution and danger in
one's home country is so unfathomable to most of us, and yet it's
just the tip of the iceberg for so many refugees. We look forward to easing
the transition of making their home in the United States in whatever ways we
can."
For more information about this recognition and the immigration services provided at Lutheran Refugee Services, please contact Eric Kennel at 717-397-4757, or via email at erick@lcfsinpa.org.
