Every year, T visa applications to USCIS fall far short of the 5,000 annual cap, meaning that thousands of T visas have gone “unclaimed.” With a thorough understanding of the eligibility requirements for a T visa and correct screening, many more trafficking survivors could be identified and assisted in seeking relief. Join us to learn the intricacies of T visa eligibility, less obvious scenarios that qualify, and how to work with clients to screen for T visa eligibility.
Presenters
Carolyn Kim, TTA Senior Attorney – CAST
Carolyn M. Kim is a Senior Attorney at the Coalition to Abolish Slavery & Trafficking in Los Angeles, CA. As a Senior Attorney, she provides training and technical consult to legal and social service providers across the United States on comprehensive legal services for trafficking survivors. Before joining CAST, Carolyn was a staff attorney at Bay Area Legal Aid located in Richmond, CA where she represented survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, and human trafficking in their immigration and family law matters. Carolyn also worked as a family law attorney at Asian Pacific Islander Legal Outreach in Oakland, CA prior to joining Bay Area Legal Aid. Carolyn graduated from Santa Clara University School of Law and the University of California, Berkeley.
Sally Kinoshita is the ILRC’s Deputy Director based in San Francisco. In this role, she weaves together more than 20 years of nonprofit experience in immigration law, capacity building, advocacy, program development, and collaborative facilitation. Sally has provided technical assistance, trainings, and facilitation to groups on local, state, and national levels and has co-authored a number of publications including The U Visa: Obtaining Status for Immigrant Victims of Crime (ILRC), The VAWA Manual: Immigration Relief for Abused Immigrants (ILRC), Immigration Benchbook for Juvenile and Family Court Judges (ILRC), and Application of Protection Remedies for Victims of Domestic Abuse, Human Trafficking, and Crime under U.S. Law to Persons Physically Present in the U.S. Territories (Family Violence Prevention Fund).
Prior to working at the ILRC, Sally was a Staff Attorney at Asian Law Caucus and a consultant with ASISTA, the National Immigration Project of the National Lawyers Guild and Family Violence Prevention Fund/Futures Without Violence. During law school, she worked with the UC Davis Immigration Law Clinic, Northern California Coalition for Immigrant Rights, ACLU of Northern California, and California Rural Legal Assistance Foundation.
Sally is currently a member of the Leadership Council of Educators for Fair Consideration (E4FC) and has served as a Federal Bar Association Immigration Law Section Advisory Board Member and Central Valley Immigrant Integration Collaborative (CVIIC) Steering Committee Member.
Sally earned her law degree from the University of California at Davis. She received her undergraduate degree from the University of California at Berkeley, where she majored in sociology. She is admitted to the California bar.
Karen Schulz, Managing Attorney - Step Forward Foundation
Karen Schulz is a co-founder and the Managing Attorney of Step Forward Foundation in Morgan Hill, California. She graduated from UCLA with a Bachelor of Arts and Santa Clara University School of Law, where she was a student of Professor Lynette Parker. She has been practicing immigration law in the nonprofit sector since 2010, focusing on family unification and humanitarian cases. She recently received the the Unsung Hero award from the South Bay Coalition to End Human Trafficking, the Young Alumna Rising Star award from Santa Clara School of Law Alumni Association, and the Mindy Zen Domestic Violence Advocacy Award from the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office.