Cabrini Center for Immigrant Legal Assistance

About Us

We are dedicated to providing high quality, low-cost and pro bono legal services to immigrants and refugees who would otherwise not be able to obtain legal representation. Center activities include outreach, legal assessment and counseling, citizen application assistance, legal representation and advocacy. The Cabrini Center is the largest non-profit immigration legal service provider in Houston accredited by the Board of Immigration Appeals to represent individuals in immigration legal matters.

Eligibility

All services of the Cabrini Center are provided without regard to race, religion or socioeconomic status.
Applicants must have:

• No criminal convictions with the exception of prior clients
• No cases filed by other attorneys or notaries (unless we have a copy of previously filed I-130)
• No Consular Processing cases if there are multiple entries
• Clients must be referred by Refugee/Resettlement, St. Jerome’s, or through a Charla
• No walk-ins are allowed except for Charlas – we see clients by appointment only. 

​Income below 125% of the poverty guideline qualifies for free immigration legal services

We do not provide other forms of financial assistance
Must provide proof of income

​Fees

$30 intake fee for all cases except:

• Older Refugees
• Refugee/Asylee Citizenship cases
• Crime Victims cases

Cases Accepted

We accept the following cases:

• Family Petitions
• Naturalization
• Cuban Adjustment
• Refugee and Asylee Adjustment
• T Visa, U Visa, & VAWA
• Asylum
• Unaccompanied Minors
• Deferred Action

We do not accept the following cases:

• Business or Employment Immigration
• Legalization or new TPS cases
• Other types of legal services such as Family Law
• U.S. Passport Services

More Information

Information Sessions: Charlas

We provide on-site information sessions called Charlas, free of charge, three times per month at both the main office in Houston and in Richmond at Catholic Charities’ Mamie George Community Center. Charla attendees learn about immigration laws, and afterwards have the opportunity for a free consultation with an Immigration Attorney or Accredited Representative. Free Citizenship Workshops are also offered each month and staff provides citizen application assistance. View our calendar for upcoming dates.

Citizenship Workshops

Application assistance is offered for a person seeking to apply for U.S. Citizenship. No service fees for counsel, advice and assistance with applications. Attorneys and accredited representatives will be present to screen for eligibility. All workshops begin at 1 P.M. unless otherwise noted. Please email Citizenship@CatholicCharities.org or call 713-874-6700 to register. Click on our events calendar to view the next available workshop.

Languages Spoken:

Arabic, English, French, Portuguese, Signers for the deaf: ASL, Spanish, Vietnamese

Interpeters for other languages are available upon request