Services Available to Refugees
LCFS provides assistance to newly-arrived refugees at both our Philadelphia and Lancaster offices. The assistance we offer includes:
Case Processing: Persons who entered the U.S. as a refugee or obtained asylum in this country may be able to apply for their family members, by filing an Affidavit of Relationship (AOR). Nationals of the following countries are currently eligible to apply for family reunification: Afghanistan, Burma, Burundi, Colombia, Congo, Cuba, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Former Soviet Union, Haiti, Hmong Lao, Iran, Iraq, Meskhetian Turks, North Korea, Rwanda, Somalia, Sudan, Uzbekistan, and Vietnam.
Reception and Placement: Ensures that core services such as housing, furniture, clothing and food needs, medical appointments, ESL and school registration, job searches, and cultural orientation are provided for newly-arrived refugees. Previously resettled families are expected to assume responsibility for newly-arriving family members. LCFS seeks congregations and other forms of community support to assist refugees who do not have family here.
Employment Services: Refugees and asylees are generally eligible for either the Matching Grant employment program or the state-funded Refugee Social Services (RSS) employment program. LCFS will assist clients in connecting to the services that they need to locate and secure a job.
Immigration Services: LCFS is accredited by the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) to provide a variety of immigration counseling services including green cards, travel documents, family petitions and more.
Assistance to Unaccompanied Refugee Minors: LCFS offers traditional foster care and semi-independent living opportunities for foreign-born children who arrive in the Philadelphia region without their parents or legal guardians. Supported by the US Department of Health and Human Services, this program provides age-appropriate placements and support services intended to promote stability, acculturation, academic achievement and self-sufficiency.
Newcomer Equal Employment Rights Program (NEER): The Newcomer Equal Employment Rights Program provides information for immigrants who are legally entitled to employment when facing employment discrimination. Funded by a grant from the Department of Justice, NEER helps employers and workers avoid four types of immigration-related unfair employment practices:
1. Citizenship Status Discrimination
2. National Origin Discrimination
3. Document Abuse
4. Retaliation
For more information about these discriminatory practices, please call 215-747-7500, ext. 257. Please click on the links to the right for information in other languages.
