“SWAP MEET JUSTICE” Immigration Legal Aid Fairs!

Every LAST-SUNDAY-OF-THE-MONTH! 3/27, 4/24, 5/29, 6/26, 7/31, 8/28, 9/25, 10/30, 11/27, *12/18, etc.!

What we do.

Swap Meet Justice is a last-Sunday-of-the-month citizenship fair at the Oxnard College Marketplace from 9:00-3:00pm. As the graphic above indicates, we are often joined by awesome immigrant-serving community resources as well.

Volunteer immigration lawyers and community members answer questions about immigration and fill out USCIS paperwork for citizenship, DACA and green card renewals, as well as voter registration and Selective Service applications. Forms for fee waivers for those qualified will be filled out as well. We also provide study materials, listings of classes and other resources our applicants may need.

There is no charge for assistance and we encourage volunteers, especially those with bilingual skills, to join us in this service. No appointment is needed and applicants are not required to be Ventura County residents. Training for new volunteers is provided before every fair at 8:30 am.

Someday, someone you’ve helped may be in a video like this…

…which they will proudly show their kids and grandkids and retell their origin story of how they became an American. As completely 100% an American as anybody else.

If you’ve never watch Ronald Reagan’s astonishing last speech as president, reminding his listeners that immigration is “the great life force of each generation of new Americans…” watch it here. (Quick timeline of the history of immigration here.)

…and maybe they’ll come back and tell us about it.

For us, this guy came by to visit and to show us his brand new certificate of citizenship, that he got by using our community volunteer fair. After we got over the thrill of it all, we handed him a voter registration form and he filled it out.

FAQ’s

What applications do we do?

CITIZENSHIP
DACA RENEWALS
GREEN CARD RENEWALS
SELECTIVE SERVICE APPLICATIONS
VOTER REGISTRATION

When and where does this happen?

SCHEDULED DAYS AT THE FAIR: Every LAST-SUNDAY-OF-THE-MONTH! – June 27, July 25, Aug 29, Sept 26, Oct. 31, Nov. 28, Dec. 19 and so on – from 9:00am to 3:00pm.
WHERE ARE YOU?: NEW LOCATION! We’re at the Oxnard College Marketplace & Swap Meet, in front of the GYM!

What should applicants bring with them for a citizenship application? – ¿Qué información aportar?

For citizenship

Permanent Residency “green card” – Tarjeta de residencia permanente (green card)
Driver’s license – Licencia de conducir
Social Security card –Tarjeta de Seguro Social
Address and work history for 5 years – Dirección(es) de trabajo e historial laboral de los últimos cinco años
Spouse & children basic info. (Date of Birth (DOB), address, etc.)– Información sobre su cónyuge y sus hijos (fecha de nacimento, domicilio…)
Proof of Income – Comprobante de ingresos
Travel history out of U.S. for last 5 years. – Historia de viajes fuera de los EEUU durante los últimos 5 años
- Not sure of dates? Go to this website: https://i94.cbp.dhs.gov/I94/ and select the “View Travel History.” Under “Document Number” – enter your passport or alien #, whichever was used to record your arrival and departure history for the last 10 years. Certain types of travel history may not be provided. ¿No estás seguro de las fechas? Vaya a este sitio web: https://i94.cbp.dhs.gov/I94/ y seleccione “View Travel History (Ver historial de viajes)”. En “Document Number (Número de documento)”, ingrese su pasaporte o número de extranjero, el que se haya utilizado para registrar su historial de llegadas y salidas durante los últimos 10 años. Es posible que no se proporcionen ciertos tipos de historial de viajes.
Certified Court Records for all criminal cases – Récords Certificados por la Corte de todos sus casos penales
Public Benefits (example Medi-Cal/CalFresh) – Prueba de la reciente recepción de beneficios públicos (por ejemplo, Medi-Cal/CalFresh) – solamente para una Exención de Tarifas

For green cards

Permanent Residency “green card”, most recent, even if expired Tarjeta de Residencia Rermanente (“green card”), aunque sea vencida

For DACA

Current Work Permit (EAD)/ Permiso actual de empleo

For voter registration

Drivers’s License # or Social Security # / El número de licencia de conducir o su número de Seguro Social

Would you like to volunteer?/ Volunteers Needed!

NEW ONLINE VOLUNTEER, ORIENTATION & REFRESHER TRAINING – 8:30 am: We ask first-time volunteers to join us for a lesson on how to fill out the N400 citizenship application form and give and overview of the services and materials we’ll be handing out at the front desk. Those who’ve done this before and want a refresher, or new volunteers who want a preview, please watch the online training for citizenship forms (here).
SCHEDULE – ON THE DAY: We start appointments at 9:00 am and stop taking in new applications after 1:30 or 2:00 so we can finish in time for the marketplace’s closing. We love people to stay the whole time, but a shorter amount of time is OK too.
WHO IS A GREAT VOLUNTEER?:
- You need to be detail-oriented, good with paperwork, have legible handwriting and willing to accept instruction from the immigration professionals amongst us.
- You do not need to speak another language, but we appreciate all bilingual volunteers. Not all applicants speak Spanish, but many at the Oxnard College Swap meet do. We will team up volunteers to best help each applicant.
- You do not need to be a lawyer. You will be trained to fill in the required paperwork, and a lawyer checks all our work.
- You do not need to be a citizen or an adult. Motivated teenagers would be most welcome.
- You do need to be patient, kind and willing to smile. Sometime the forms take a couple of hours to get through, even with a couple of volunteers working on them together.
- We reserve the right to refuse any volunteers services offered.
WHAT DOES A VOLUNTEER DO?:
- Fills out forms for applicants with a partner to help, hands out flyers to passersby, mans the front desk, eats snacks and checks out the food trucks. ALL FORMS ARE CHECKED OVER BY A LAWYER OR ACCREDITED REP UPON COMPLETION!!!
CAVEATS: Our focus is to help immigrants and this must be the motivation for our volunteers as well. We retain the right to respectfully decline the services of any potential volunteer.
COVID REQUIREMENTS: COVID is increasing in CA again, so please wear a mask to ensure the safety of our clients and fellow volunteers.

Donations welcome!/ ¡Se aceptan donaciones!: here.

Help us get the word out for people who need assistance!

Please share these graphics with those who need assistance in filling out forms, or just have questions for our lawyers to continue moving forward.

You can also print out our FAQ pamphlet here. (Print each side of one 8×11 sheet of paper and fold in the middle.) These are front and back pages.

This are the inside pages.

We how have a new TRI-FOLD flyer, to print out on both sides of a legal size sheet of paper, here.

Thanks for all the time and effort you’ve given in the past, and we so look forward to a new season of assisting our neighbors in getting through this difficult process.

Citizenship: If you know someone who’s had their permanent residency card (green card) for 5 years, or for 3 years if they’re married to a U.S. citizen, they cab get their citizenship application done for free, with trained volunteers and volunteer lawyers at either fair on the flyer below.

Citizenship, DACA and Green Card Renewals: They can get their citizenship, DACA and green card renewal applications done for free, with trained volunteers and volunteer lawyers at Swap Meet Justice.

Citizenship for those who can’t speak English well: An applicant can apply for citizenship in their own language if:

If the applicant is 50 or older, and has had their green card for 20 years or more.
If the applicant is 55 or older, and has had their green card for 15 years or more.
If the applicant is 65 or older, and has had their green card for 20 years or more.

Would you like to help with advertising this fair?
We need to have posters placed on as many public bulletin boards (libraries, cafeterias, schools, stores, laundromats, apartment laundry rooms, etc.) as possible and double-sided hand-outs placed on counters where the public can find them.
Print out flyers – Flyer is at the top.

Help fund this activity.
This fair is staffed by volunteers, but uses an huge amount of printing ink, paper, and office supplies. We would be honored by any donations to help us continue this project here.

Where is the Oxnard College Swap Meet? And when I get there, where do I go?

From 101-South:
Take the Rose Ave. exit, EXIT 61
Turn right onto N Rose Ave.
Turn left onto North Campus Road

From 101-North:
Take the Rose Ave. exit, EXIT 61
Turn left onto N Rose Ave.
Turn left onto North Campus Road
Parking

By choosing to attend this event, you are committing to participate nonviolently and in accordance with the law, to work to de-escalate confrontations with others, and to obey the orders of authorized event marshals and of law enforcement. You also acknowledge that you are solely responsible for any injury or damage to your person or property resulting from or occurring during this event and that you release all event sponsors and organizers (and their officers, directors, employees, and agents) from any liability for that injury or damage.

In Spanish-speaking countries, “notarios” are skilled lawyers who specialize in tax and immigration issues. Not so here. Our “notaries” are just supposed to verify identities. But many unscrupulous people use the confusion between the English and Spanish words to peddle unlawful legal services. Not only can people lose a lot of money, but they could also lose their path to citizenship and be deported. Share this link for the online version of the FTC’s great booklet on the dangers of using notarios in the U.S. for any kind of immigration service. (Shown below is the cover. These great booklets can be ordered for free in large quantities from www.ftc.gov/fotonovela)