FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Unfortunately, federal student loans and/or scholarships are not available to cover the cost of tuition.

Students may seek out private loans from alternative lenders. CPS students enrolling in VIISTA may participate in a payment plan. Please reach out to our enrollment team for additional information on payment plans. 

Admissions is rolling.  Each Module is taught three times a year, starting in August, January and May.

When you enroll in VIISTA you will be a Villanova student in the College of Professional Studies.

Yes. VIISTA is an online program. You can enroll from any state in the country. Read the Notices for Distance Education Students.

Students report spending approximately 10-15 hours per week on the course. Some students report that it does take more time in the beginning of the course/program as they get accustomed to the technology and the structure of the course. Students who do not have prior legal knowledge, who have been out of school for some time or who have never enrolled in an online course, might consider budgeting more time to complete their work, especially for the first two weeks when learning a new way of engaging with a learning management system. 

The competencies you will learn in VIISTA reflect the core competencies you will need as an immigrant advocate.  We worked closely with lawyers, judges and potential employers to identify the core tasks you will perform on the job and then created a curriculum that would deliberately teach those competencies. 

In Module 1, the curriculum has a heavy emphasis on conducting interviews, cultural sensitivity, and understanding the legal structures that govern immigration in the U.S., among others.

Module 2 emphasizes immigration law, the advocacy process, the case analysis process and connecting facts to the law. 

Module 3 focuses on trial advocacy, with an emphasis on case preparation, written and oral advocacy, and trial techniques (such as closing arguments and direct examination).  Taken together, these competencies are designed to prepare you to address the nuances and complexities of navigating immigration law and practice.

Because the class is online and asynchronous, the model is flexible. The various readings and activities can be completed at your individual pace and at times that work for you, provided that all the assignments are completed during the session.

If you need to be removed or withdrawn from the course, you will need to complete the online withdrawal request form. Please be sure to complete all the required fields and to upload a support document outlining your reason for withdrawal. All withdrawal requests must be submitted before the course end date. Tuition return is subject to the tuition return policy and not guaranteed. 

Yes, each of the three modules is split into two sessions which are each 7-weeks long. Although the program is designed for students to "go at your own pace," all assignments are due at the end of each 7-week session. These deadlines are intended to assist students in staying on pace with the coursework. 

No, at this time, the VIISTA program is a non-credit program and does not count toward academic credits for degrees.

Yes. Since the program is a certificate program and not a credit-bearing program, it can be taken alongside any other type of program. Keep in mind that an average VIISTA workload takes about 10-15 hours each week to complete. These hours would be in addition to whichever program you are already taking. Full-time undergraduate students have taken this program in addition to their degree requirements.

Yes, although you should plan for about 10-15 hours per week of academic work.

VIISTA is an online program. All of the Learning Activities are accessible online.  Several assignments are designed for you to engage with immigrants and people in your local immigration ecosystem.  For example, you plan for and conduct interviews with members of your local community.

All course modules and materials can be accessed through the Blackboard Learning Management System by using your preferred browser (Internet Explorer, Chrome, Safari, Firefox).

Students will need Microsoft Office/word processing proficiency, access to email, and the ability to upload and download documents, as well as the ability to create and post audio/video recordings and create PDFs. 

Professor Michele Pistone, Founder of VIISTA, assembled a team of leading scholars and teachers from several academic disciplines and also from practice to design the curriculum and teach the courses.

Each Module contains 14 units, broken into two 7-week sessions. The three Modules can be completed within one year (if done over 3 consecutive semesters, such as Fall, Spring, Summer), but students can take longer if they want to work at a different pace, taking one semester off before returning to study, for example.  Other students may want to begin to work as a partially accredited representative while completing Module 3.  The entire program must be completed within three years of the start date.

The program is designed to have three paths. Students can stop after Module 1, after Module 2, or can complete all three modules. You will receive a Certificate upon completion of each Module. If you complete two Modules, you will receive two Certificates. If you complete all three Modules, you will receive three Certificates, as well as a Program Certificate. 

Upon the successful completion of each Module you will receive a Certificate from Villanova University, College of Professional Studies. If you complete all modules, you will also receive a Program Certificate.

VIISTA can open new career paths. The program can propel you into a career providing legal services to immigrants and refugees. After receiving the VIISTA Certificate in Immigrant Advocacy, you can find a job at a “recognized organization” and ask the organization to apply to the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) for you to become a Department of Justice (DOJ) accredited representative to represent immigrants in immigration court and before the Department of Homeland Security without being a lawyer. You can also become an immigration paralegal, immigration court clerk, or DHS employee. More information about DOJ accredited representatives, including the application process, can be found at the Department of Justice website.

In addition to creating new professional opportunities, VIISTA will also improve your ability to work with immigrants and refugees in your current job. For those whose work entails regular contact with immigrants—such as school counselors, teachers, social or pastoral workers, medical field workers, etc.—the program will enhance your understanding of immigration and provide you with tools and competencies to support immigrants.

Within the past year or so, the average timeframe to become an Accredited Representative was about 6-12 months. As of March 2023, the average timeframe is 3-12 weeks. This timeframe is an average and can change on a case-by-case basis. 

The educational experience of Module 1 will provide you with a strong foundation for a career focused in any way on immigration – for example, working in a government agency, a non-profit organization, or a school setting.  If you are interested in applying to be a partially or fully-accredited representative, you should also complete Module 2 and/or Modules 2 & 3.  You can then work in a Department of Justice “recognized organization” and apply to represent individuals in immigration legal matters.

The curriculum includes learning activities related to the process of applying to the DOJ for accreditation.  Additional information about the DOJ accredited representative application process is available on the Board of Immigration Appeals website.

Yes, because immigration is under federal jurisdiction, your accreditation will be valid throughout the United States.  We are not aware of any state-level requirements.

VIISTA creates a new layer in the legal representation ecosystem. With this in mind we strive to foster, develop, and nurture a sense of community among all students and instructors who are a part of the program. We plan to host yearly events that will bring prospective students, current students, and alumni together, ensuring that all VIISTA participants- past, present, and future- feel like an integral part of a broader community in the legal world.

VIISTA trains you specifically for immigration purposes. If you pursue the accredited representative career path, you can represent immigrants in immigration court (if you’re a fully accredited representative) and USCIS interviews for immigration benefits (both partial and fully accredited representatives), while paralegals are not authorized to represent clients before these government agencies. As a DOJ accredited representative, you can enter your appearance in an immigration case and represent an immigrant, just as a lawyer would.

For a candidate to become an Accredited Representative, a recognized organization (see definition below) must file the application for accreditation on behalf of the applicant, which means that you do have a relationships with a recognized organization – either as an employee or a volunteer. The Department of Justice maintains a Roster of Recognized Organizations. In addition, some of VIISTA’s learning activities are designed to get you familiarized with your local immigrant community, further fostering your exposure to potential employers in this field.

An organization is “recognized” when the Department of Justice gives a non-profit organization in the United States permission to practice immigration law through Accredited Representatives before the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) (partial accreditation) or before DHS and the immigration courts (full accreditation).

By regulation, a non-profit, federally tax-exempt, religious, charitable, social service, or similar organization established in the United States that has been approved for recognition is called a “DOJ Recognized Organization.” An organization that seeks to practice immigration law solely through attorneys does not need to be recognized because attorneys are authorized to appear before DHS and in immigration court without DOJ Recognition or Accreditation.

DOJ Recognized Organizations and Accredited Representatives are listed alphabetically on the Roster of Recognized Organizations and Accredited Representatives. The Roster includes the names and addresses of active Recognized Organizations and the names of their Accredited Representatives.

The Roster also identifies the type of accreditation for each representative. An Accredited Representative who receives partial accreditation can represent immigrants with applications pending before the Department of Homeland Security and have the designation “DHS only” after his/her name, which indicates that the representative is only authorized to represent clients before the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

Accredited Representatives who receive full accreditation are authorized to represent clients before DHS and the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) (the immigration courts and the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA)) and has no added designation after his/her name on the Roster.

Non-profit, federally tax-exempt, religious, charitable, social service, or similar organizations call apply to the DOJ to become a “DOJ Recognized Organization.”  The application, Form EOIR 31A, is available online.  When applying for initial recognition, an organization must simultaneously apply for accreditation of at least one accredited representative.

No. In order to be authorized by the Department of Justice (DOJ) as a “DOJ Accredited Representative” to provide direct legal services to immigrant clients, you must work or volunteer with a “DOJ Recognized Organization.”

It is very important to understand this limitation. State and federal laws prohibit non-lawyers from providing legal services without a license and civil and criminal penalties apply for violating these laws.

However, it is possible for someone who is trained to work in immigration law for a lawyer as a paralegal. Paralegals are different from accredited representatives because paralegals do not enter into direct client relationships and have no authority to enter their appearance in a proceeding on behalf of a client. Rather, paralegals work under the direction and license of a lawyer.

Yes, there is a need all over the country. Of course, certain areas have more intensified demands; however, a report by the Committee on Immigration Reform Implementation (CIRI) estimates conservatively that at least one million of the unauthorized immigrants living in the United States are eligible for a legal form of relief and would have status in the United States if they had access to legal representation. CIRI found that only 1,200 full-time equivalent staff members provide legal representation to low-income immigrants through a collection of non-profit organizations, far below the demand for their services.

In 2013, the Board of Immigration Appeals set a precedent for all accepted AR applications to require demonstrating the candidate had recently completed at least one formal training course designed to give new practitioners a solid overview of the fundamentals of immigration law and procedure. While the decision to cover the cost of training is up to the organization itself, if seeking to scale representation, it would definitely be beneficial to the organization to cover the cost of training given that VIISTA would satisfy that requirement fully (and would also give further skills that, while not required by the BIA, would be of great help to the candidates, like the self-care units).

In general, all accredited representatives must show a dedication to advocate for clients ethically. Part of that is knowing when to make a referral to an attorney if they cannot handle the case and not taking cases that would cause the client to perjure themselves or commit any fraud or misrepresentation to be eligible for an immigration benefit. Accredited representatives are expected to be passionate but have professional boundaries in their service to clients.

Below are basic expectations of Accredited Representatives, both partial and full:

For Partially Accredited Representatives:

Be familiar with USCIS protocols/procedures

Understand how applications are processed at processing centers and local offices

Understand family immigration and the relationship between USCIS, NVC, and the DOS

Know basics of humanitarian relief such as DACA, TPS, U and T visas, parole etc.

For Fully Accredited Representatives:

            All of the above plus an understanding of:

Court procedures

EOIR/ ICE protocols and procedures

The law of asylum protection

How to file motions

We started backward by consulting with community stakeholders (e.g. lawyers, NGOs, migrants, potential students, retired immigration judges, etc.) and potential employers to develop a list of competencies that our graduates must have. We then built a curriculum to teach to those specific competencies.  View our list of the impressive cadre of individuals involved in the curriculum's development.

Moreover, because the curriculum focuses solely on immigration, it is even more robust and holistic than is available in most law school programs, with a lot of emphasis on the real-life practice, rather than on theory.

Yes.

Since this is an emerging field of study and work, there are no nationwide statistics on this job category. A good analogy are paralegals where salary levels vary by jurisdiction.  For example, in the New York area the starting salary for paralegals is around $50,000. The salary can be more or less in other regions of the country. Visit the Bureau of Labor Statistics website for the latest salary and job outlook information.