VIA participation in the World Refugee Day 2023 in Philadelphia

NY1 News: "Venezuelan asylum seeker works to help new migrants"

VIA was recognized by the Queens' Borough President Office (QBPO)​

Newly-arrived migrants shared their experiences in VIA's community event

The root of the Venezuelan exodus by Nightline, ABC News

Married couple Niurka Meléndez and Héctor Arguinzones co-founded the non-profit Venezuelans and Immigrants Aid (VIA) to help those seeking asylum, a process they’ve personally been navigating for more than seven years. Hear more of their story on #Nightline, streaming on
Hulu.
Watch interview here.

"For Venezuelans, Hallacas Are a Nostalgic Taste of Home" is the title of the New York Times article where our founder, Héctor Arguinzones, was featured

“In 2017, Mr. Arguinzones and some friends cooked traditional holiday dishes for 200 Venezuelan immigrants.”Every year since then, over several weeks in December, he has continued to make them for 300 Venezuelan migrants in need. On Dec. 22, the group gives them away, along with donated toys… ‘We do this to preserve our traditions.'” Read more here.

Venezuelan flags, foods and accents are spreading along a stretch of Roosevelt Avenue in Queens as thousands of newly arrived migrants make their home in NY

Mr. Arguinzones, now 51, and his family moved in with his sister-in-law in Harlem. He and his wife, Niurka Meléndez, went on to found Venezuelans and Immigrants Aid, a nonprofit organization that grew out of their efforts to share what they learned from starting over in New York. Read more here.

Helping hands guide asylum seekers to self-sufficiency

VIA was founded in 2016 by Niurka Meléndez and her husband Héctor Arguinzones. Venezuelan asylum seekers themselves, the two started the organization after experiencing the hardships firsthand. The two applied for asylum in the U.S. in 2016 and have been waiting ever since.

Other asylum seekers in their community could use help navigating that long and complicated process, they realized. “No one had to tell me about the process, I lived it,” said Meléndez in Spanish. Read more here.

Migrant Crisis

About four thousand migrants arrive each week to New York City, according to Mayor Adams. The majority of these asylum seekers are from Venezuela. Nikura Meléendez, co-founder and co-director of Venezuela and Immigrants Aid, talks to Joe about the volunteer-based organization that helps Venezuelan migrants who fled their home country to come to NYC. Read more here.

Final stop: From the Border to NYC

“The reality is, for instance, how complex and bureaucratic the asylum system is,” said Niurka Melendez, a Venezuelan asylum seeker who arrived in New York in 2015. With her husband, Melendez created the Venezuelans and Immigrants Aid organization.

With her years of experience helping hundreds of Venezuelan migrants, Melendez has realized that one of the most serious mistakes migrants make when arriving in the United States is not attending their appointments with immigration authorities. Read more here.

The Journey Of Mind

“A lot of them are innocent in the sense that they are unaware of the long battle of seeking asylum that lies ahead of them,” said Niurka Melendez.

She said a lot of migrants from Venezuela pay guides to bring them into the U.S., but most of these “guides” are traffickers. They deceive these migrants into thinking that they would be granted asylum the moment they enter the US border.

These new migrants are still digesting the fact that they are here and alive,” Melendez said. “And then to realize all the things they still have to go through are frustrating for them.” Read more here.

Venezuelan asylum seeker works to help new migrants

“Community always will seek community first,” said Niurka Melendez, director of VIA. Melendez said there is a serious information gap because many migrants believe that saying they are seeking asylum to immigration authorities is all they have to do to actually apply. That’s not how it works.’… Read more here.

Asylum seekers receive welcome and support from non-profits created to provide assistance

Asylum seekers listen to Niurka MelŽndez, co-founder of Venezuelans and Immigrants Aid, as she holds an orientation session at St. Paul and St. Andrew United Methodist Church in Manhattan. Venezuelans and Immigrants Aid provides a weekly orientation into the asylum process that includes assistance in filing asylum and temporary protected status applications. It also provides english classes, peer support groups, and humanitarian assistance. Read more here.

Will most asylum seekers get status? Immigration lawyers disagree

“Migrants have individual stories about why they came. The common theme: a better life for their families. But achieving that is not guaranteed. “They still need to start a process and it is a hard process,” said Victoria Gamez, an immigration lawyer who advises recent migrants on their legal cases — for free at Venezuelans and Immigrants Aid, VIA, twice a month. Read more here.

NGO in New York provides legal, community, and psychological support to the Venezuelan community

“Through the orientation Venezuelan and Immigrants Aids seeks to facilitate the process of adaptation and empowerment of Venezuelans in the northeast of the United States, so that their migratory transition occurs safely… Read more here.

Venezuelan Residents in Juridical Limbo Since Closing of New York Consulate

“Adding to the calamity of having fled a humanitarian crisis back home, the growing community of Venezuelans in New York is experiencing a new dramatic obstacle due to the closing of their country’s consulate in Manhattan… Read more here.

A Venezuelan Couple help the immigrant community in New York

Telemundo 47’s report to the founders of VIA, Niurka Meléndez and Héctor Arguinzones. See more here.

Resources 24/7

Check out our audiovisual material and tools with essential information and practical guidance on the process of Asylum, TPS, and other immigration matters through our thoughtfully curated featured video collection.

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