Organization aims to help immigrants in transition

Christine McCall

With immigration issues at the forefront of a growing national debate, Boston’s We The People offers documentation preparation services for U.S. Citizenship, Green Card and visa applications, among others, and is a new avenue that immigrants in and around Boston have the opportunity to explore.

Beth Stubenrauch, Boston’s We The People owner said, “The national debate on immigration policy has certainly sparked a lot of debate.” She added, “Making [immigration policy] a part of national dialogue encourages people to explore various services.”

We The People’s immigration documentation service was launched in September and hopes to be beneficial to customers who do not speak English.

The goal of the organization is to help its customers file their forms correctly the first time so the hassle of re-filing and extra fees is avoided.

According to literature provided by Boston’s We The People and the National Association of Legal Document Preparers, “legal document preparers around the nation have seen about a 30 percent increase in the demand for immigration document services.” The number of naturalization applications submitted in the first three months of 2006 increased 19 percent from last year.

With the influx of immigrants in the U.S., this service is expected to see increased demand.

Currently, We The People is able to support Spanish language speakers. According to Stubenrauch, the organization is open to the possibility of creating workbooks for documentation papers dealing with languages other than Spanish and English.

Stubenrauch acknowledged that the professionals at We The People cannot give legal advice. She said that the organization has to be careful to draw lines and make distinctions between actually offering legal advice and just helping out with the document preparation. If people need additional legal counsel, Boston’s We The People will refer its customers to a list of attorneys it has on hand or Greater Boston Legal Services.

Stubenrach thinks of We The People as an organization that offers legal services on a retail level. She said that We The People wants to give people choices.

“If people decide they don’t need legal advice, We The People will provide them with the service [of filing papers],” she said.

We The People is a nationwide organization that offers more than 50 common legal documents including living wills, trusts, bankruptcies, divorces and the newly added immigration document preparation services.

The document preparation services range in price depending on the extent and type of documents filed. Immigration packages can range anywhere from $69 to $569. Approximate prices for other services include: Green Card renewal, $99; health care and living wills, $59 and divorces, $399.

Depending on how well the Boston branch does, Stubenrach says that she would like to set up other offices in Massachusetts. She said, “[We The People] gives up the opportunity to participate in peoples’ lives — in the best of times and in the worst of times.” Boston’s branch of We The People is located in downtown Boston at 100 City Hall Plaza. For further inquiries, call 617-227-4193.