Immigration Legal Services

UC Immigrant Legal Services Center (UCImm)

Operating out of UC Davis School of Law, UCImm serves the immigration-related legal needs of students in the University of California system and their immediate family members (parents, spouse, siblings, and/or children). 

Free of charge legal assistance includes:

• Confidential consultation to assess eligibility for all immigration relief programs
• Legal advice for students who plan to travel and want to assess potential risks 
• Direct representation 
• Know Your Rights workshops 
• UC-wide informational webinars

Cases they support include: 

• Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), 
• Advance Parole for students eligible to study abroad, 
• U-visa for survivors of crime, 
• T-visa for survivors of trafficking, 
• Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (SIJS),
• Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) for survisors of domestic violence,
• Family Based Petitions, 
• Adjustment of status (ie green card application)
• Naturalization (citizenship)

Meet the UC Santa Cruz Staff Attorney

Ritu Goswamy (they/them) is a Staff Attorney with the UC Immigrant Legal Services Center and serves UC Santa Cruz. They are a graduate from Barnard College, Columbia University (B.A. Psychology, minor in English) and Boston College (Joint J.D./M.S.W. degrees). Prior to joining the Center, Ritu worked as a child welfare worker in Oakland, and as an attorney with the Legal Aid Society – Employment Law Center (now Legal Aid at Work) and Legal Advocates for Children & Youth (part of the Law Foundation of Silicon Valley). Ritu was an Equal Justice Works Fellow with Homeboy Industries, where they founded the legal services program serving formerly gang-involved and previously incarcerated people. Ritu then ran their own private immigration law practice for 15 years focused on complex family-based and naturalization cases, U visas, VAWA, asylum, and removal defense. Ritu is also a leadership and wellness coach and published author. They enjoy hiking, walking on the beach, farmers markets and ayurvedic wellness practices. Ritu is a second-generation immigrant, and proficient in Spanish and Hindi. 

Schedule an Appointment

To schedule a consultation, please email Ritu Goswamy at <ritu.ucimm@law.ucdavis.edu> or call Tel: (530) 574-9414.

[Note: If your matter is high-priority (according to the list below), please mention the situation in your email to Ritu.]

High-priority situations:      

• You may be eligible for Special Immigrant Juvenile status (SIJS) due to abuse, abandonment, or neglect by one or both parents and will be turning 21 within the next year. Explanation of SIJS available here.    
• Your DACA is expiring within the next 4 months or already expired less than a year ago. More information on the DACA court case (litigation) available here.    
• You are a DACA holder who needs Advance Parole to travel for an emergency within the next 90 days. General information on DACA Advance Parole is available here and emergency travel here.    
• You have a pending immigration case in which you have received an interview or hearing notice, a Request for Evidence (RFE), or Notice of Intent to Deny (NOID).    
• You or an immediate family member are currently in removal proceedings in immigration court or are currently in immigration detention.    

Resources & FAQs

The UC Immigrant Legal Services Center has compiled a variety of resources including Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) and recordings of past UC-wide webinars. Please visit their website (https://ucimm.law.ucdavis.edu/legal-resources-faq) to access the following resources:

• 2024 USCIS Filing Fee Changes
• UCIMM DACA Statements, FAQs, & Webinars
• UCIMM Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (SIJS) Toolkit
• Other types of immigration relief 
• UCIMM Real ID FAQ