1. Immigrant Rights Clinic Client Wins Citizenship after 15-Year Struggle

Immigrant Rights Clinic Client Wins Citizenship after 15-Year Struggle The clinic first assisted the client, a woman from Central America, with an asylum claim.

By Law Communications
December 18, 2025

Law students working in the Immigrant Rights Clinic at Washington and Lee University School of Law will be the first to tell you that the cases they work on can be uphill battles. But thanks to the persistence of dozens of clinic students over the years, one client has finally become a U.S. citizen.

This case was among the first immigration matters ever handled by the law school, with representation beginning even before the Immigrant Rights Clinic officially opened. The clinic first assisted the client, a woman from Central America, with an asylum claim. A few years later, the clinic helped her obtain a U Visa, a citizenship pathway designed for victims of certain crimes who have suffered mental or physical harm and who assist law enforcement in investigations.

Professor Lauren Hughes, who joined W&L Law this fall to direct the Immigrant Rights Clinic, noted that each step of the immigration process-from asylum to permanent residency to citizenship-represented years of the client's life, all the while living with the possibility of deportation. But her wait would be even longer today.

"Only 10,000 U Visas are granted each year, with thousands more applications coming each year," said Hughes. "The backlog is such that someone applying for a U Visa today would easily have to wait 20 years to receive a decision."

After three years as a holder of a U Visa and five years with permanent resident status, the client became eligible to apply to become a citizen, which she did in early 2025 with clinic students once again assisting with her application for naturalization. Then, this fall, law students Silvia Montiel '26L and Susan Wanjugu '26L began the process of preparing the client for her interview with an officer from the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).

"During the USCIS interview, the officer will ask questions about the client's immigration process as well as personal information to verify identity," said Montiel. "So we conducted mock interviews to make sure she was prepared for that and to help her practice her English, because the interview is like an English exam as well."

Much of this preparation was done virtually because even though the client was close to the finish line in her quest for citizenship, she was still worried about the potential action of immigration enforcement officers.

"There's always a sense of fear for an immigrant because immigration policies shift so fast depending on who is in power," said Wanjugu. "Until you get that naturalization certificate, you never feel truly safe."

The client was understandably nervous for her final interview, and Hughes was impressed by the way the law students provided support beyond legal expertise.

"A skill that's really important for lawyers and doesn't necessarily always fall among the things you might learn in law school, is how to be trauma-informed and client-centered," said Hughes. "This team really excelled at keeping her calm and being strong emotional and moral support for her."

A successful naturalization interview behind her, the client attended the official swearing-in ceremony in December with others who have achieved this difficult milestone. Among the many rights the client will receive as a citizen, one privilege stood out to the law students.

"She is very excited to be able to vote," said Wanjugu.