Sponsors Organized to Assist Refugees (SOAR)
SOAR provides:
• comprehensive and compassionate resettlement services
• case management
• advocacy, immigration and asylum counseling
• legal services
*volunteer recruitment to help refugees build new lives in our community

SOAR is recognized by the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) as a provider of legal services. Counselors in the SOAR office assist with a broad range of immigration related issues and applications including green cards, travel documents and citizenship. For additional information, please contact one of the SOAR immigration counselors by calling (503) 284-3002.

SOAR also provides global and cultural education to help raise awareness in the local community about refugees and immigrants and the lives they were forced to leave behind.

For more information about how refugees immigrate to Portland through SOAR and to learn more about one refugee’s experience, read the July 2002 Voice article. The featured story is about a refugee who fled religious and political persecution in his native country, and with the help of a friend and SOAR, found a local Portland church to sponsor him to the United States.

As a result of the terrible tragedy of September 11, over 20,000 refugees were stranded mid-travel and many have still not reached the United States. At the end of November 2001, President Bush signed the presidential determination granting 70,000 refugees into the United States for this fiscal year. From Nov. 2001 through June 2002, only 16,000 of the 70,000 refugees have arrived. The SOAR staff is committed to advocating on behalf of the refugees still waiting to arrive, as well as refugees already resettled in the Portland area.

Cuban Program welcomes increasing number of refugees
In 2003, SOAR’s Cuban Program resettled 69 Cuban people. The program generally handles six to nine cases each month with SOAR staff finding appropriate housing and securing basic furniture, kitchen and bath supplies for the clients, as well as giving an orientation and referrals to other service agencies and community resources. Within a week of arriving, the Cubans are enrolled in English as a Second Language classes at IRCO, the International Refugee Center of Oregon, meeting with other recently-arrived refugees from around the world for intensive study five days a week. With the help of a Job Developer at IRCO, the Cubans also begin searching for employment. Most are working within two months and some have succeeded in buying cars and even their own homes.

Cubans arrive through a process that begins with an application for a visa or permission to leave the country through a lottery system. Those who receive the visa must then pay their medical exam and airfare to Miami, where they are received and processed by Church World Service. Many decide to stay in Miami with friends and relatives in Miami’s vibrant Cuban community. Some, however, decide to move to Portland or one of the other six Church World Service affiliates operating Cuban refugee resettlement programs, wanting either to live near friends there or to take advantage of higher wages and better opportunities to learn English, all toward building a new life in hope and freedom.

Immigration Legal Services
SOAR currently has Accredited Representatives on staff to provide low cost immigration representation to immigrants and refugees in application processes such as:

• Legal Permanent Residency
• Travel Documents
• Family-based Visas
• Affidavits of Relationship
• Affidavits of Support
• Employment Authorization
• Naturalization to United States Citizenship

SOAR may also do inquires to the Immigration Service about the status of a pending case, including requesting copies of immigration files.

SOAR has the ability to translate Spanish, Russian, Ukrainian, Moldavian, Azerbajanian, Kazakh, Turkmen, Kyrgyz, Uzbek, Bosnian, Italian and French documents to English for the immigration cases that we are representing.

All Accredited Representatives are Notaries.
For more information, call SOAR at (503) 284-3002.

How to get involved
You, your church, friends or community organization can help resettle an individual or family. Sponsors create a hospitable environment for refugees and provide for material needs upon their arrival to the United States. Sponsors also help refugees find affordable housing, greet refugees at the airport, help with transportation, be a friend in time of need and assist with other tasks necessary to a new life.

SOAR welcomes donations for newly arriving refugees. Items in high demand include:
• small couches
• tables and chairs
• lamps
• dresser drawers
• dishes, pots, pans and silverware
• men’s clothing
• toiletries (soap, toothpaste, deodorant, towels, etc.).

All donations are tax deductible and greatly appreciated.
You are welcome to visit the SOAR office at 2906 NE Glisan St., Portland, OR 97232
Contact SOAR at (503) 284-3002 or soar@emoregon.org.

Volunteering at SOAR
Volunteer opportunities:
• Sponsor refugees
• Acquaint refugees to American culture
• Tutor ESL
• Pick up refugees from the airport
• Research housing options for refugees
• Office Assistant: help with various office tasks including answering telephones, greeting clients and office visitors, assisting with mailings, photocopying, etc.
• Donations Coordination: Solicit and pick up donations, and help to maintain the orderliness of SOAR's donation storage areas
*Contribute money to help meet emergency financial needs

For more information about volunteering for SOAR, call (503) 284-3002 or e-mail soar@emoregon.org.

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