GABA Access · A GABA Foundation Program
Your process. Support in your language.
GABA Access helps African and Caribbean families across Michigan understand and complete their immigration paperwork in the language they speak at home. We explain your forms and notices in your language, check your documents page by page, and help translate them into English. Free, because access should not depend on where you live, what you earn, or what language you speak.
Nearly 1,000 African families served across Michigan since our founding
Registered members in the GABA network
Years of earned community trust
The Problem
African and Caribbean immigrants navigate some of the most complex systems in the country. Most do it alone.
Passport renewals. Visa documentation. National identification. Know your rights education. These are not small inconveniences. They are the difference between stability and crisis, between staying and being forced to leave. For a community that has built businesses, raised families, and contributed billions to Michigan's economy, the infrastructure to support them through these moments has never existed.
Since our founding, GABA has served nearly 1,000 African families across Michigan. They did not find us through a government program or a public agency. They found us because someone they trusted told them GABA would show up.
That trust is the infrastructure no outside institution can manufacture.
GABA Access: Immigration Navigation. Free help understanding the immigration process in your language, checking and organizing your documents, and completing forms. GABA is not a law firm, and our volunteers cannot give legal advice. Questions that need legal advice are referred to our partner immigration attorney.
What We Provide
Services designed around our community.
From your passport to your paycheck, GABA Access helps families get it done, in the language they understand.
Translation & Language Access
Immigration paperwork is hard enough in English. We explain your forms, notices, and instructions in the language your family speaks, and help translate your documents into English for filing. No one should sign something they don't understand.
Consular Services
We partner with consulates and embassies to host passport renewals, national ID services, and other document services closer to home for Michigan communities.
Document Check & Navigation
We go through your forms and papers with you page by page: every field filled, every page signed, names and dates matching, and nothing missing from the official checklist. Then we help you complete what's left, typing exactly what you tell us.
Know Your Rights
Community education on immigration rights, legal protections, and what to do when your rights are at risk. Knowledge is the first form of protection.
Legal Aid Connections
When your situation needs legal representation, we connect you to vetted immigration attorneys and legal aid organizations in our partner network.
Financial Access
Many families manage without a bank, credit history, or access to capital. We connect you to banks, savings programs, credit building, and financial coaching so economic independence becomes real and reachable.
Workforce and Business
We connect job seekers to no-cost tech training, industry certifications, career coaching, and employers. Entrepreneurs get connected to small business resources and technical assistance to grow past year one.
Urgent Legal Help
Need a lawyer right now? Besoin d’un avocat maintenant ?
These situations need an attorney right away. Call if you or a family member:
- Has been detained, or has been contacted by ICE
- Has a Notice to Appear, a court date, or any paper from immigration court
- Has a removal or deportation order
- Has an upcoming deadline on any immigration notice
- Fears being harmed if returned to their home country
For free legal help, contact our partner, the Michigan Immigrant Rights Center (MIRC):
MIRC is an independent legal organization. For translation, document checks, and help with forms, start with GABA Access. Text us at 313.246.2571.
Detention & Immigration Court Resources
If a loved one has been detained, or you are preparing for immigration court.
ICE Detainee Locator: enter full name, date of birth, and country of birth, or A# and country of birth.
VINELink: finds people detained in Michigan, often updated before ICE's locator. Search by name and country.
Calling instructions by facility:
Self-help guides in English and Spanish, plus a Frequently Asked Questions page.
Find Legal Help
The right attorney, at the right time.
Nonprofit immigration legal services
Talk to one of these organizations before you have a problem with immigration. They can look at your situation and tell you what options you would have if something happens.
List shared by the ACLU of Michigan. Organizations marked No fee do not charge for their services; those marked Low fee charge a reduced fee. Many have income limits or only take certain cases, so ask about cost and eligibility when you call. Government filing fees may still apply. Fee information: National Immigration Legal Services Directory, October 2026.
Helps with: Adjustment of status, asylum, citizenship, DACA, Special Immigrant Juvenile Status, TPS, U & T visas, VAWA, removal hearings
Type of help: Forms, USCIS filings, immigration court
Helps with: Asylum
Type of help: USCIS filings, asylum interviews, immigration court
Helps with: Adjustment of status, asylum, citizenship, DACA, family petitions, TPS, U & T visas, VAWA, removal hearings
Type of help: Forms, USCIS filings, interviews, immigration court, BIA & federal appeals
Helps with: Adjustment of status
Type of help: Forms, USCIS filings, asylum interviews, immigration court
Helps with: Asylum, citizenship, family petitions, Special Immigrant Juvenile Status, U & T visas, VAWA, removal hearings
Type of help: Forms, filings, interviews, immigration court, BIA & federal appeals
Helps with: Adjustment of status, asylum, citizenship, DACA, family petitions, TPS, U & T visas, VAWA, removal hearings
Type of help: USCIS filings, interviews, immigration court, BIA
Helps with: Adjustment of status, asylum, citizenship, DACA, family petitions, U & T visas, VAWA, removal hearings
Type of help: Forms, USCIS filings, interviews, immigration court
Helps with: Citizenship, U & T visas
Type of help: Forms, USCIS filings
Helps with: Adjustment of status, asylum, citizenship, DACA, family petitions, TPS, VAWA
Type of help: Forms, USCIS filings
Helps with: Adjustment of status, asylum, citizenship, DACA, employment & family petitions, TPS, VAWA, removal hearings
Type of help: USCIS filings, removal hearings
Helps with: Adjustment of status, citizenship, DACA, family petitions
Type of help: Forms, USCIS filings
Helps with: Adjustment of status, citizenship, DACA, family petitions, TPS, U visas, VAWA
Type of help: Forms, USCIS filings
Helps with: Citizenship, DACA
Type of help: Forms, USCIS filings
Helps with: Adjustment of status, asylum, citizenship, DACA, family petitions, TPS, U & T visas, VAWA, removal hearings
Type of help: USCIS filings, interviews, immigration court, BIA & federal appeals
Helps with: Adjustment of status, citizenship, DACA, family petitions, humanitarian parole, TPS, VAWA
Type of help: USCIS filings
Helps with: Adjustment of status, citizenship, DACA, family petitions, TPS, U & T visas, VAWA
Type of help: Forms, USCIS filings
Helps with: Adjustment of status, asylum, citizenship, DACA, family petitions, humanitarian parole, TPS, U & T visas, VAWA
Type of help: Forms, USCIS filings, asylum interviews
Helps with: Adjustment of status, citizenship, DACA, family petitions, TPS, U visas, VAWA
Type of help: Forms, USCIS filings
Immigration attorney referral list
Search by name or city, or filter by region, the language you speak, and the kind of case you have.
Each attorney card shows where the listing comes from. Current listings come from the Michigan Immigrant Rights Center (MIRC) Immigration Attorney Referral List.
No attorneys match those filters. Try fewer filters, or see the full list.
Key: Family = family petitions · Humanitarian = asylum, U/T visas, VAWA and similar · Removal Defense = deportation and immigration court · Employment = work-based visas. Inclusion on this list does not imply endorsement of any attorney, and exclusion does not imply criticism of those not listed. / L’inscription sur cette liste ne constitue pas une recommandation.
Beyond legal help
Akindele F. Akinyemi Global Achievement Scholarship
Presented by the GABA Foundation with Eastern Michigan University's Department of Africology and African American Studies. $500 for a student enrolled in the department with academic excellence and active engagement with Black communities across the diaspora.
Undocumented Student Guide to College in Michigan
Tuition, financial aid, and admissions information for undocumented and DACA students at Michigan colleges, from MIRC and its partners.
Looking for more resources?
Text Mr. Akindele Akinyemi at GABA to talk through additional resources for you and your family, from housing and work to school and immigration support.
Immigration Navigation
You decide. We help you get it done.
We help you do what you have decided to do. We never decide for you, and we never tell you what the law means for your case. That is how we keep you safe.
✓We can help you
- Learn how the process works using official, public information
- Understand what a document is, like where your receipt number or appointment date appears
- Find the official form you've chosen to file, with its current instructions and fee
- Complete your forms by typing exactly what you tell us, word for word
- Explain in your language your forms, notices, and official instructions
- Translate your documents into English for filing
- Check your packet page by page so every field is filled, every page is signed, and nothing on the official checklist is missing
- Organize, copy, and assemble your papers, and mail them with tracking
- Set up a USCIS online account and check your case status
- Prepare for appointments, with directions, reminders, and what to expect
- Gather documents for a fee waiver you've decided to request
- Connect to other support, like housing, benefits, English classes, and GABAWorks
→Our partner attorney helps you
- Find out if you qualify for anything
- Choose which form or type of relief is right for you
- Decide how to answer questions on a form
- Understand what a notice or decision means for your case
- Respond to a Request for Evidence, denial, or appeal
- Handle anything involving immigration court or ICE
- Address past arrests, convictions, or immigration violations
- Prepare personal statements or declarations
If your question starts with "Should I…", "Do I qualify…", "Which form…", or "What happens if…", it's a legal question. We'll connect you to our partner attorney so you get the right answer.
Citizenship / Citoyenneté
Been renewing the same status for years? You may already qualify for more.
Many people in our community keep renewing their green card or current status because they assume they can't become citizens. Don't assume. Start your application and have a free attorney review it before you file.
Vous renouvelez le même statut depuis des années ? Ne supposez pas que la citoyenneté n’est pas pour vous. Commencez votre demande et faites-la examiner gratuitement par un avocat avant de la déposer.
- Be a Michigan resident.
- Start your application on CitizenshipWorks and complete at least 90%.
- Call to book a free attorney review.
GABA Access can help you set up your CitizenshipWorks account and organize your documents. Eligibility questions go to an attorney.
How It Works
What to expect when you visit.
Reach out
Text or email us, even if you're not sure what you need.
We get to know you
We explain how we help, you sign a short form in your language, and we ask what brings you in.
We do the paperwork together
We find the right official form, read instructions, translate, and type exactly what you tell us.
You review and sign
You check every page and sign your own form. We help you assemble, copy, and mail it with tracking.
We follow up
If we referred you to our partner attorney, we follow up to make sure your referral was received.
Get Started
Not sure where to start?
Contact our team and we'll help you find the right service, the right appointment, and the right support for your situation.