The Local has received reports that some members have been denied TWIC cards because of their immigration status. We have consulted with the ILA and learned that legal assistance is available through the National Employment Law Project (NELP) which has been retained by the ILA to assist members who are appealing the denial of their TWIC cards. If you would like to be put in touch with attorneys from NELP, a well-regarded non-profit workers' rights centers, please contact Carl Biers at the Local.

According to the experts at NELP, often fully naturalized citizens are initially denied their TWIC if they didn't submit some of the proper documents, even though it was never made clear to them these were needed. Most of these cases are resolved with the submission of additional documentation. NELP says that anyone who is legally authorized to work in the U.S. should eventually be able to obtain their TWIC card.

Legal assistance is also available to anyone who has been denied the TWIC because of the criminal background check, though this is unlikely in our Local because the Waterfront Commission has already conducted it's own more extensive background check.

We strongly urge you to take advantage of the legal assistance as it will likely move the process more quickly for you.