Privacy Policy

Important: This is NOT legal advice

exodus-2.org is operated by American Russian Relief Center (ARRC), a 501(c)(3) charitable nonprofit. ARRC is NOT a law firm. The information you provide is collected so that ARRC can evaluate whether to assist you in preparing materials for submission to U.S. government agencies (USCIS, Department of State, DHS). Nothing on this site — including any automated eligibility score, the questionnaire, or written communications from ARRC staff — constitutes legal advice, an attorney-client relationship, or a guarantee of any immigration outcome. Final decisions on asylum, refugee status, or any other immigration benefit are made exclusively by U.S. government authorities. ARRC strongly recommends that every applicant consult an independent licensed U.S. immigration attorney before submitting any official application.

Who we are

American Russian Relief Center (ARRC) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit registered in the United States, EIN on file with the IRS. Contact for data questions: [email protected]. This site (exodus-2.org) collects materials from evangelical Christians and other religious minorities from former Soviet Union countries who believe they may qualify for refugee or asylum status in the United States on the basis of religious persecution under INA §101(a)(42).

What data we collect

• Identity data: full name, date and place of birth, citizenship, current address, phone, email
• Religious affiliation, denomination, name of church or congregation, role within the community
• Free-text description of persecution incidents, threats, detentions, or other harm suffered for religious reasons
• Uploaded documents you choose to submit: passport pages, I-94 record, I-797 notices, EAD card, visa, church membership or pastor letters, medical or police records, photographs
• U.S. immigration status, port and date of entry, current location
• Family members who may be included in a future application
• Technical data automatically collected: IP address, timestamp, user-agent (used only for security, abuse prevention, and aggregate analytics)

Sensitive data and special protections

The information you submit is highly sensitive: it includes data about your religious beliefs, your immigration status, and accounts of past persecution. ARRC follows UNHCR data-protection principles for refugee data and applies heightened safeguards: minimum-necessary collection, strict access control, encryption in transit (TLS) and at rest, no transfer outside the United States, and no sharing with any government of your country of origin or any third party not directly involved in preparing your case in the United States.

Why we collect it (purpose limitation)

Your data is processed for one purpose only: to evaluate whether your situation may qualify under INA §101(a)(42) (refugee definition) or related humanitarian categories, and — if you so request — to help prepare materials for submission to U.S. government bodies such as USCIS, the Department of State, congressional offices supporting your case, or sponsoring U.S. communities. Your data is NEVER used for marketing, fundraising contact lists, donor solicitation, advertising, sale, or any commercial purpose. It is never shared with third parties without your specific written consent, except as required by valid U.S. legal process. During processing, ARRC uses automated technical tools — programmatic filters, completeness checks, document image processing, and other auxiliary instruments. Any material decision in your case is made by a human after manual review; no fully automated decisions in the GDPR Art. 22 sense are made.

Methods of processing

ARRC uses automated technical means to assist with intake and review of applications. These include, without limitation: programmatic data validation, text-pattern analysis, document image processing (OCR), redaction tools that remove identifying data, audit logging, and other software-based auxiliary tools. Categories of sub-processors that may receive your data during such processing include: United States cloud-infrastructure providers (hosting, database, object storage), transactional email services, document storage providers, and text-processing services. No final decision in your case is made solely by automated means — every material step is reviewed by a human before it affects the course of your case (see also the right to object under GDPR Art. 22). You may request, in writing, that your case be handled without automated assistance (email [email protected] with subject 'Manual-only processing'); ARRC will accommodate such requests to the extent operationally feasible. Specific vendor names are not disclosed for operational-security reasons and may change without notice; an up-to-date list of current sub-processors is available on written request to [email protected].

How we store data

• Hosted on Google Cloud Platform infrastructure located in the United States (Cloud Run, PostgreSQL); uploaded documents are stored in Google Drive (Google Workspace, U.S.)
• Encryption in transit (HTTPS/TLS) and at rest (Google-managed AES-256)
• Access strictly limited to ARRC director, president, and a small number of trusted volunteers bound by written confidentiality obligations
• Access is logged; database backups are encrypted and retained on the same U.S. infrastructure
• Uploaded document files are scanned for malware before storage
• Retention: up to 5 years from the date you submit your questionnaire, after which records are deleted or fully anonymized. You may request earlier deletion at any time (see Your Rights).

Who we share data with

ARRC will share your data with U.S. government bodies (USCIS, Department of State, DHS, U.S. Senate or House offices, U.S. embassies) ONLY (a) with your specific, informed written consent for a particular submission, or (b) when compelled by valid U.S. legal process (subpoena, court order). We will share with a licensed immigration attorney only if you ask us to refer your file. Sub-processors with technical access in the course of operating the site: Google Cloud Platform (hosting, U.S.), Google Workspace / Drive (document storage, U.S.), SendGrid / Twilio (transactional email, U.S.). We do NOT share data with any government, agency, or person in your country of origin, with commercial data brokers, with advertising networks, or with foreign governments under any circumstance.

Your rights

• Request a copy of all data ARRC holds about you
• Request correction of any inaccuracies
• Request full deletion of your file at any time — email [email protected] from the email address you used to apply; deletion is completed within 30 days and confirmed in writing
• Withdraw consent for further processing at any time
• Object to specific uses or restrict processing
• Receive your submitted data in a portable, machine-readable format

How to request deletion

Send an email to [email protected] from the email address used in your questionnaire, with the subject line 'Delete my data'. ARRC will confirm receipt within 3 business days and complete deletion of your file (database records and uploaded documents) within 30 days, then send written confirmation. If a submission to a U.S. government agency has already been made on your behalf with your consent, ARRC may need to retain a minimal record of that submission for legal and audit purposes; you will be informed in writing of what is retained and why.

Security and breach notification

ARRC applies industry-standard security controls on its U.S. cloud infrastructure: least-privilege access, encrypted backups, audit logging, separation of duties, per-field encryption of sensitive data using a U.S. key-management service (KMS), regular key rotation, container isolation, monitoring, and alerting. Every access to applicant data by ARRC staff is recorded in an audit log capturing actor, action, and timestamp. No system is perfectly secure. In the event of an incident involving your personal data ARRC will notify you by email without undue delay and (where applicable) notify the relevant supervisory authority.

Children and minors

Minors may be included in a family application only by a parent or legal guardian. The site is not directed to children under 13 acting independently. Information about minors is processed under the same heightened safeguards as for all applicants.

Changes to this policy

ARRC may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. Material changes will be communicated by email to applicants whose data is on file and will be posted on this page with an updated revision date. Continued use of exodus-2.org after a posted update constitutes acceptance of the revised policy.

Contact

Data protection contact: [email protected]. Postal address available on request. For general questions about ARRC: [email protected], https://arrc.info.