General Immigration Legal Resources

Immigration Relief Toolkit
The purpose of this toolkit is to help defenders and legal staff spot a defendant’s immigration relief relatively quickly.

Webinar: Removal Proceedings - Basic Terms and Procedural Overview
This introductory webinar helps orient lawyers and other advocates who are new to immigration law and procedure.

Training Manual: Introduction to Immigration Law
Overview of the pathways by which immigrants might be able to gain status.

Intake and Screening Form
This is a screening tool that may help legal practitioners identify more permanent forms of relief for their clients, especially post-TPS and post-DACA.

Screening Tool for Volunteers
This screening tool is designed to guide legal representatives and supervised volunteers in identifying if an individual is eligible to apply for a permanent form of immigration relief.

Practice Pointers: USCIS Issues New NTA Guidance Memo
Analysis of USCIS's June 2018 guidance memo on the issuance of Notices to Appear, with practice tips.

Practice Advisory: Challenging the Validity of Notices to Appear
This practice advisory explains how to use Pereira v. Sessions to overcome the “stop-time” rule and, more broadly, to challenge Immigration Court jurisdiction.

Working with Interpreters
Plain-language tips for working with interpreters.

 

Asylum

Asylum in the United States
This fact sheet describes the asylum system in the United States, including how asylum is defined, eligibility requirements, and the application process.

Basic Procedural Manual for Asylum Representation Affirmatively and in Removal Proceedings
This manual provides background information and training on representation of asylum seekers, both affirmatively and defensively.

Sample Respondent’s Brief Regarding PSG Formulation Requirements
This sample brief helps practitioners respond to immigration judges who demand that asylum seekers state the particular social group(s) at a master calendar hearing as a prerequisite to scheduling the individual hearing.

Asylum Practice Advisory: Applying for Asylum After Matter of A-B-
This practice advisory explains what Matter of A-B- changes, and helps attorneys preserve issues for litigation if asylum is denied.

After TPS: Options and Next Steps
This practice advisory helps advocates find and secure alternative forms of protection for clients with TPS whose designation might be ending.

Center for Gender & Refugee Studies Expert Witness Database
This database offers advocates a searchable repository of qualified and pre-vetted country specialists and health professionals who serve as expert witnesses to support asylum seekers in the United States. (Free, but an account is required.)

"Particularly Serious Crime" Bars on Asylum and Withholding of Removal: Case Law Standards and Sample Determinations
A resource that will aid in the legal representation of immigrants in criminal and removal proceedings. Specifically, this chart will help attorneys evaluate whether a criminal conviction constitutes a “particularly serious crime” barring asylum or withholding of removal.

 

Relief for Survivors of Crime 

Immigration Relief for Immigrant Survivors of Abuse
This reference chart provides a quick comparison between the most common forms of relief for immigrant survivors of abuse: VAWA, U visas, T visas,  Special Immigrant Juvenile Status, and Asylum.

Best Practices for Working with Immigrant Crime Survivors
An article on best practices when working with immigrant clients, who are survivors of crime.

Screening for Victims Who Qualify for Immigration Protective Relief Eligibility Questions for Protective Relief
This card can serve as a checklist to screen for potential immigration relief and language issues for victims of crime.

U & T Visa Translated Forms
These are translations of the U & T visa forms into Spanish, to help immigrants and their advocates. USCIS only accepts forms submitted in English.

Practice Advisory: Fee Waivers for VAWA self-petitions, U and T visa applications
A practice advisory to help advocates prepare fee waiver requests in VAWA, U and T Visa applications.

 

Naturalization

A Step by Step Guide to Completing the New Naturalization Application
This guide provides explanations for each question listed on the N-400 and highlights sections of the form that might be problematic for applicants.

Acquisition & Derivation Quick Reference Charts
These three charts outline the different requirements for acquiring and deriving citizenship.
 

Practice Advisory: Protecting Naturalized Citizens from De-naturalization and Deportation
This practice advisory provides criminal defense attorneys with background and information to protect clients who have been granted U.S. citizenship.

 

Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (SIJS)

Chapter on Special Immigrant Juvenile Status
Chapter on SIJS by Kids in Need of Defense (KIND). This chapter gives an overview of SIJS, including the application procedure, and frequently asked questions.

Special Immigrant Juvenile Status Overview
Chapter on SIJS by the Immigrant Legal Resource Center (ILRC): Stories, overview, benefits, risks, application procedure.

Index of Unpublished Administrative Appeals Office Decisions on Special Immigrant Juvenile Status
The index includes short descriptions of, and links to, AAO SIJS decisions from 2005 to April 2018 available on the USCIS website, organized by issue type.

Risks of Applying for Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (SIJS) in Affirmative Cases
A practice advisory that answers common questions about the risks of filing affirmative SIJS cases, in light of recent USCIS guidance on when it will refer a person to ICE.

 

Community Education Resources for Clients

National Immigration Legal Services Directory
A directory of over 1,000 nonprofit legal service providers in the United States (English and Spanish).

immi.org
This website has “know your rights” materials and community resources (Versión en español).

Protecting Information in DACA Applications Under the Trump Administration
This practice advisory lays out the reasons why, for now, DACA applicants should feel safe that the Trump Administration will not use information contained in a DACA application to deport them.

Temporary Protected Status (TPS) For Nepal
This summary provides an explanation of how TPS holders from Nepal can re-register and re-apply for work permits after DHS' announcement of the termination of TPS designation for Nepal.

Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Honduras: Frequently Asked Questions
This is a summary of the options that are available to Honduran citizens with TPS, after DHS' announcement to terminate TPS designation for Honduras.
 

Immigration and Crimes

Deportation by Any Means Necessary: How Immigration Officials Are Labeling Immigrant Youth as Gang Members
This report suggests emerging best practices for immigration attorneys to employ in both fighting against unfounded gang allegations and working to mitigate the impact of prior gang involvement.

Swept Up in the Sweep: The Impact of Gang Allegations on Immigrant New Yorkers
This report shows how ICE, with other federal agencies and law enforcement, uses arbitrary methods to profile immigrant youth of color to allege gang affiliation.

 

Public Charge

An Overview of Public Charge
Practice advisory that provides practitioners with information an overview of public charge issues in immigration.

Federal Guidance on Public Charge - When is it Safe to Use Public Benefits?
This document explains when use federal public benefits may lead to a "public charge" problem.

 

Helpful Links

Asylum, trafficking, VAWA, international human rights, country conditions, curricula for schools, and more: www.theadvocatesforhumanrights.org

Policy updates and analysis, legal practice advisories, enforcement, due process, economic impact, fact sheets, and more: www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org

Family immigration practice, naturalization, management, capacity building, trainings, practice updates, state and local policy, and more: www.cliniclegal.org

Policy and practice updates, removal defense, crim-imm and post-conviction relief, enforcement, VAWA, citizenship, trainings, and more: www.ilrc.org

Removal defense, crim-imm practice advisories, gang & terrorism related allegations, community resources, and more: www.nipnlg.org

Policy updates, public benefits, health, state policies (driver's licenses, education), DACA, CA law, workers rights, taxes, and more: www.nilc.org

Free self-help tools for community education and empowerment:
     Plain language legal information and self-screening: www.immi.org
     Citizenship application assistance (automated):  www.citizenshipworks.org