Volunteer Guide

Arab Resource and Organizing Center

  • Location:
    522 Valencia St
    San Francisco, CA 94110
  • Phone:
    (415) 861-7444
  • Toll-free:
    1-877-282-2288
  • Fax:
    (415) 480-2723
  • Contact methods:
    Email, Mail/Letter, Phone calls, Phone and online consultations available.
  • Appointments accepted:
    Yes

The Arab Resource and Organizing Center (AROC) has 2 staff attorneys and one BIA accredited paralegal, and provides immigration legal services for low and moderate-income Arab and Muslim immigrants in the SF Bay Area. A founding member of the San Francisco Immigrant Legal Education Network, AROC is a multicultural immigration law and social justice center based in San Francisco. Our mission is to build, nurture, and empower the Arab-American community, all communities of color, immigrants and low-income people in the SF Bay Area. By providing legal services and empowerment skills, we seek to enable members of our diverse communities to assert their legal rights, oppose all forms of injustice, and exercise self-determination. In addition to legal services, AROC also provides case management services.

Counties served: Alameda, San Francisco

Services Provided

Are immigration legal services provided? Yes
Areas of immigration legal assistance: Adjustment of Status, Asylum applications, Consular Processing, Employment authorization, Family-based petitions, Naturalization/Citizenship, Removal hearings, Temporary Protected Status (TPS)
Types of immigration legal services provided: Help completing forms, Filings with USCIS, Representation at Asylum Interviews (Credible Fear Interviews, Reasonable Fear Interviews), Representation before the Immigration Court, Representation before the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA), Federal court appeals
Other areas of legal assistance: Civil Rights, Community Development, Education, Nonprofit Organizations
Non-legal services: Administrative advocacy (CIS/ICE/CBP), Housing referrals, Language services, Legal Orientation Programs (LOP) / Know Your Rights Presentations (KYR), Referrals to other services, Social services
Populations served: Detained individuals, Domestic Violence Victims, Human Trafficking Survivors, Individuals who are not in legal immigration status, Individuals with criminal histories, Individuals with physical/mental disabilities, Juveniles, Lesbian, gay, bisexual & transgender, Torture survivors
Languages spoken: Arabic, Arabic (Egyptian), Arabic (Levantine), Dari, Farsi, Pashto, Urdu, Urdu
Access to a commercial interpreting service or language bank: No
Nominal fee charged? No
Other information: Consultations are by appointment only.

Staffing Information

Number of attorneys on staff: 2
Is organization BIA recognized? Yes
Number of fully accredited BIA representatives on staff: 1
Number of partially accredited BIA representatives on staff: 0
Number of paralegals/legal workers on staff: 1

Additional Details

Pro Bono opportunities? Yes
Network affiliations: San Francisco Immigration Legal and Education Network