Volunteer Guide
Building One Community
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Founded in 2011, our mission is to advance the successful integration of immigrants and their families. We seek to build one welcoming community in which all immigrants are thriving and contributing members. Our programs educate, empower, employ, and engage local immigrants providing a wide array of services that range from ELL classes for adults, Workforce Development training and certifications, academic enrichment for children, Family and Individual Services to connect persons with the services they need from the public and private sectors, and Immigration Legal Services.
Our Immigration Legal Services (ILS) provides immigration legal assistance for individuals and families that cannot afford private attorneys. We provide representation for the full range of family-based and humanitarian applications with USCIS and Department of State, clinics for naturalization, and consultations. We also provide representation for persons facing removal/deportation in Immigration Court (including appeals) or making affirmative asylum applications. We host Immigrant Justice Corps fellows who represent Unaccompanied Children in Connecticut Probate Court and USCIS. We are not able to assist persons in detention.
| Counties served: | Fairfield |
Services Provided
| Are immigration legal services provided? | Yes |
| Areas of immigration legal assistance: | Adjustment of Status, Asylum applications, Consular Processing, Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), Employment authorization, Family-based petitions, NACARA, Naturalization/Citizenship, Removal hearings, Special Immigrant Juvenile Status, T visas, Temporary Protected Status (TPS), U visas, Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) petitions |
| 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: | Employment |
| Non-legal services: | Citizenship / Civics classes, Employment services, ESL, Health services, Housing referrals, Language services, Legal Orientation Programs (LOP) / Know Your Rights Presentations (KYR), Referrals to other services, Social services |
| Populations served: | 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: | English, French, German, Haitian Creole, Spanish |
| Access to a commercial interpreting service or language bank: | Yes |
| Nominal fee charged? | Yes |
| Other information: | In addition to staff attorneys and paralegals, ILS case managers include volunteer attorneys and DOJ accredited representatives. |
Staffing Information
| Number of attorneys on staff: | 5 |
| Is organization BIA recognized? | Yes |
| Number of fully accredited BIA representatives on staff: | 0 |
| Number of partially accredited BIA representatives on staff: | 2 |
| Number of paralegals/legal workers on staff: | 3 |
Additional Details
| Pro Bono opportunities? | Yes |
| Network affiliations: | American Immigration Lawyers Association, Catholic Legal Immigration Network (CLINIC), Immigration Advocates Network, Immigration Justice Corps |
Volunteering
| Volunteer Coordinator |