Immigration Legal Assistant

Job Overview:

IRC's immigration legal services program serves more than 14,000 individuals in 23 sites throughout the U.S. each year, providing accessible and critical legal representation and advice to immigrants and their families in order to acquire the highest level of immigration status available, keep families together, access their full rights, and successfully integrate in the U.S.

The position supports legal practitioners (attorneys and/or Department of Justice (DOJ) accredited representatives) in representing clients before United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and conducting community-based orientations and workshops. IRC is a lead agency responding to the Afghan evacuation and will be serving thousands of Afghan parolees this year. This position will focus on supporting legal services for Afghan parolees, which will include a range of services such as orientations and individual screenings, family-based immigrant petitions and adjustments of status, Special Immigrant self-petition-based adjustments of status, and affirmative asylum, as well as other avenues for seeking permanent status that may become available. It is encouraged that staff hired in this role will work towards DOJ accreditation with support from IRC’s Immigration Technical Unit based at IRC Headquarters.

Major Responsibilities:

• Under the supervision of a licensed or accredited legal practitioner, provide clients with information about immigration benefits available through USCIS, work with clients to gather documents, and assist clients to complete applications.
• Respond to inquiries from clients regarding case status and submit inquiries on case status to USCIS and/or Department of State (DOS).
• Process correspondence from USCIS and DOS, including notifying clients, assisting clients to prepare responses to notices or evidence requests as appropriate, and following up with relevant parties.
• Maintain accurate and up-to-date physical and electronic files and detailed case notes, enter required data in a timely manner, meet all case reporting requirements within established timelines and standards, and assist in the completion of statistical, narrative, and financial reports.
• Represent the IRC with clients, community members, and partners by receiving and returning phone calls and emails, scheduling appointments, supporting events (including group processing events), and conducting outreach for legal services.
• Maintain strict client confidentiality and observe all other ethical practices/obligations as outlined in IRC’s Immigration Program Policies Manual.
• Pursue Department of Justice accreditation by successfully completing all vital training.
• Manage intern and volunteer support as needed.