Afghan Asylum Project
After the chaotic and rushed withdrawal of U.S. military forces from Afghanistan, Operation Allies Welcome evacuated over 84,000 Afghan nationals into the United States. More than 350 resettlement agencies and community partner organizations have resettled these tens of thousands of Afghans into communities across the United States—and they need our help.
By some estimates, close to half of resettled Afghans may have to apply for asylum. The Immigration Justice Campaign is partnering with the International Rescue Committee, who has committed to resettling 11,000 individuals, to mobilize pro bono asylum representation for Afghans resettled in 3 cities: Atlanta, GA; Denver, CO; and Salt Lake City, UT.
Volunteers Needed
Attorneys
Volunteer attorneys are needed to prepare and file affirmative asylum applications before the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) for Afghan evacuees. This opportunity is currently fully remote. The scope of work includes:
- Meeting directly with clients and preparing client declarations, form I-589 asylum applications, and other corroborating materials
- File I-589 and corroborating materials with USCIS
- Attend asylum interview with client (can be done remotely) within 45 days of filing, per Congress’ directive to USCIS to interview Afghan evacuees no later than 45 days after they file an asylum petition.
Attorneys can expect the bulk of the work to be completed in 4-5 months.
Sign up here, and for more information, email probonocoordinator@immcouncil.org.
Translators and Interpreters
Volunteers who speak Dari and/or Pashto are needed to serve as translators and/or interpreters. No interpretation experience or legal background is necessary and no professional certificates are required; we only need to know that you are fully bilingual in English and Dari and/or Pashto.
Currently, all interpretation work for this project is done remotely. We ask you to commit to at least one case, and after that can help with as many or as few as you like. Though it can vary, one case can take about 20-30 hours over the course of several months.
To apply, please create an account and fill out our volunteer application, and for more information, email probonocoordinator@immcouncil.org.
Resources to Support Attorneys
In advance of placing cases with your firm, the Campaign would be happy to provide training via Zoom or in person. Once volunteers have accepted a case, the Campaign offers pro bono attorneys the following support system:
- Training materials:
- An innovative and curated online training hub, where we provide custom webinars, practice guides, templates and exemplars specifically designed for lawyers who are new to this work.
- The Campaign is also pleased to provide complimentary access to AILA’s premier research database for immigration practitioners.
- Mentorship: All volunteers receive mentorship from our in-house legal experts whose sole focus is supporting our pro bono attorneys.
- Attorneys work with mentors in a variety of settings including office hours, group mentorship, or on an individual basis throughout their cases.
- Mentors review all draft filings before submission.
- Attend asylum interview with client (can be done remotely) within 45 days of filing, per Congress’ directive to USCIS to interview Afghan evacuees no later than 45 days after they file an asylum petition.