Useful documents for attorneys representing asylum seekers

Below are basic documents and forms pro bono attorneys may need over the course of representing asylum seekers. The list also includes government memos and scholarly articles that provide context and an orientation to the immigration court system for attorneys who are representing asylum seekers for the first time. Pro bono attorneys also are encouraged to peruse the documents available on the Practitioners Tips page.

Asylum Training Materials

• Basic Procedural Manual for Asylum Representation (February 2013)
• Appendices to the Basic Procedural Manual for Asylum Representation (February 2013)
• Information for Attorneys Representing Detained Asylum Seekers
• "Inside the Forensic Document Laboratory," Jason Dzubow, Immigration Law Today (September/October 2008)

Immigration Court Guidelines and Manuals

• EOIR Practice Manual
• Guidelines for Facilitating Pro Bono Legal Services

Particular Social Group Claims

• Supporting documents from NIJC's Membership in a Particular Social Group Asylum Roundtable
• "Membership in a Particular Social Group" brief bank

The "Asylum Clock" and Employment Authorization

• November 2011 EOIR Memorandum: OPPM 11-02: The Asylum Clock
• NIJC's summary and recommendations regarding the asylum clock memo
• Frequently asked questions regarding employment authorization for asylum seekers
• Asylum Clock Class Action Lawsuit

Bars to Asylum

• The One-Year Deadline for Asylum
• The Terrorism Bars to Asylum

Miscellaneous

• NIJC's Asylum Quick Reference Guide for Pro Bono Attorneys
• Submitting an Email Inquiry to the Chicago Asylum Office
• NIJC's Language of Human Rights Volunteer Interpreter Project
• Secondary Trauma in Asylum Lawyers
• Certificate of translation
• Certificate of translation (for foreign documents)
• NIJC Amicus Brief: Forced IUD Insertion is Persecution

Information and Resources for Asylees

• Asylee Benefits Information
• USDOJ Civil Rights Division: Refugees and Asylees Have the Right to Work
• USDOJ Civil Rights Division: "Look At The Facts. Not At The Faces.  Your Guide To Fair Employment."