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 (January 2012)

Appendices to the Basic Procedural Manual for Asylum Representation (January 2012)

Materials from NIJC's One-Year Asylum Deadline Roundtable

"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

NIJC Amicus Brief: Gender as Particular Social Group

Supporting documents from NIJC's Membership in a Particular Social Group Asylum Roundtable

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

Class action lawsuit targeting the asylum clock filed by the American Immigration Council (A.B.T. et al. v. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services et al., No. 11-2108 (W.D. Wash. filed December 15, 2011))

- Class action complaint

- Class certification motion

Bars to Asylum

- The Terrorism Bars to Asylum

Miscellaneous

Secondary Trauma in Asylum Lawyers

Certificate of translation

Certificate of translation (for foreign documents)

NIJC Amicus Brief: Forced IUD Insertion is Persecution

Asylee Benefits Information