Practice resources
Search immigration practice advisories, sample filings, manuals, brief banks, and government guidance from trusted practitioner sources.
This handbook is intended for use by pro bono attorneys and immigration attorneys working on LGBTQ/HIV asylum cases.
Last Updated February 11, 2025 The Trump administration has been targeting immigrant and LGBTQ communities through a slate of Executive Orders designed to erase transgender, non-binary and intersex identities, decimate asylum and refugee protections, and fast track mass deportations. The orders are unprecedented in their scope. Many are blatantly illegal, some unconstitutional, but virtually all harm the LGBTQ and HIV-positive immigrants, families, and communities we serve. Our clients are under
In Department of State v. Muñoz , 602 U.S. 899 (2024), the U.S. Supreme Court concluded that a U.S. citizen and her noncitizen spouse had no access to judicial review of a consular officer’s denial of an immigrant visa. The Court held that a U.S. citizen has no “fundamental liberty interest” i n her spouse’s admission to the United States. This practice advisory, by the American Immigration Council, the International Refugee Assistance Project, and the Consular Accountability Project, is intende
On November 25, 2024, the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland granted final approval of a settlement agreement reached by the parties in J.O.P. v. DHS , No. 8:19-CV01944-SAG (D. Md.). The settlement agreement is the culmination of a class action lawsuit pending over five years. This practice alert highlights key points about the agreement that immigration practitioners representing asylum seekers need to know. You can read the full agreement and learn more about the J.O.P. case by v
In the past two years the Biden administration has issued regulations which have dramatically affected asylum seekers’ rights both at the border and in subsequent merits’ adjudications. NIPNLG has created a chart as an easy reference to see what rules govern the asylum seeker’s case based on the time and manner of their entry.
Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) records requests are an important tool for advocates who are representing people who were detained in ORR custody as children. This practice advisory discusses the role ORR records play in an immigration case and outlines the process for requesting them.
Vallabhaneni (September 27 2001) Board of Immigration Appeals. NOW Legal Defense Fund and others filed this amicus in support of the appeal by Aruna C. Vallabhaneni of the decision of the Immigration Judge denying her application for political asylum despite an undisputed record of years of severe domestic violence and her inability to obtain protection from the government of India. The record before the judge established that Ms. Vallabhaneni was persecuted in the past and that she has a well-f
BIA Amicus Invitation 2016-0609 (September 1 2016) Board of Immigration Appeals, NIWAP, Crowell and Moring. NIWAP and The Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service submitted this amicus brief to the Board of Immigration Appeals discussing the brain development and neuroscience of how having experienced or witnessed trauma impacts the brain development of children and adolescents. The brief argues that in cases of child asylum applicants’ waivers of the one-year deadline based on extraordinary cir
On December 1, 2023, the Board of Immigration Appeals issued a precedential decision, Matter of M‑R‑M‑S‑, 28 I&N Dec. 757 (BIA 2023), which purports to narrow the circumstances in which asylum seekers can prove that their membership in a family-based particular social group can meet the “one central reason” nexus standard. This practice advisory discusses the BIA opinion, explains how it intersects with existing court of appeals case law, and provides practical tips for practitioners on how to f
This advisory analyzes and explains the particularly serious crime bar to asylum and withholding of removal. It describes the factors to consider in determining whether a crime is a "particularly serious crime" and how to challenge a particularly serious crime determination.
Protection under the Convention Against Torture (CAT) is an important relief option for individuals who are unable to qualify for asylum or withholding of removal. This advisory reviews the legal standard for CAT protection. It also provides an overview of seminal Board of Immigration Appeals and federal circuit court decisions that discuss the various elements of a CAT claim. The end of the advisory contains a useful chart which compares asylum, withholding of removal, and CAT.
In the Matter of RA (February 13 2004) Board of Immigration Appeals. Domestic violence as a basis for Gender Based Asylum. Filed Briefs and coordinated amici for amicus briefs filed before the Board of Immigration Appeals (1999) and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit (1999). Provided editing and amici sign on assistance to Amicus brief filed with Attorney General Ashcroft (2004).