Test Asylum Law6

Immigration Services Intern Opportunity

Agency Overview:
The International Institute of Minnesota (IIM) provides services and resources to empower New Americans (immigrants and refugees) in the pursuit of their goals. From language learning and job training to immigration assistance, citizenship classes, refugee resettlement, and case management the Institute offers New Americans a pathway for a strong start to a new life in our community.

Program Overview:
The Immigration Services Program serves residents of the Twin Cities area, the majority of whom originally entered the U.S. as refugees or asylees.  At least 70% of clients served have a household income at or below 150% of the federal poverty guidelines. Over 65,000 Minnesota residents are eligible to apply for U.S. citizenship but lack access to affordable, trustworthy legal services to help them reach their goal of U.S. citizenship. We help bring economic and civic benefits to these legal permanent residents by assisting our Minnesota neighbors to complete their citizenship application, along with other immigration applications, including but not limited to green card applications, work permit applications, removal of conditions, visa available to victims of human trafficking (T visas), and other assistance to recent arrivals from Afghanistan and Ukraine. Since 2001 the International Institute of Minnesota has helped over 16,000 New Americans achieve U.S. citizenship.

Interns will be exposed to a variety of immigration areas, mainly related to refugee and asylee issues, as well as issues related to the human trafficking of noncitizens. They will assist IIMN’s immigration attorney and program staff with researching specific questions of law and policy, preparing legal memoranda, and with overall case management (details below). Interest and coursework in immigration law preferred as well as a familiarity and interest in working with immigrant populations. Bilingual Spanish speakers highly encouraged to apply.

For further information about the Immigration Services Program at IIMN, see: https://iimn.org/programs/citizenship-and-immigration/

Primary Duties:
•        Assist clients with various immigration applications such as permanent residency (for refugees and asylees), work authorization, citizenship, and trafficking visas (T visas)
•        Conduct interviews with clients telephonically and in-person throughout the case preparation process to collect information related to their cases
•        Respond to client questions related to their immigration application
•        Research applicable laws and legal precedents to provide legal support to the attorney and accredited representatives
•        Draft legal documents, particularly legal memoranda, cover letters, and client affidavits
•        Attend immigration interviews as a student-certified attorney
•        Input case-related information into client database and upload documents