Afghan Affirmative Asylum Project Sign-Up

Thank you so much for joining our effort to assist Afghan nationals with applying for asylum in the United States!

Project Background and Overview

After years of U.S. military presence in Afghanistan, our country has officially withdrawn its presence. Almost immediately, the Taliban overthrew the government and seized power, throwing the country into chaos. Many have died, and thousands more are being hunted, looking for a way to escape. Some who have been fortunate enough to enter the United States, but most were only granted temporary “parole” status. They now need to apply for asylum to seek permanent status due to the persecution they would face if they were forced to return to Afghanistan.

Ways You Can Help

Pro Bono Attorney

As a pro bono attorney, you must carry an active law license within the United States. For this project, you will be preparing and filing an application for asylum on behalf of an Afghan national. While the amount of time required to complete a case varies widely, we anticipate that on most cases approximately 60-70 hours of attorney time over a 5-6 month period is needed. You will enter your appearance as the attorney of record when filing the petition, and will prepare for and attend the interview at the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services office.

Provide Administrative Assistance

If you aren’t a licensed attorney, you can still help! Admin volunteers will be paired with attorney and will assist in filling out the forms and preparing all the documents. Similar to the attorney role, the amount of time required can vary widely, but we anticipate that in most cases, 10-20 hours of time over a 5-6 month period is required.

Serve as a An Interpreter

While VECINA does have access to some on-demand interpretation services, having an interpreter assigned to a case is incredibly helpful! As most asylum seekers have experienced significant trauma, speaking to their attorney through a designated interpreter in their heart language helps them feel at ease. In order to participate in this project as an interpreter, you must be fluent in English and Dari or Pashto.

Donate

As always, we can’t do what we do without our supporters! We would love for you to donate to support this project, as well as VECINA’s other work fighting for immigrant justice. Donations of any amount are appreciated!

VECINA Support

If you take on an affirmative asylum case under our project, you can expect the following support:

Training

VECINA has created a very robust online training course for anyone representing an Afghan national in affirmative asylum proceedings. The training modules are set up to be “bite size pieces” so that you can review content as needed instead of watching a long webinar. In the training course you will find videos, checklists, templates and samples, which provide a great foundational support as you work through your case.

Group Mentorship

Even with the robust training course, we know that you’ll have lots of questions! Our group mentorship model is set up cohort style, so you’ll meet with a VECINA mentor and several other pro bono teams to talk through your strategy and questions as you begin. Then we have regular virtual office hours where you are welcome anytime to come and ask questions, or just to listen!

If you’d like to sign up for our project, please fill out the form below and we will be touch. Welcome to the team!

Afghan Affirmative Asylum Project Sign-Up

Sign up to volunteer as an attorney, admin, or interpreter for our Afghan Affirmative Asylum Project, which helps Afghan nationals request asylum in the United States.

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Name*

First Last

Phone Number*

Email Address*

Preferred Pronouns

City, State and Country where you are located*

City State / Province / Region Country

In what role would you like to volunteer?*

You can volunteer as an attorney/DOJ accredited representative, admin support, or interpreter. Please note that to volunteer as an attorney, you must have an active law license. It doesn’t matter what state you are licensed in, as immigration law is federal law. If you are a law graduate who is still pending admission to the Bar, you will need to sign up as an admin volunteer until you are admitted. To be an interpreter for this project, you must be fluent in English and either Dari or Pashto.

For attorneys only: If we are unable to place you with a client located within a reasonable distance from your location, are you willing/able to provide remote representation (telephonically) at the asylum interview?*

The work of preparing an asylum application with a client will likely be done remotely. We would love for attorneys to represent their clients in person at their asylum interview, but we realize this may not be possible. If you are part of a law firm with many locations, it would be okay for another partner in the client’s location to provide representation. If this is not possible, clients may be represented telephonically at their interviews. We will support you throughout this process!

How many asylum applications (principal applicants) are you willing to work on? For example, would you prefer to work on a case of an individual who is here alone or with a spouse (where a spouse is likely to be a derivative of the other spouse's application), or would you be willing to work with a larger family where there are multiple pricipal applicants (including adult family members like parents, adult siblings, etc.)?

*Some Afghans who are seeking asylum came to the U.S. alone and will therefore only require one asylum application. Other times, Afghans come with some of their family members. Each adult will require their own application (except where an applicant’s spouse can be a derivative on the applicant’s application), although they regularly have overlapping evidence that is consistent across the family. Any minor children who are here with their parents don’t require their own applications, as they will be derivatives on their parents’ application. Please note that there is an overwhelming need for representation of families, so we would encourage you to work on a family’s case if you are willing.

Do you agree to work on this case on a pro bono basis?*

Yes

*Please note that VECINA is only able to provide mentorship on cases that are represented pro bono.

Are you able to begin working on a case right away?*

When will you be able to begin working on a case?*

Would you like to be paired with anyone specific for your team?*

*If you would like to be paired with a specific volunteer on a case, please let us know who that person is and whether that person would be volunteering as an attorney, administrative support, or interpreter. If you are an attorney working alone or working with a team where there are multiple principal applicants, please let us know if you would like is to assign an admin support volunteer to work with you on this case. These admin support volunteers are usually from the Villanova Interdisciplinary Immigration Studies Training for Advocates (VIISTA) and are training to become accredited representatives in immigration matters. They have a wonderful skill set and are eager to help!

Do you have any experience working on immigration matters and/or with asylum cases?*

Do you speak Dari or Pashto fluently?*

Please note it is not necessary or required that you speak Dari or Pashto in order to work on this project, unless you are signing up in the interpreter role.

Are there any periods over the next three months when you know you will be unavailable to take a case?*

This would include things such as vacations, etc. You can always let us know later if your availability changes.

How did you hear about the Afghan Affirmative Asylum Project?*

Is there anything else you would like to share with us about your reasons for choosing to volunteer with this project?

Name

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