what kind of lawyer represents refugees in the u.s.?

by Bettye Feest Sr. 6 min read

Do I need an immigration lawyer to become a refugee?

Our dedicated Immigration attorneys will provide close attention and detail required to effectively represent you in your asylum or refugee application. At Gupta & Trujillo, our dedicated immigration attorneys can help you with your refugee or asylum application throughout Southern California, including Orange County, Los Angeles County, Riverside County, the Inland Empire …

What do you need to know about the refugee law?

Find Refugee Attorneys by State. Refugees generally flee their home country due to some disaster such as war or persecution. To qualify as a refugee a person must prove a well-founded fear of being persecuted exists. This fear can be based on their race, religion, nationality, political opinion or membership in a particular social group. A ...

What kind of lawyer do I need to deal with immigration?

 · This type of lawyer should be well versed in dealing with immigration issues such as visas, citizenship, refugee or asylum and green cards. Criminal Lawyer. If you or a loved one has been charged with a crime, a criminal lawyer is the type of lawyer you should turn to. A criminal lawyer will be knowledgeable in areas related to criminal law ...

What does a national leader do on the issue of refugees?

Your asylum attorney will be able to fill out and file your petition with the U.S. government on your behalf. Your lawyer will also be there to answer your questions every step of the way, helping you file for work authorization while your application is pending and checking on the status of your case so you know where you stand.

Can lawyers help refugees?

If you are eligible to make a claim for refugee status, you may be able to get a lawyer to help you. Each province and territory has a legal aid contact.

What is the US law on refugees?

Under United States law, a refugee is someone who: Is located outside of the United States. Is of special humanitarian concern to the United States. Demonstrates that they were persecuted or fear persecution due to race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or membership in a particular social group.

Who handles refugees in America?

The Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration (PRM) is the humanitarian bureau of the State Department. PRM promotes U.S. interests by providing protection, easing suffering, and resolving the plight of persecuted and forcibly displaced people around the world.

What is a US immigration lawyer?

Immigration lawyers interpret the law, help clients analyze their rights, possibilities, and strategies, and guide you (or if applicable, your sponsoring U.S. family member or employer) through every step of the complicated immigration process.

Is asylum and refugee the same?

The difference between asylees and refugees is largely procedural. A person who requests asylum in the United States is called an asylee. A person who requests protection while still overseas, and then is given permission to enter the U.S. as a refugee, is called a refugee.

How do I claim refugee status in USA?

If you are eligible for asylum you may be permitted to remain in the United States. To apply for asylum, file a Form I-589, Application for Asylum and for Withholding of Removal, within one year of your arrival to the United States. There is no fee to apply for asylum.

Does the U.S. government help refugees?

U.S. funding provides life-saving assistance to tens of millions of displaced and crisis-affected people, including refugees, worldwide.

Who is responsible for refugees?

The UN agency that helps refugees is UNHCR (also known as the UN Refugee Agency), which emerged in the wake of World War II to help Europeans displaced by that conflict. UNHCR was established on December 14, 1950 by the UN General Assembly with a three-year mandate to complete its work and then disband.

What is the United Nations high commissioner for refugees?

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees was established on December 14, 1950 by the United Nations General Assembly. The agency is mandated to lead and co-ordinate international action to protect refugees and resolve refugee problems worldwide.

Where can I find a US immigration lawyer?

Here are some guidelines to help you find a good immigration lawyer.Ask Friends or Other Contacts for an Immigration Lawyer Referral. ... Contact a Lawyer Bar Association. ... Research Immigration Lawyers Online. ... Beware of Non-Lawyers Offering Legal Services. ... Contact Prospective Immigration Attorneys.

What do immigration consultants do?

Immigration consultants help people immigrate from one country to another for study, work, travel or business purpose. They provide legal services in the area of immigration law as permitted by legislation.

Can immigration lawyer speed up process?

While an immigration attorney cannot per say “speed up” your case, the immigration attorney is knowledgeable in immigration law and will know the best strategy and options for your case. Undeniably, this avoids any unreasonable delay by anyone lacking specialized knowledge in this area of law.

What Does it Mean to be a Refugee?

The term “ refugee ” is defined differently in different places, but it is basically a person who has been forced to flee their home country because of an unsafe situation, meaning persecution or violence.

Proving Your Refugee Status

In terms of the evidence that you need in order to have a successful asylum claim as a refugee, you can cast a wide net. One really good starting point is the U.S.

About DC Refugee Attorneys

As a DC refugee lawyer, you start from the same jumping off point in every case with the country condition report and international media documents, but then you have to tailor your body of evidence to the type of persecution that the client has suffered.

What is Refugee-Based Immigration?

American law provides robust protections for foreign nationals who have been persecuted or subjected to inhumane or inadequate living conditions in their home countries. Under certain conditions, these individuals are permitted to apply for temporary or permanent legal resident status in the United States.

Who is Eligible to Apply for Refugee-Based Immigration?

Decisions about whether to grant asylum or refugee status are made on a case-by-case basis. In general, individuals who wish to pursue refugee-based immigration must be enduring certain hardships. These include:

Types of Refugee-Based Immigration

At the Gutierrez Law Firm, our refugee-based immigration lawyers can assist persecuted clients with many different types of immigration. These include:

How We Can Help

At the Gutierrez Law Firm, we believe that no one should be forced to live in fear or uncertainty. As such, we are committed to helping foreign nationals who wish to apply for refugee status, asylum or other legal protections in the United States.

Personal Injury Lawyer

If you’ve suffered injuries in an accident—for example, a car accident—the type of lawyer you’ll want to see is a personal injury lawyer. These types of attorneys specialize in obtaining compensation in the form of damages for injuries caused by other parties.

Estate Planning Lawyer

The estate planning lawyer specializes in wills and trusts, and can help you to draw up a will to pass on your assets. Among other estate planning legal services, this type of lawyer can help you set up a trust which will help take care of your children’s financial needs.

Bankruptcy Lawyer

If you’re having financial difficulties and are contemplating bankruptcy proceedings, you’ll want to consult with a bankruptcy attorney.

Intellectual Property Lawyer

Also known as an IP attorney, an intellectual property lawyer can advise you with regard to issues relating to intellectual property, such as copyrights, trademarks, patents, industrial design and trade secrets.

Employment Lawyer

Whether you’re a company that’s having a problem with an employee, or an individual who’s having problems with the company you work for, an employment lawyer can generally provide advice about legal issues which arise from an employment contract or within an employment relationship.

Corporate Lawyer

If you own a corporation, you’ll likely find yourself consulting with a corporate attorney on many different occasions. A corporate lawyer will be able to help you with issues related to the formation of your corporation, general corporate governance issues and corporate compliance issues.

Immigration Lawyer

When you’re dealing with immigration issues, you’ll want to consult with an immigration lawyer. This type of lawyer should be well versed in dealing with immigration issues such as visas, citizenship, refugee or asylum and green cards.

How long do you have to file for asylum?

Economic hardship is not a valid reason to file for asylum. You must file for asylum within one year of entry into the United States.

Can a spouse be a green card holder?

Asyl um Approval. If you are granted asylum, you and any eligible spouse or child included in your application will be permitted to remain and work in the United States and may eventually adjust to lawful permanent resident status, otherwise known as a Green Card holder.

What is a refugee?

Under U.S. law, a “refugee” is a person who is unable or unwilling to return to his or her home country because of a “well-founded fear of persecution” due to race, membership in a particular social group, political opinion, religion, or national origin. This definition is based on the United Nations 1951 Convention ...

What is the definition of a refugee?

The international definition of a “refugee” encompasses only a subset of the entire population of forcibly displaced individuals. Individuals who are not defined as “refugees” may be forced to leave their homes for reasons other than “a well-founded fear of persecution,” such as resource scarcity and extreme weather events. For instance, as of 2020, there were 3.9 million Venezuelans displaced abroad who did not qualify as either refugees or asylum seekers.

Why is the refugee resettlement process denied?

Applications for refugee resettlement can be denied for a variety of reasons including criminal histories, past immigration violations, alleged connections to terrorist groups, or communicable diseases. Applicants cannot appeal the decision unless new or previously unavailable information arises.

What is the purpose of the UNHCR?

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) conducts an initial screening to determine if an individual seeking refugee status qualifies as a refugee under international law and then identifies an appropriate “durable solution” for that individual: voluntary repatriation, local integration, or resettlement. Individuals identified as refugees in need of resettlement are referred to one of nine U.S. Department of State Resettlement Support Centers (RSCs) around the world where they are screened to ensure they meet U.S.-designated processing priorities.

How long does it take to resettle a refugee?

refugee resettlement program “can be quite prolonged, leaving some refugees stranded in dangerous locations or in difficult circumstances.” The Department of State reported in 2016 that the entire process takes an average of 18-24 months to complete. However, security screening became even more complicated in 2017 when DHS—under the Trump administration—began “implementing program enhancements to raise the bar for vetting and screening procedures.” This included “increased data collection to more thoroughly investigate applicants, better information sharing between agencies to identify threat actors, and new training procedures to strengthen screener ability to detect fraud and deception.”

How many refugees were resettled in 2020?

This low ceiling was not reached in FY 2020 in part because the refugee resettlement program was temporarily suspended during the COVID-19 pandemic. Of the 11,814 refugees who were resettled in the United States during FY 2020, the largest share was from Africa, followed by Europe, East Asia, the Near East/South Asia, and Latin America/Caribbean.

What agencies do RSCs work with?

national security agencies including the National Counterterrorism Center, FBI, and Department of Defense.

What does an immigration lawyer do?

Immigration lawyers help immigrants, and employers seeking to hire them, with legal issues related to the status of immigrants and their families. Immigration lawyers help with visas, green cards, citizenship, and asylum and refugee status. Immigration laws change constantly, so it’s important to consult an experienced attorney in these situations.

When to use a real estate attorney?

Simply put, the most common scenario to use a real estate attorney is when you buy or sell real estate. Cloud-based real estate law software assists attorneys by facilitating collaborative document management and project tracking in a seamless and secure environment.

What is a criminal lawyer?

Criminal lawyers are attorneys who defend individuals and organizations against government charges in federal and state courts. Criminal lawyers understand the rules around arrest, arraignment, bail, pleas, proof, and related issues. Some of the most common crimes requiring criminal lawyers include homicide, sexual battery and assault.

What are the types of employment law cases?

Some of the most common types of cases handled by employment lawyers are contracts, wrongful termination, workplace harassment, retaliation, and workplace discrimination.

What is a workers compensation lawyer?

Workers’ compensation lawyers specialize in helping workers navigate the unique laws that apply to people who have been injured on the job. A workers’ compensation lawyer typically has a large number of cases to manage, each with its own deadlines, so look for a firm using a modern cloud-based law firm management system. The Department of Labor administers four major disability compensation programs.

What is IP attorney?

Intellectual property attorneys (“IP attorneys”) help companies, artists, and inventors with legal issues concerning copyrights, trademarks, patents, trade secrets and the like. IP attorneys spend a lot of time working with clients to help them avoid infringing upon the rights of others and making sure that their intellectual property is properly protected under the law.

What is a civil litigator?

The general term “civil litigator” refers to an attorney who represents clients in civil (not criminal) court, either as plaintiff or defendant. The most common kinds of civil litigation involve contract ...

What Is Refugee-Based Immigration?

  • American law provides robust protections for foreign nationals who have been persecuted or subjected to inhumane or inadequate living conditions in their home countries. Under certain conditions, these individuals are permitted to apply for temporary or permanent legal resident status in the United States. There are several different types of petitions and visas that refugees …
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Who Is Eligible to Apply For Refugee-Based Immigration?

  • Decisions about whether to grant asylum or refugee status are made on a case-by-case basis. In general, individuals who wish to pursue refugee-based immigration must be enduring certain hardships. These include: 1. Temporary residency outside of their native country 2. The threat of torture or incarceration 3. Political or physical persecution 4. Racial violence or discrimination C…
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Types of Refugee-Based Immigration

  • At the Gutierrez Law Firm, our refugee-based immigration lawyers can assist persecuted clients with many different types of immigration. These include: 1. NACARA – Nicaraguan Adjustment & Central Relief Act 2. CAT – Convention Against Torture 3. TPS – Temporary Protected Status 4. Asylum 5. NTA – Non-Detention Docket In addition, we can initiate the naturalization process fo…
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How We Can Help

  • At the Gutierrez Law Firm, we believe that no one should be forced to live in fear or uncertainty. As such, we are committed to helping foreign nationals who wish to apply for refugee status, asylum or other legal protections in the United States. With a quarter-century of experience, our refugee-based immigration attorneys can navigate the complex...
See more on gutierrezfirm.com