Supporters 2024-2025

Leadership Circle: Individual donors who have contributed at least $1,000 annually.

  • Susan Bennett
  • Blake Biles
  • Bradley Hill Presbyterian Church
  • Margaret Chao
  • Edward Shin
  • Erica Lai
  • Chinh Le
  • Ron Lee
  • Curtis P Lu
  • Edward J. Meehan
  • Lei Mei
  • Lucy and Arnaldo Noyola
  • Chan Park
  • Christopher & Jeannie Rhee
  • Edward Shin
  • Jennifer Yi Man Cheung

Circle of Advocates: Individual donors who have contributed at least $500 annually.

  • Robert & Corazon Daebler
  • Hsien-Ya Liao
  • Marcia Maack
  • Celso Mataac
  • Taron K. Murakami
  • Patrick Shen
  • Sherry (Qiong) Tao
  • Allison Ullman

Law Firms, Corporations, and Organizational Sponsors:

Platinum Sponsor: Sponsors who have contributed $25,000
Curtis Lu and Sandra Ratterman

Sapphire Sponsor: Sponsors who have contributed $15,000
Baker & Hostetler Law

Diamond Sponsors: Sponsors who have contributed $10,000
George Wu and Lynne Chiao

Gold Sponsors: Sponsors who have contributed $5,000

  • Gibson Dunn
  • Mayer Brown LLP
  • Ron and Christine Lee
  • The Sidley Austin Foundation and Dan Rubinstein
  • Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP
  • WilmerHale

Ruby Sponsors: Sponsors who have contributed $2,500

  • Arnold & Porter
  • Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld, LLP
  • Cooley LLP
  • DLA Piper
  • Jayne and Chan Park

Silver Sponsors: Sponsors who have contributed $1,000

  • Mei & Mark LLP
  • Latham & Watkins LLP
  • Lucy and Arnaldo Noyola

Funders

  • Asian Americans Advancing Justice Southern California (AJSOCAL)
  • District of Columbia Bar Foundation
  • District of Columbia Mayor’s Office on Latino Affairs
  • Executive Office of the Mayor (EOM), Asian and Pacific Islander Affairs
  • Government of the District of Columbia Executive Office of the Mayor Office of Victims Services and Justice Grants  (OVSJG)
  • Korean American Community Foundation
  • Maryland Legal Services Corporation (MLSC)
  • Montgomery County, Maryland
  • Philip L. Graham Foundation
  • The Asian American Foundation (TAAF)
  • The Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation
  • United Way National Capital Area (UWNCA)
  • Venable Foundation
  • William S. Abell Foundation

Supervising Attorney — Immigration

Supervising Attorney — Immigration

Employment Type: Full-Time
Compensation: $77,500 – $86,500, depending on experience
Location: Washington, D.C.
Post Date: Reposted March 2025, Open until filled

The APALRC is seeking to hire an experienced immigration attorney to lead its immigration practice. The attorney will be responsible for providing training, mentorship and supervision to the immigration legal staff, along with setting priorities and working with the APALRC executive director to ensure that grant requirements are met.

Tasks & Duties:

  • Provide training, mentorship, and supervision to immigration legal staff.
  • Assist in the preparation of grant proposals, prepare reports and ensure the department’s compliance with grant requirements and outcomes.
  • Work with the Executive Director to ensure proper program and grant financial management.
  • Represent the APALRC at meetings and collaborations with other agencies.
  • Provide direct legal representation in a variety of immigration matters including adjustment of status applications, family petitions, green card renewals, DACA renewals, applications for  Employment Authorization Document, Refugee Travel Documents, T and U visas, VAWA-self petitions, naturalization, and FOIA requests to USCIS and Department of State.
  • Conduct legal research in support of the APALRC’s immigration cases and stay abreast of relevant immigration law and policy changes
  • Represent individuals seeking various forms of immigration relief in interviews before USCIS.
  • Coordinate and attend outreach events to promote immigrants’ rights and access to legal services in Washington, D.C.
  • Coordinate and conduct community legal education/Know Your Rights workshops on a variety of immigration topics.
  • Assist in recruiting and coordinating pro bono counsel (or co-counsel) for some APALRC immigration cases with area law firms.
  • Assist the APALRC’s New Americans Campaign attorney with citizenship application workshops.

Qualifications:

  • Demonstrated commitment in public interest law and social justice advocacy.
  • Licensed to practice law in Washington, D.C. or in another U.S. jurisdiction with the ability to waive into D.C.
  • 5-8 years of experience in the practice of immigration law.
  • Experience working with immigrants, low-income individuals, and those with limited English proficiency, and/or comparable experience.
  • Commitment to teamwork, demonstrated ability in community outreach, coalition building, working with volunteers and interns, and organizing workshops strongly preferred.
  • Organized, able to manage a variety of cases at one time, able to draft workplans and meet goals and deadlines.
  • Exceptional communication skills.
  • Fluency in an Asian language, particularly Mandarin, Cantonese, Korean or Vietnamese.

Highly Desirable:

  • Prior experience working with a nonprofit, legal services or social services organization.
  • Prior experience conducting community outreach, coalition building, community organizing, organizing workshops, legal clinics, and/or community education events.
  • Prior experience working with Asian and Pacific Islander immigrant communities

Salary and Benefits:

The anticipated salary for this position is $77,500 – $86,500, depending on experience. The APALRC offers the following benefits:

  • 100% employer-paid:
    • Medical insurance
    • Dental and Vision insurance
    • Long Term Disability
    • Life and AD&D insurance
  • Pre-Tax 401(k) plan with employer match on first 4% of salary
  • Paid Time Off:
    • 12 vacation days until year 2, 18 days per year in years 3-4, 24 days per year in years 5-9 and 30 days per year in year 10+
    • 3 personal days per year
    • 2 floating holidays per year
    • 15 sick days per year
  • 12 Paid Holidays and the last week of the year
  • Job related professional development fees (including annual state bar dues and professional memberships)
  • Hybrid work schedule

How to Apply:

Submit a cover letter detailing your interest in the position and work experience, along with a résumé, a brief writing sample (3-5 pages), and three professional references to Naznin Saifi at [email protected]. Please put “Supervising Attorney – Immigration” in the subject line of the email. No telephone inquiries, please.

USCIS announces Fee Increase [UPDATE]

UPDATE: As of September 29, 2020, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California in Immigration Legal Resource Center et al., v. Wolf, et al., 20-cv-05883-JWS, preliminarily enjoined DHS from implementing or enforcing any part of the Fee Increase. This means that the fee rule will not go into effect on October 2, 2020: neither the fee increases nor the changes to fee waivers in the rule will be implemented at this time.

On July 30th, United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) published its new, fee schedule for immigration applications. The new fee schedule goes into effect on October 2nd, 2020. Applications filed before October 2nd, follow the old/ current fee schedule.  While a few types of filing fees are going down (such as the filing for a green card renewal, the I-90 form, is decreasing from $455 to $415) the cost of most immigration petitions is going up, and the fee waiver option has been eliminated for most applicants. The fee for a naturalization/ U.S. citizenship application will increase from its current $725 to  $1,160 or $1170 (depending on whether or not one files online via the USCIS portal) (biometrics included) on October 2, 2020. In addition, USCIS also announced that it will eliminate the fee waiver for naturalization with very few exceptions, along with the reduced fee option. More information about the fee increases can be found here.  If you have questions about these fee changes, please call the APALRC multilingual helpline at: 202-393-3572.  If you want the APALRC’s assistance applying for naturalization/ citizenship, please register here.

Government Response to COVID-19

In response to COVID-19, USCIS has announced that seeking medical assistance for preventative care or medical assistance will not negatively impact an applicant’s public charge analysis. If you feel sick, please take care of yourself and go seek medical treatment as necessary. For further information please see: https://www.uscis.gov/greencard/public-charge. If you live in Washington DC, please see here for more information about medical assistance you might be eligible for: https://www.dchealthlink.com/coronavirus

In response to COVID-19, USCIS has also announced that all in-person services have been suspended. This includes appointments at field offices as well as Application Support Centers. If you have an immigration interview or biometrics appointment between now and April 1, please do NOT go to your appointment. Your appointment will be rescheduled after in-person services resume. Please check this website for updates about USCIS office closures and re-openings: https://www.uscis.gov/

If you believe that you have been discriminated against or a target of hate crime as a result of COVID-19, please call the APALRC helpline. More information is available at AAJC here:  https://advancingjustice-aajc.org/report/stand-against-hatred

Tanggapan Pemerintah U.S.A. terhadap COVID-19

Menanggapi COVID-19, Kantor U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS) telah mengumumkan bahwa menggunakan bantuan medis (seperti Medicaid) untuk perawatan, pencegahan, atau bantuan lain terkait dengan COVID-19 tidak akan berdampak negatif pada analisis “Public Charge” (Beban Publik).  Jika Anda merasa sakit, tolong rawat diri Anda sendiri dan pergi mencari perawatan medis yang diperlukan. Untuk informasi lebih lanjut silakan lihat: https://www.uscis.gov/greencard/public-charge. Jika Anda tinggal di Washington DC, silakan lihat di website ini untuk informasi lebih lanjut tentang bantuan medis yang Anda mungkin bisa mendapat: https://www.dchealthlink.com/coronavirus

Menanggapi COVID-19, USCIS juga telah mengumumkan bahwa semua layanan publik langsung, seperti janji sidik jari, wawancara imigrasi, dan layanan pribadi lainnya ditunda hingga setidaknya 1 April. Jika Anda memiliki wawancara imigrasi atau janji temu biometrik antara sekarang dan 1 April, JANGAN pergi ke janji temu Anda. Janji temu Anda akan dijadwal ulang setelah layanan in-person dilanjutkan. Silakan periksa website USCIS untuk pembaruan lebih lanjut:  https://www.uscis.gov/

COVID-19 Update from the Asian Pacific American Legal Resource Center

In response to the recommendations to engage in “social distancing,” effective Monday, March 16, 2020, the Asian Pacific American Legal Resource Center (APALRC) will be closed to the public.  The APALRC will also be suspending our in-person walk-in intake hours at our office in downtown DC and at our community-based partner agencies in the District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia.  The APALRC will continue to provide support to the community through our Multilingual Legal Helpline.

Multilingual Legal Helpline: 202-393-3572

Chinese ext. 18

South Asian ext. 19

Vietnamese ext. 20

Korean ext. 21

English ext. 22

 

We apologize for any inconvenience that this closure may cause.  Thank you for your patience and consideration.

Public Charge Update

After a ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court on January 27, 2020, the Department of Homeland Security will soon be able to implement their new rule relating to the “public charge” ground of inadmissibility. DHS announced that the rule will go into effect on Monday, February 24, 2020. 

**Adjustment of Status (green card) applications postmarked before February 24, 2020 will be adjudicated under policies in place before the new rule.** 

The new public charge rule does not apply to people applying for naturalization/ U.S. citizenship.  The new public charge rule does not apply to people who already have a green card; but, those who have a green card should be extra careful not to travel outside the U.S. for more than 6 months at one time.

Please do not withdraw yourself or your family members from any public benefits (such as Medicaid and Food Stamps) without first consulting with a knowledgeable immigration lawyer regarding whether or not the public charge rule applies to you. The APALRC can provide free consultations on the public charge rule change. Please call our helpline at (202) 393-3572.

For more information, please see: https://protectingimmigrantfamilies.org/know-your-rights/

Useful tool for all states: http://www.keepyourbenefitsca.org

Berita tentang perubahan aturan “Public Charge”:

Setelah putusan oleh Mahkamah Agung A.S. pada tanggal 27 Januari 2020, Departemen Homeland Security/ Keamanan Dalam Negeri (DHS) akan segera dapat menerapkan aturan baru mereka yang berkaitan dengan “public charge”.  DHS mengumumkan bahwa aturan baru akan mulai berlaku pada hari Senin, 24 Februari 2020.  Ini berarti bahwa aplikasi untuk kartu hijau (aplikasi pertama kali, bukan memperpanjangkan atau memperbarui kartunya) yang diterapkan setelah 24 Februari akan diputuskan berdasarkan aturan baru ini.

** Penyesuaian aplikasi Status (kartu hijau) bertanda pos sebelum 24 Februari 2020 akan diputuskan berdasarkan kebijakan yang berlaku sebelum aturan baru. **

TOLONG INGAT:
Aturan pungutan publik baru tidak berlaku untuk orang yang mengajukan naturalisasi / kewarganegaraan A.S. Aturan biaya publik yang baru tidak berlaku untuk orang yang sudah memiliki kartu hijau; tetapi, mereka yang memiliki kartu hijau harus ekstra hati-hati untuk tidak bepergian ke luar AS selama lebih dari 6 bulan sekaligus (6 bulan berturut-turut).

Tolong, jangan menarik diri Anda atau anggota keluarga Anda dari manfaat publik (seperti Medicaid dan Prangko Makanan) yang Anda butuh tanpa terlebih dahulu berkonsultasi dengan pengacara imigrasi yang berpengetahuan tentang apakah aturan public charge berdampak keluarga Anda atau tidak . APALRC dapat memberikan konsultasi gratis tentang perubahan aturan  public charge.  Silakan hubungi APALRC di (202) 393-3572.

Untuk informasi lebih lanjut, silakan lihat: https://protectingimmigrantfamilies.org/know-your-rights/    

APALRC 21st Anniversary Celebration

The Asian Pacific American Legal Resource Center is pleased to announce that it will be celebrating its 21st Anniversary on Monday, June 24, 2019 at Hogan Lovells, LLP in Washington, D.C.  We hope that you will be able to join us as we celebrate our accomplishments over the past year.  We are also honored to have Congresswoman Judy Chu, U.S. Representative for California’s 27th Congressional District, as our keynote speaker.  Congresswoman Chu is a tireless advocate and leading voice on issue of importance to our community.  Please click here to register for the APALRC’s 21st Anniversary.  If you would like to be a sponsor of our dinner, please click here.

Campaign for Justice – Extended to the end of October

Help APALRC raise $30,000

We are half way there! Please donate now so that we can reach our goal! APALRC has extended the Campaign for Justice to the end of the month. By making a donation between now and October 31, 2018, the APALRC will receive a dollar-for-dollar match up to $15,000.  We hope you will donate today so that the APALRC can continue to provide much needed civil legal services to the Asian Pacific Islander community.

https://fundly.com/campaign-for-justice-3

Looking for ways to support immigrants in the D.C. metropolitan area?  Passionate about ensuring that low-income immigrants have access to free critical legal services?  We hope you will consider donating to the Asian Pacific American Legal Resource Center (APALRC), the only legal services organization in the D.C. metropolitan area dedicated to providing linguistically and culturally appropriate legal services to the local low-income Asian Pacific Islander population.  Over the past two decades, the APALRC has helped victims of domestic violence obtain orders of protection, custody of their children and relief under the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), assisted lawful permanent residents become U.S. citizens, filed petitions for U and T visas on behalf of victims of crime and trafficking, advocated for the preservation of ethnic neighborhoods and low-income housing in D.C., and provided assistance to D.C. crime victims in obtaining victim compensation and other civil relief.

Citizenship Workshop at Twinbrook Library October 20th

 

REGISTER NOW 

October 20, 2018 from 10:30-1:30 at the Twinbrook Library at 202 Meadow Hall Dr, Rockville, MD 20851

The APALRC legal team and trained volunteers will assist participants with completing their naturalization applications (Form N-400). There is no charge for assistance available through the workshop, which is open to all. For additional information, please call the APALRC at (202) 393-3572 or register online via this link.

Assistance will be available in Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese, Spanish and English.  Please call to register in advance to ensure an interpreter will be available in your language. Individuals who require assistance in languages other than those listed should call in advance to request language support.

For more information about becoming a citizen, please visit https://www.apalrc.org/citizenship-guide/