Legal Resources

Search

Case Type

Shortcuts

Featured Legal Resources

Browse All
 

Urgent and Available Cases

NIJC's network of pro bono attorneys represent asylum seekers, unaccompanied immigrant children, survivors of domestic abuse and low-income individuals applying for naturalization. NIJC screens all cases to ensure individuals are eligible for relief and to prioritize individuals and families who lack the private resources needed to obtain representation elsewhere.

NIJC pro bono attorneys receive training before taking on their first case, and ongoing technical assistance and case support as necessary throughout the life of each case.

Learn about being a pro bono attorney and see the case list for people who need representation.

Asylum: M. seeks safety from potential forced marriage and death

M. speaks French and lives in Chicago

When M.’s husband died unexpectedly, his family and other members of the Mono community forced M. to participate in burial and widowhood rituals they knew were against her Christian religion. They demanded she marry her late husband’s HIV positive brother. The tribe/family adhere to strict (Voudou) traditions that suspect widows of causing a husband’s unexpected death and perceive widows as tribal property. M. fled Benin to escape forced marriage and potential death, leaving behind her four minor children. 

Deadline: Merits hearing on 8/19/25

SIJS: E.'s mother seeks sole allocation of parental responsibilities, in favor of E.'s abandoning father.

E. and his mother speak Spanish and live in Central Illinois (McLean County)

E. is a 13 year old boy from Honduras. His father left the family when E. was just one year old. He maintained contact for a few years, sending money to support E., but around the time E. turned eight, his father stopped all communication and financial support. A pro bono attorney will need to file a petition for sole allocation of parental responsibilities on behalf of E.'s mother. They will need an order finding that E.'s reunification with his father is not viable due to abandonment and that it is not in E.'s best interest to return to Honduras.  

Deadline: Predicate Order filed by 6/1/25

VAWA: A. seeks safety from her husband's emotional, financial, physical, and mental abuse.

A. speaks Spanish and resides in Chicago.

A. has been the victim of emotional, financial, physical, and mental abuse by her U.S. citizen husband. A. stopped living with him because he was physically abusive. After she left, he would call her multiple times a day and would show up to her job. In 2024 she reported two incidents to the police. A. reported him to the police because while dropping off some documents for him she remained in her car and did not let her husband in. This made him angry, and he kicked the rear-view mirror of her car until it fell off. He then threw the mirror at A. as she drove off. A. obtained an emergency order of protection right after this incident. Most recently, A’s husband was following her on the road, yelling through his window, and rear-ended her vehicle then fled.  She reported the incident to the police. A. is attending counseling. 

A. is eligible to file a VAWA self-petition concurrently with an application for adjustment of status and employment authorization. There is not set deadline.

"Working with NIJC and its clients has been an incredible personal and professional experience for me. Our clients inspire me with their perseverance and hopefulness. I appreciate the opportunity to assist them as they pursue new pathways in their lives."
Ashleigh Ricardo, Winston & Strawn LLP
 

Pro Bono Spotlight

Thanks to the support of more than 2,000 pro bono attorneys from the nation's leading law firms, NIJC has made critical advances in the lives of hundreds of thousands of vulnerable immigrants, refugees and asylum seekers. NIJC provides legal services to more than 9,000 individuals each year and maintains a success rate of 90 percent in obtaining asylum for those fleeing persecution in their home countries.

 

Events

NIJC offers a wide range of immigration law trainings and other opportunities for attorneys to engage with the organization's mission. An attorney taking a case for the first time must attend one of NIJC's quarterly trainings.

 

Federal Litigation

NIJC and its pro bono attorneys are on the vanguard of federal impact litigation and advocacy, setting positive precedents for people seeking human rights protections within the United States and defending against the administration's efforts to undermine access to due process.