Donate now to defend immigrants!

A family with two adults and three young girls stand in a law firm lobby and smile after winning asylum
$50
Supports a month of secure phone calls with a lawyer
$100
Provides a legal consultation to keep a family together
$300
Screens 10 people for a workshop to apply for asylum
 
Donate now!
 

Who We Can Help

NIJC provides legal consultations and representation for low-income immigrants seeking a wide range of immigration legal relief.

We are able to help: eligible youth seeking to apply for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) and employment authorization; immigrants applying for permanent residence through a family-based application; permanent residents applying for citizenship; immigrants who are victims of domestic violence or violent crime and seek protection in the United States; victims of international human trafficking; immigrants applying for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) or NACARA; immigrants detained by Immigration and Custom Enforcement in Wisconsin, Kentucky or Indiana; and asylum seekers, including LGBTQ individuals seeking safety from persecution based on their sexual orientation or gender identity.

We are able to serve individuals and families with incomes at or below 200% of the federal poverty line.

Browse the NIJC legal services programs below for more information on how to schedule an appointment based on your needs.

NIJC offers consultations by appointment only for individuals living in the Chicago region and Indiana.  Individuals living outside these areas can find a list of free and low-cost immigration legal aid organizations throughout the country here.

 

NIJC's Legal Services

Asylum paperwork

Asylum Seekers

NIJC provides free legal representation to asylum seekers fleeing persecution in their homelands.

DREAMERS are here to stay

DACA and DREAMers

NIJC can help people with DACA renewals or initial DACA applications. Please see our event calendar for upcoming clinics. 

Oath ceremony

Applicants for citizenship, permanent residence, and visas

NIJC's Immigrant Legal Defense project offers a wide range of legal services to low-income immigrants seeking to apply for lawful permanent residence (green cards), citizenship, visas, and other legal protection from deportation.

McAllen Women's Detention Center

Detained Immigrants

The Detention Project provides legal orientation and representation to immigrant adults detained in the custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Wisconsin, Kentucky, and Indiana.

Blurry Silhouette

Victims of Human Trafficking

NIJC provides comprehensive legal services for non-citizen children and adults who have been trafficked in the United States.

Gay Pride Flag

LGBTQ Immigrants

NIJC's LGBTQ Immigrant Rights Initiative provides legal services to low-income immigrants who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender (LGBT) and those who are living with HIV.

Child holding hands

Unaccompanied Immigrant Children

NIJC's legal staff can help children who entered the country as unaccompanied minors assess their options for immigration legal relief.

Photo of inside an immigration court room. A room with white walls and a blue carpet, a wooden fence down the middle with wooden benches on one side and two tables and a judge's bench on the other.

Immigration Court Helpdesk

NIJC's Immigration Court Helpdesk Hotline provides FREE legal information to unrepresented individuals at the Chicago Immigration Court.

A mother holds a baby on her lap while the father looks down adoringly.

Venezuelan TPS Applicants

Certain nationals of Venezuela who arrived in the United States on or before July 31, 2023 may be eligible to apply for Temporary Protected Status (TPS).

Photo of a conference room where individuals in suits sit at tables taking notes. At the front of the room is a projection screen showing a slide titled "The Asylum System"

Afghan Parolees

Afghans who have come to the U.S. since July 2021 and who reside in Illinois, Indiana, or Wisconsin may sign up to participate in a virtual legal orientation clinic.

  • 111 W. Jackson Blvd., Suite 800, Chicago, IL 60604

The National Immigrant Justice Center (NIJC, NFP) is a 501c3 nonprofit organization (EIN: 93-3878636).

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