Asylum Project – Turkey with Catholic Charities of Central Texas – FULL

Students will assist Catholic Charities attorneys in preparing asylum applications for persons who have fled Turkey that, if granted, will provide those applicants with legal status in the United States. The project will require students to work directly with clients to document the persecution and/or discrimination they have suffered. The project also requires writing declarations, obtaining evidence, researching the direct and general persecution suffered by the individual, and obtaining documentation of positive factors in the clients' lives in the United States. By the end of the project, students will have helped compile and submit a completed asylum application to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.

Organization

Catholic Charities of Central Texas

Since 2002, Immigration Legal Services (ILS) of Catholic Charities of Central Texas has provided affordable legal consultations, representation, and assistance in Central Texas to low-income immigrants of all cultural and religious backgrounds. Our experienced staff guides clients through the complex immigration process in order to obtain immigration benefits for qualified individuals, to reunite families, and to promote awareness of current immigration topics.

Project Details

Project Start Date

September 2016

Approximate hours of work requested
30-40 hours total over the course of fall semester
Training
A one-hour training will be held Tuesday, September 20, 12pm-1pm, in the Goodwin Conference Room (CCJ 1.312)
Skills used
Legal research/writing; document preparation/review; client interviewing
Project location
Catholic Charities office, 1625 Rutherford Lane; limited work from home possible for some project tasks
Number of student volunteers requested
4
Class year preference
1L, 2L, 3L
Required skills
Language: Advanced English written proficiency
To Apply
Submit email stating interest to Sarah Sedgwick at ssedgwick@law.utexas.edu