Immigration Staff Attorney

Immigration Attorney

Founded in 1990, NYLAG is a leading civil legal services organization combating economic, racial, and social injustice by advocating for people experiencing poverty or in crisis. Our services include comprehensive, free civil legal services, financial empowerment, impact litigation, policy advocacy, and community partnerships. NYLAG exists because wealth should not determine who has access to justice. We aim to disrupt systemic racism by serving individuals and families whose legal and financial crises are often rooted in racial inequality. NYLAG goes to where the need is, providing services in more than 150 community sites (e.g. courts, hospitals, libraries) and on our Mobile Legal Help Center. During COVID-19, most of our services are virtual to keep our community safe. NYLAG's staff of 350 impacted the lives of nearly 113,000 people last year.

LegalHealth, a division of the New York Legal Assistance Group (NYLAG), has an opening for an immigration attorney to join one of the longest standing and the largest Medical-Legal Partnership (MLP) in the country. LegalHealth partners with a diverse array of medical professionals in 38 hospitals throughout New York to address the health harming legal needs of low-income people with serious health problems. LegalHealth complements health care with legal care – providing free legal services in medical facilities and training healthcare professionals to understand both the legal issues their patients may encounter and the relationship between health and legal advocacy. Using a holistic approach to address Social Drivers of Health, this is an exciting opportunity to practice law at the intersection of immigration and healthcare, representing clients on a myriad of immigration matters that are often connected to a diagnosis or chronic health condition. LegalHealth plays a leadership role in the expanding MLP movement, helping others to start or sustain their own MLPs.

Duties and Responsibilities

• Responsible for in-person legal clinic at The Primary Care Human Rights Clinic at NYC H+H/Bellevue.
• Provide legal services (advice and counsel, brief and extensive service and full representation) for a wide range of immigration issues including: asylum applications, family-based immigration, adjustment of status, naturalization, U/T Visas, VAWA, TPS, asylum, SIJS, medical deferred actions for critically ill clients, removal cases, other affirmative filings and special projects as assigned, and related employment authorization documents.
• Assist noncitizens in securing NYS Medicaid and other benefits.
• Work collaboratively with and train Bellevue HHRC staff on new and ever changing immigration landscape, immigrant eligibility for benefits and being an effective advocate for patients (e.g., providing supportive medical evidence for patients' immigration matters).
• Participate in The Primary Care Human Rights Clinic patient know your rights and education workshops
• Position requires an in-person presence at legal clinic at NYC Health and Hospitals/Bellevue up to 3 days per week and fulfilling the hospital clearance requirements.

Qualifications

• Admitted to practice law in New York.
• 5-10 years of prior and relevant immigration experience, including removal defense, preferably working in healthcare or with vulnerable populations.
• Excellent communication skills.
• Strong research and writing skills.
• Ability to both empathize with clients' challenges and help to problem solve is critically important.
• Demonstrated interest in working with low-income, disabled, and/or disadvantaged clients.
• Ability to speak a language other than English, French or Spanish preferred

NYLAG is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. People of color, women, people with disabilities, immigrants, veterans, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer people, and those with lived experiences in the communities we serve are strongly encouraged to apply.