Center for Immigrants’ Rights publishes Refugee and Asylee Adjustment Toolkit for practitioners

The Center for Immigrants’ Rights at Penn State Law and Boston University School of Law’s Immigrants’ Rights Clinic  announce the publication of the "Refugee and Asylee Adjustment Toolkit.”

Published on behalf of the Pennsylvania Immigration Resource Center (PIRC), the “Refugee and Asylee Adjustment Toolkit” is a comprehensive resource for refugees and asylees applying for lawful permanent resident (LPR) status, commonly known as a “green card,” before the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR). The toolkit offers step-by-step guidance for practitioners, including relevant forms, statutory and regulatory authority, case law, recent developments, secondary resources and practice tips.

“This toolkit provides a comprehensive treatment of the refugee and asylee adjustment process, complete with helpful checklists, relevant case law, and practical strategies,” says Sarah Sherman-Stokes, a co-editor of the toolkit and clinical teaching fellow in Boston University’s Immigrants’ Rights Clinic and Civil Litigation Program. “We hope that this toolkit will be a resource for practitioners and their clients, ensuring that more refugees and asylees can remain, safely, in the United States.”

The toolkit comes in response to the need for increased resources for immigration practitioners who are providing legal services to refugees and asylees, but who are less familiar with the unique circumstances involved in their applications for LPR status.

“After one year of receiving asylum or refugee status, a person may apply for a green card, but the related law and procedures are complicated at best, and the practical resources available are limited,” says Shoba Sivaprasad Wadhia, director of Penn State Law’s Center for Immigrants’ Rights. “We hope this toolkit aids attorneys and advocates handling ‘refugee adjustment’ cases.”

Under the supervision of their professors, students from BU Law and Penn State Law compiled the toolkit based on extensive research and conversations with practitioners from across the country.

“In our work with detained refugees and asylees facing removal, we see the difference a pro bono attorney can make by helping them become lawful permanent residents,” says PIRC Executive Director Mary Weaver. “This toolkit is an invaluable resource for navigating the regulations and procedures required for adjustment. We are very pleased to share this toolkit with attorneys and advocates with the knowledge that it will ultimately allow more refugees and asylees to remain with their families in their American home.”

BU Law's Immigrants’ Rights Clinic is part of the School’s Civil Litigation Program, one of the oldest clinical law programs in the country. Under the close supervision of faculty, IRC students represent asylum-seekers, handle immigration and humanitarian cases, and draft various related legal documents and resources.

View the publicly available version of the “Refugee and Asylee Adjustment Toolkit.” To obtain a copy of the complete version, including a redacted section of strategies and practice tips, please contact the editors: centerforimmigrantsr@law.psu.edu and/or sstokes@bu.edu.