Immigration Volunteering
Direct Services
Phone Advice
- Time Commitment: 1-2 hour shift. Shifts can be monthly, bi-weekly or weekly.
- Service Level: Advice
- Experience Required? Yes, 2+ years of immigration experience is required. We especially need Spanish-speaking volunteer attorneys.
- Description:
Community Legal Clinics (in person)
- Time Commitment: 2+ hour shift. Shifts can be monthly, bi-weekly or weekly.
- Service Level: Advice and Limited Services
- Experience Required? Yes, 2+ years of immigration experience is required. We especially need Spanish-speaking volunteer attorneys.
- Locations:
- Description:
Pop-up Legal Clinics (in person)
- Time Commitment: 2-10 hours
- Service Level: Advice and Limited Services
- Experience Required? Yes, 2+ years of immigration experience is required.
- Location: Twin Cities and greater Minnesota
- Description: Clients may walk in or have prescheduled appointments. Attorneys provide advice on family emergency preparedness and assistance to clients proceeding pro se.
Full Representation
- Time Commitment: 8-50+ hours. Commitment maybe longer term.
- Service Level: Full Representation
- Experience Required? No experience needed for naturalization cases. All other cases require 2+ years of immigration experience.
- Description:
Special Juvenile Immigrant Panel
- Time Commitment: 1-2 hours per consultation
- Service Level: Advice
- Experience Required? Yes, 2+ years of immigration experience is required. We especially need Spanish-speaking volunteer attorneys.
- Description: Provide legal advice to client seeking Special Immigrant Juvenile Status and have a follow-up conversation with a family law attorney.
Program Support
Mentoring Attorneys
- Time Commitment: 2-10 hours
- Service Level: N/A
- Experience Required? Yes, 10+ years immigration experience is required.
- Description: Provide mentorship to VLN immigration volunteer attorney.
Training Attorneys
- Time Commitment: 2-10 hours per year
- Service Level: N/A
- Experience Required? Yes, expertise in the area of training is required.
- Description: Provide training to new volunteers on specific immigration issues and areas of immigration law.
Workshops/Presentations
- Time Commitment: 1-2 hours per presentation
- Service Level: N/A, but sometimes advice and referrals
- Experience Required? Yes, 2+ years of immigration experience is required. We especially need Spanish-speaking volunteer attorneys.
- Location: Must travel to the site of the presentation if in person. Sites can be in the Twin Cities or Greater Minnesota.
- Description: Volunteers present to a group on an immigration topic. Groups can include groups such as schools, social service providers, and faith communities. Presentations will be agreed upon in advance, and may include immigration screening and advice, KYR and family emergency preparedness planning.
Material Development
- Time Commitment: 5-10 hours
- Service Level: N/A
- Experience Required? Yes, 2+ years of immigration experience is required.
- Description: Help draft education fact sheets and pro se client materials.
Volunteer Lawyers Network will be periodically updating this webpage with resources that volunteer attorneys and other may find helpful when advising low-income clients regarding how to prepare for potential deportation and family separation. Below are a compilation of resources from the Volunteer Lawyers Network, Law Help MN in association with Education for Justice from the Minnesota Legal Services Coalition, and other local and national resources.
Last Updated: January 15, 2025
Delegation of Parental Authority (DOPA)
Paternity and Child Custody
Guardianships and Conservatorships
Passports for Children Born in the U.S.
Naturalized U.S. Citizens: Proving Your Child’s Citizenship
Important Documents to Have Before You Turn 18
Protecting Assets & Child Custody in the Face of Deportation: A Guide for Practitioners Assisting Immigrant Families
This guide is a product of the Appleseed Network and was revised in 2017.
VLN Minnesota Family Deportation Preparedness Manual
What to Expect the First Time You Go to Immigration Court in Minnesota
What to Do If You Get a Notice to Appear in Immigration Court
Powers of Attorney Form
Unmarried Couples, Debt, and Property
Food and Cash Program for Noncitizens
Basic Information for Tenants
Notices to Vacate and Ending a Lease
Security Deposits
How to Avoid Immigration Scams and Get Real Help
From the Federal Trade Commission, November 2023
Know Your Rights Under the U.S. Constitution—No Matter Who is President
National Immigration Law Center, April 2024
Know Your Rights: If You Encounter ICE
National Immigrant Justice Center, November 2024
