Get Legal Assistance

We’re a new program with limited staff capacity and resources. We hope to be able to provide direct assistance to individuals in removal proceedings in the future, but these services remain beyond the scope of what Presideo can provide for now.

While we understand persecution is rife around the world and many of the people most at risk are in their countries of origin, this type of assistance is currently beyond the Presideo program’s scope.

In general, if someone is experiencing persecution or in fear of future persecution, they should attempt to leave their country to seek refugee protection in a second country. The following resources may be relevant for individuals facing persecution abroad, or those seeking family reunification.

• In many countries around the world, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is responsible for refugee adjudications. Their ‘Help’ resource page has information based on country of nationality, available in many languages.
• The Welcome Corps is a U.S. government program that allows Americans to sponsor people to resettle to the U.S. who already have received refugee status abroad. A separate program within World Relief maintains an interest form for individuals interested in privately sponsoring refugees abroad, accessible here.
• For individuals located in countries comprising the former Soviet Union and Iran, the Lautenberg Program, operating through the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP), allows beneficiaries who are members of a religious minority group to join their family members living in the United States. Eligible religious groups include Jews, Evangelical Christians, Ukrainian Catholics, and members of the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church and Greek Orthodox Church. In Iran, eligible groups include Jews, Christians, Baha’is, Sabaean-Mandaeans and Zoroastrians. Unless reauthorized by Congress, the program expires each fiscal year on September 30. Individuals in the U.S. must work through a local refugee resettlement agency to submit an affidavit of relationship to begin the reunification process with eligible family members overseas. USRAP maintains a list of national resettlement agency contacts here.
• Humanitarian parole is a type of temporary permission to enter the U.S. based on urgent humanitarian or significant public benefit reasons. Generally, it is not intended as a way to circumvent the international refugee protection system.
  • The American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) maintains a lawyer referral service to help find attorneys in your local area who may be able to assist with humanitarian parole consultations or applications.
  • Immigrationlawhelp.org is a database of nonprofit legal services organizations that is searchable by zip code and some providers may offer humanitarian parole services.
• Family reunification with individuals can occur through various means. Some resources include:
  • The American Immigration Council has a fact sheet on how the U.S. immigration system works
  • UNHCR resources on U.S. family reunification
  • International Refugee Assistance Project’s Legal Help site information on various types of refugee or asylee family reunification

• Immigrationlawhelp.org is a database of nonprofit legal services organizations that is searchable by detention facility or zip code.
• The American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) maintains a lawyer referral service to help find private immigration attorneys in your local area.
• The Executive Office for Immigration Review has self-help legal materials and information on self-help legal centers located within immigration courts.
• A variety of organizations have self-help or pro se manuals or guides for people seeking asylum. Some examples include:
  • Sanctuary for Families, with information focusing on asylum claims involving gender-based violence and domestic violence.
  • Stanford University School of Law's guide, focusing on defensive asylum assistance. Spanish materials are available here.
  • Immigration Equality, with materials focused on asylum claims based on sexual orientation, gender identity, and/or HIV status, in English, Spanish, French, and Russian for affirmative and defensive cases.
  • Florence Immigrant & Refugee Rights Project, with materials focused
    on rights in detention, release from detention, and representing
    yourself in immigration court.
  • American Bar Association/HIAS pro se asylum guide in Dari.

• The Asylum Seeker Advocacy Project (ASAP) is a nonprofit offering free membership to asylum seekers. ASAP members can “(1) access critical resources about the asylum process, (2) ask questions to expert immigration attorneys and connect with a community of asylum seekers, and (3) work with other ASAP members to improve the asylum system.” Resources are available in English and Spanish.
• Al Otro Lado is another non-profit that provides holistic legal and humanitarian support to refugees, deportees, and other migrants in the U.S. and Tijuana through a multidisciplinary, client-centered, harm reduction-based practice. Resources are available in English, Spanish, Haitian Kreyol, French and Russian.
• International Refugee Assistance Project (IRAP) provides sound legal resources in a variety of languages about asylum and processing at the U.S.-Mexico border
• The Customs and Border Protection (CBP) One App is used for individuals to request appointments to present themselves at land ports of entry to be able to request asylum.