Students may apply for the Immigration Law Clinic as early as the Spring semester of their second year.  Students must have completed Criminal Procedure and Professional Responsibility, as well as at least forty-eight credit hours.  Although not required, a demonstrated interest in immigration law will be considered.  Factors such as work in an immigration law firm or an organization involved in immigration policy; or completion of courses related to immigration or international human rights/refugee law will be taken into account during the application process.  

Course Description

The clinic is a six-credit course, thus requiring a minimum of 325 hours of work in the Clinic throughout the semester.  Although this breaks down to approximately 20-25 hours per week, students should not count on work in the clinic to be allocated accordingly.

The course will be front loaded to provide basic legal knowledge in substantive immigration law, including the Immigration and Nationality Act, Code of Federal Regulations, and Department of Homeland Security forms, applications, and internal policies.  Classes will also be taught on subjects specific to representing individuals in Immigration Court, such as working with interpreters and the impact of the administrative nature of the court system.  Readings in the course will be related to substantive law and will be taken from various sources throughout the semester.  Students will also be required to read skills-related articles and books to prepare for interviewing, working with an interpreter, and preparing for a hearing.  Guest lecturers may include local immigration attorneys, staff from Immigration Courts, and attorneys with the Department of Justice.     

Students are authorized to represent students under 8 CFR § 292.1(a)(2).  Under this regulation, a law student not yet admitted to the bar may represent clients in Immigration Court if s/he is enrolled in an accredited law school, is appearing at the request of the client, is under the direct supervision of a faculty member in a clinic, and does not receive direct or indirect remuneration.  

Students will handle a variety of immigration law matters including representing individuals in removal proceedings before the United States Immigration Court and Board of Immigration Appeals, assisting individuals in applications before the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, writing comments to proposed federal regulations, participating in know-your-rights presentations, and assisting national immigration policy organizations in research.  

Application Process

In order to be considered for the Immigration Law Clinic, students must complete an application to be submitted by a date to be determined each semester (approximately two weeks prior to registration).  Depending on the number of applicants, placement will be based on either an interview process or lottery.  Because of the number of credit hours allotted for participation, students in the Immigration Law Clinic will not be allowed to participate in any other clinical course during the same semester.