UnLocal’s affirmative practice helps immigrants achieve lawful permanent residency, employment authorization, Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), Temporary Protected Status (TPS), U & T Visas, Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (SIJS), and relief through the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA).

Our removal defense team represents non-detained immigrant New Yorkers  in deportation proceedings. We work with individuals seeking asylum and other forms of humanitarian protections, as well as long-time residents who are facing deportation. Our clients come from all parts of the globe.

In addition, we have a robust appellate practice, and regularly litigate before the Board of Immigration Appeals and the Second Circuit Court of Appeals.

The Queer Immigrant Justice Project (QIJP), which represents Queer immigrants from all over the globe seeking safety in the United States. QIJP addresses the reality that LGBTQIA+ immigrants, particularly Black and brown and TGNC immigrants, experience disproportionately high levels of discrimination and violence on an interpersonal and state level by providing holistic legal services and community education. QIJP represents queer immigrants in immigration court and at the asylum office, connecting them to health care, housing, therapy, transitioning support, and more. Collaborating with a variety of community-based partners, QIJP works to assist LGBTQIA+ immigrants in gaining their footing and developing a supportive and culturally affirming system of support. QIJP provides a lifeline for queer immigrants fleeing their countries of origin so that they can live safely and freely in the USA.

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Our Post Order Defense (POD) Team works with immigrants who have already been ordered removal and are facing imminent deportation. We regularly practice before the U.S. District Courts and the Second Circuit Court of Appeals.

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UnLocal’s Immigrant Wellness Team (IWT) is composed of our full-time social worker, social work interns, and an off-site social work supervisor.  IWT connects UnLocal’s undocumented immigrant family members with critical social and mental health services and serves immigrant communities in and around New York City. IWT provides support services to immigrant New Yorkers and works with UnLocal’s interdisciplinary team of attorneys, paralegals, organizers, and educators to ensure the clients’ needs are addressed. Specifically, IWT advocates on behalf of immigrants to secure appropriate and timely health benefits, entitlements, and services from governmental and non-governmental agencies; assists immigrant families with their housing needs; provides supportive counseling, crisis intervention, psycho-education, and trauma informed care in coping with the anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress caused by migration, displacement, violence, and xenophobia; writes letters of support and psychosocial evaluations; and conducts comprehensive needs assessments. IWT also helps UnLocal clients released from detention to transition back into the community.