Staff Attorney, Immigration Practice

Under the supervision and guidance of Center for Family Representation (CFR)’s Immigration Litigation Supervisor, the Immigration Staff Attorney’s primary responsibility will be to represent clients in applications for immigration benefits before the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service, the immigration courts, and other applicable administrative and judicial bodies. The staff attorney should expect to work with clients from all of the boroughs serviced by CFR.  

The candidate will work collaboratively with CFR legal teams, composed of attorneys, social work staff, paralegals and parent advocates from the family defense, criminal defense or civil defense units. Familiarity with our most commonly occurring immigration case types is preferable, e.g. domestic- violence-based relief, family-based applications, naturalization, Temporary Protected Status, and asylum. The immigration candidate may also represent CFR in local, state, and national coalitions, trainings, and conferences. Over the years, CFR Immigration has had to respond to unexpected immigration crises and other client needs. The ideal candidate will be open to helping with special projects as needed.  

The candidate should expect to: 

• Represent clients in affirmative, defensive, and appellate immigration matters;  
• Support CFR Immigration’s intake/referral teams as needed;
• Support CFR’s Immigration supervisor with other projects including Policy and Communications advocacy;
• Advise CFR’s criminal and family defense practices about the immigration consequences of each proceeding;
• Stay abreast of rapidly changing immigration rules, laws, pending legislation, and procedures;
• Represent CFR clients with SIJS applications in Queens, Manhattan and Bronx Family Courts; 
• Conduct community education, training and outreach, and promote the work of CFR and CFR Immigration; 
• Assist with training and mentoring of law students, volunteers, and pro bono attorneys/scholars;
• Promptly maintain data in our case management system and client legal notes; and
• Assist with the continued growth and improvement of CFR’s immigration practice.  

Qualifications

Candidates for this position should have at least 2 years of experience as an attorney that includes directly representing clients in all aspects of USCIS and immigration court proceedings. Familiarity with the intersection of immigration with other legal issues is especially helpful, i.e., criminal, family, and public benefits. This is the ideal position for a professional who enjoys taking initiative and developing best practices in a new program and who enjoys the exhilaration and challenges of a growing endeavor.

Applicants should be able to demonstrate strong interpersonal and communication skills, an ability to work as part of a team and a desire to share in both the exhilaration and challenges of a growing endeavor. Candidates bilingual in Spanish are strongly encouraged to apply.