Immigration Equality is seeking a staff attorney to lead our legal work on behalf of lesbian and gay binational couples. The ideal candidate will care passionately about LGBT and immigration issues and work tirelessly to find a solution to the discrimination they face under the law. We seek a highly motivated, very intelligent attorney who is equally comfortable strategizing complex federal litigation, having daily direct client contact on immigration issues, including mobilizing couples for direct action, and coordinating binational couples’ advocacy among our legal, policy and media departments.
Immigration Equality is a national organization that works to end discrimination in U.S. immigration law, to reduce the negative impact of that law on the lives of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT) and HIV-positive people, and to help obtain asylum for those persecuted in their home country based on their sexual orientation, transgender identity or HIV-status. Through education, outreach, advocacy, and the maintenance of a nationwide network of resources, we provide information and support to advocates, attorneys, politicians and those who are threatened by persecution or the discriminatory impact of the law.
Position Overview
The staff attorney will lead Immigration Equality’s legal work on behalf of LGBT binational couples, couples in which one person is a U.S. citizen or green card holder and the other is a foreign national. This work will include:
Lead Immigration Equality’s litigation and administrative advocacy work in the area of binational couples;
Answer all telephone and email inquiries and perform in-person intakes with binational couples about legal options to remain in the U.S. This will largely require expertise or a willingness to learn about employment-related immigration and specialized non-immigrant visa categories;
Directly represent a small number of individuals in binational couples with unusually compelling cases. Representation may occur in applications for non-immigrant visas or waivers; applications for private bills; applications for humanitarian parole; and other forms of relief;
Research and develop expertise on legal issues unique to same-sex binational couples, including but not limited to: parenting issues; property ownership issues; tax issues; and inheritance issues;
Research and develop opportunities for administrative advocacy that would benefit same-sex binational families as a group;
Research and develop opportunities for impact litigation or amicus work in areas that would benefit same-sex binational couples;
Expand the legal resources on binational couples issues on our website;
Work closely with policy and communications staff to identify couples with particularly compelling facts for advocacy/media opportunities;
Work in coalition with other immigration and LGBT organizations on issues related to binational couples;
Represent Immigration Equality at conferences concerning our binational couple legal work;
Potentially participate in meetings concerning Immigration Equality’s other regulatory policy work in DC.
Qualifications
J.D. from an accredited law school and admitted to practice in at least one state;
Demonstrated commitment to and passion for LGBT rights issues;
Experience in immigration law and or administrative law highly desirable;
Experience with complex litigation highly desirable;
Fluency in another language (preferably Spanish) highly desirable;
Excellent research, writing and speaking skills;
Ability to work well on a variety of tasks simultaneously;
Ability to work some evenings and weekends;
Ability to travel regularly between Immigration Equality’s New York and Washington offices;
Ability to travel for conferences.
Salary and Benefits
Immigration Equality is an affirmative action employer: immigrants and people of color are strongly encouraged to apply. Immigration Equality fosters a progressive, LGBT-friendly work space, and applicants must demonstrate the ability to collaborate within a diverse and inclusive environment. Salary DOE; excellent benefits.
Application Procedure
Applications should submit a detailed cover letter and resume. Applicants who receive an interview will later be asked to submit a writing sample, such as a legal research memo or article and three references.
Application must be submitted to jobs@immigrationequality.org with Staff Attorney in the subject line. No phone calls please.
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