Immigration and Naturalization Intern

The MinKwon Center for Community Action (formerly YKASEC)

Summer 2012 Internship

Immigration & Naturalization Intern

The MinKwon Center for Community Action (formerly YKASEC) was established in 1984 to meet the needs and concerns of the Korean American community through our five program areas: Community Organizing and Advocacy, Social and Legal Services, Civic Participation, Youth Empowerment, and Culture. Since our founding, we have made a profound presence in the Korean American community through various grassroots organizing, education, and advocacy initiatives that address important community issues, including immigration policies at the national, state and city levels, voter rights, and culture awareness. The MinKwon Center places a special emphasis on meeting the needs of our marginalized community members, including youth, elderly, recent immigrants, low-income residents, and limited-English-proficient residents.

The MinKwon Center’s comprehensive Immigrant Rights Legal Clinic provides free legal services to the Asian American community members in both the Flushing, Queens area and throughout the metropolitan New York area. The Immigrants Rights Legal Clinic seeks to protect the rights of community members by providing free legal assistance in the areas of labor, immigration, housing, and civil rights law. We provide direct legal representation and work closely with other legal groups and pro bono lawyers to help these community members achieve social and economic justice.

Internship Description

• Maintaining direct contact with Korean clients;

• Conducting intakes and screening eligibility for immigration benefits;

• Assisting clients to apply for naturalization and adjustment of status;

• Administering benefit screenings for clients and managing the client database.

Details of Internship

• Supervision: Intern is supervised by the Staff Attorney of immigration cases.

• Compensation: While internships are not paid positions, academic credit has been arranged in the past.

• Hours: Interns are expected to work full-time, 10 AM – 6 PM, Monday through Friday.

• Duration: The internship runs from June to August 2012. Specific internship dates will be discussed in person.

Requirements

• Language proficiency in Korean and English;

• Strong organizational skills and independence, requiring minimal supervision;

• Exceptional interpersonal and communication skills;

• Proficiency in Word and Excel;

• A desire to empower the Asian American community.

Internship applications are accepted on a rolling basis. Due to a high number of applications, only the applicants who are granted an interview will be contacted. Please submit a cover letter and resume by April 15th, 2012 to:

Kathy Chae, Esq.

Social Services Director

kchae@minkwon.org