About the Immigrant Legal Center
The Immigrant Legal Center of Boulder County (ILCB) has been serving local citizens and immigrants from around the world since 2001 as a nonprofit service organization. ILCB provides high-quality, low-cost immigration legal services on a sliding-fee scale. The mission of ILCB is to enhance the quality of life for immigrants in Boulder County through access to high-quality, affordable, culturally responsive immigration legal services; education; mentoring and collaboration.
ILCB was founded because low-income individuals could not find affordable legal services after the closure of the Caron Street Legal Clinic in Boulder County in 2002 . The ILCB office was located at the First Presbyterian Church in Longmont until 2010 when the organization moved to its permanent location at 901 E. South Boulder Road after successfully raising $3 million to purchase and renovate the building.
ILCB serves clients who reside in Boulder County and Colorado residents who are interested in obtaining immigration services or consultation. A highly experienced staff of bilingual attorneys, as well as Denver immigration attorneys who volunteer their time, provide services at ILCB. ILCB provides multiple services including employment-based visas, family petitions, U and T Visas, DACA applications and frequently speakers at community workshops.
Immigrants Served
The center provides a wide variety of free or low-cost legal services for immigrants regardless of income, including application support for family reunification, asylum, and work authorizations. Services are offered in both English and Spanish, by staff with years of experience helping immigrants in the Boulder County area.
Family reunification services focus on helping citizens and immigrants obtain green cards for family members who are overseas. This is called an immigrant visa, and this application process must be done through the United States Consular Service. The center also helps citizens and immigrants obtain citizenship for family members who are here in the United States.
If you are an asylum seeker who has been waiting more than 150 days for the adjudication of your work authorization application, the center may be able to help you file a motion to compel USCIS to process your application. While the original asylum application will be handled through the general courts, the motion to compel is filed through the federal court system.
Employment authorization is covered under the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) section 208 with federal regulations found in 8 C.F.R. section 274a.12. When an employment authorization application is submitted through U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), it does not have to be returned within a certain time frame, like most visas do. Employment authorization is handled through the general courts, not family courts. In most cases, applications for employment authorization are granted. But if an application is still taking too long to be addressed, the center can help immigrants and asylum-seekers with a motion to compel.
Community Impact and Client Stories
Our support center has had a tremendous impact on the Boulder County community. As more immigrant families come to Boulder County, the center has been there to assist those needing legal advice and possible representation. The center’s services allow clients to meet with attorneys and volunteers who provide in-depth biannual legal clinics and monthly drop-in consultations. From 2013 to 2014, we helped 61 potentially low-income immigrants obtain legal services through direct assistance, legal resource clinics and one-on-one consultations. This included our long-term (multi-session) clients. Twenty percent of them went on to legal representation either by our staff or a partner organization that we referred them to after disqualification from our services.
The success stories I have witnessed since I took on the role of center attorney in 2012 have been amazing. In past years we have had a veteran who needed help determining his immigration status, and we advocated for two months to get him temporary relief from deportation. We have had individuals who were victims of domestic violence, but did not know it until they attended one of our educational seminars and found they may be eligible for a visa based on abuse. We have had individuals who have finally gotten their asylum and green cards after many years of waiting. There have been clients who could not reunite with children who were abroad, and now they are stateside and liviing together. There have also been clients whose family members from abroad have made it to the U.S., with more family members seeking assistance with obtaining legal status so that they can stay. These are just a few of our success stories. Overall, I would say our impact has been positive: we are providing quality legal services for free to those that need it, while educating the community about programs we offer and refugee issues.
How to Access Services
The Immigrant Legal Center of Boulder County serves all immigrant populations within Boulder County – men, women, and children, singles, families, and the elderly. We receive referrals from community groups and organizations active in Boulder County including service organizations, local law enforcement, and faith-based organizations. We also receive walk-in clients, and provide referral lists to clients who are ineligible for services.
We accept clients through face-to-face, phone, and information requests at outreach events. Immigration applications and status requests do not require an appointment, and all income levels are served. Some cases require private legal representation. The Center refers clients to other legal representation resources when appropriate.
The volunteer attorney will assess the strengths and weaknesses of the case and advise the applicant of the probability of success and expected costs involved. An assessment will be made as to whether the applicant is in a position to represent him or herself, or has an option to do so (e.g. U Visa, T Visa, Adjustment of Status). The client will be referred to an agency or attorney if his or her needs cannot be met by the center’s services. The center does not provide assistance in litigation, appeals , or asylum cases. Some legal advice may include personal attendance at immigration court hearings.
The Center assists clients in filling out USCIS forms and with the required documents and evidence that must accompany the applications. A completed application is filed with Immigration Services along with copies of requested documents. If an application or petition is denied, it is re-filed by the Center, or the client is referred to another agency or private attorney. Clients are trained to use Pro Bono Net’s Law Help Interactive, which provides interactive online interviews for many immigration matters.
In most cases, the center provides services during scheduled walk-in hours on Thursdays and Fridays. All participants must sign in with a lobbyist. The center serves children, adults and the elderly. We serve individuals regardless of their immigration status, and will never ask for documentation of legal status. All service guidelines are based on individual client needs and requests.
Immigration Services does not perform marriage or divorce services, employment-related services, or referral for other legal services. The center provides referrals to qualified lawyers for: divorce, child support and custody, bankruptcy, landlord-tenant, criminal, employment, consumer protection, and transportation. The center also gives referrals for referral agencies that provide medical, mental health, educational, employment, housing, and food services in Boulder County. We conduct outreach activities in the community to inform immigrants about services available through the Center and other agencies.
Partnerships and Collaborations
Partnerships and Collaborations : Immigrant Legal Center of Boulder County
Two years ago with a handful of volunteers I began the Herstory Legal Center Volunteer program to assist refugee women in their quest for legal status. In those two years, over 100 new women received legal representation from our team of volunteers and trained staff attorneys. As demand grew, so did our collaboration with other organizations providing legal assistance. In 2011 the Center for Refugee and Immigrant Rights (CRIR) was born. This joint-venture included the Immigrant Legal Center of Boulder County (ILC)—our neighbor just a block away from us in Boulder.
Over the next few years, the legal services continued to grow and evolve. ILC and CRIR strategized how to best meet the needs of the immigrant community in our area while remaining effective. Out of that discussion came the decision to restructure the volunteer programs into a new non-profit called the Immigrant Legal Center of Boulder County (ILC).
The new ILC continues to serve its mission to provide free legal services—meeting the changing needs of our immigrant population. With our colleagues down the hall, the Center for Refugee and Immigrant Rights (CRIR), we continue to expand our volunteer network and develop ways to improve our program to meet the challenges of today’s immigration and social climate.
With demand increasing year after year; in 2016, ILC aided 747 community members, and 859 community members were supported in 2017. As the legal center continues to grow, colloraborating with other legal service agencies, social service organizations, faith based communities and service organizations in Denver and across the state is critical. The legal center will continue to apply for grants, grow community support, and to work hand in hand with immigrant advocacy and social service organizations to assist and support immigrants with their goal of obtaining legal status.
Boulder County is radically shifting. Young people of color, LGBTQ and many immigrants now call Boulder County their home and have a right to the space they occupy here.
Volunteer and Support
Immigrant Legal Center of Boulder County welcomes interest from individuals, businesses, community groups, and faith-based organizations. We rely on support from the community to create a vibrant legal clinic that matches the needs of our community with our available resources.
Volunteer opportunities include direct legal services, volunteer committee participation, interpreter services, and administration.
Legal Services – The following are opportunities to volunteer directly to assist clients with immigration legal services:
Volunteer Committee Participation – Our clinic utilizes the strengths of the community to help further our mission. Consider serving on one of the following . . .
Interpreter Services – The legal center would not be able to function without our amazing cohort of interpreters. Through the use of volunteer interpreters, the Center is able to expand services, improve communication, serve more clients, and increase access to justice. In that spirit, we welcome interpreters, who are available during clinic hours.
Administration- Administrative volunteers complete specific tasks such as filing and data entry. Volunteer administrative positions are generally Tuesday to Thursday mornings or afternoons, helping for 2 to 5 hours a week over a period of 3 to 4 months. Volunteers have the flexibility to drop in or to come on a regular basis.