Pro Bono Immigration Attorney (NY) Grant

The Pro Bono Immigration Attorney program, initiated by the New York State Office for New Americans, aims to establish a network of Pro Bono Volunteer Attorneys (PBVAs) to provide free immigration legal services. This initiative focuses on training and supervising attorneys, enhancing support for new Americans regardless of their immigration status. By partnering with community organizations, the program seeks to expand legal representation capacity, ensuring that all individuals can access vital immigration resources and contribute to New York's diverse community.

ONA assists all new Americans with accessing and navigating a variety of free services and support through its statewide network of community-based providers.
In the delivery of its services, New York State’s Office for New Americans defines “new Americans” as “an individual born abroad and their children, irrespective of immigration status.” New York understands the complexity of each individual’s situation and as such, new Americans are not defined solely by their immigration status, but by their desire to contribute to the State’s social, civic, and economic life.
Since its creation in 2012, the New York State Office for New Americans has provided an array of supportive immigration related services to hundreds of thousands of new Americans across the State. ONA’s service delivery, including its immigration legal services, have evolved as the needs of the community have changed.
The purpose of the current Pro Bono Immigration Attorney program is to establish an agreement with community-based organizations to support Supervising Attorneys (funded under the Pro Bono Immigration Attorney Program grant) to create and maintain a network of Pro Bono Volunteer Attorneys (PBVAs). The Pro Bono Supervising Attorneys will oversee the supervision, coordination, and training of PBVAs to expand capacity for free immigration law representation in New York State.Pro Bono Supervising Attorneys will also recruit and train non-attorney volunteers to provide administrative and other support for clients being represented by PBVAs.