Immigration Clinic (Law 794)
Deadline: Friday, February 15
Students selected to be in the Immigration Clinic would begin working in May of this year and continue working in the Clinic until May of 2014. Ideally, students selected will shadow the current Immigration Clinic students during the second half of this semester to become fully informed about the Clinic’s cases before assuming primary responsibility for those cases in May. Immigration Clinic students earn a maximum of 12 credit hours for their participation in Immigration Clinic, and are not eligible to take either Civil Clinic or Criminal Clinic in addition to Immigration Clinic. Basic knowledge of immigration law is helpful, but not essential. Motivated students will be able to get up to speed.
Interviews will begin Friday, February 22. If you are interested in being considered for Immigration Clinic, please provide the following information to Professor Ruser in the Civil Clinic, Room 172 of the Welpton Courtroom Building no later than Friday, February 15.
1. A current resume
2. A short statement addressing the following items:
(a) Your dates of availability and, specifically, how soon after graduation this May you would be available to begin working in the Immigration Clinic and whether
you would be able to work in the Clinic throughout the upcoming year;
(b) Why you are interested in taking the Immigration Clinic;
(c) Whether you speak any languages other than English, if so, which languages, and how you would rate your fluency in those languages;
(d) Any other information about you that you think would be helpful to know.
If you have any questions about the Immigration Clinic, contact Professor Ruser at 472-3271, or e-mail kruser1@unl.edu.
Immigration Clinic (Law 794) (3-6 credits; max 12) The Immigration Clinic is a course in which two students per year are permitted to enroll by faculty invitation only. Students enrolling in the Immigration Clinic represent low-income clients with immigration problems under close faculty supervision. Most of the work is in the areas of deportation defense, family-based immigrant visas, VAWA (Violence Against Women Act) self-petitions and asylum applications, although other types of immigration cases may be assigned to students from time to time at the discretion of the supervising faculty member. Students may not take Immigration Clinic and Civil or Criminal Clinic. Students in the Immigration Clinic can expect to engage in the following types of activities: factual development and analysis, frequent client interviewing and counseling, preparation of immigration applications and supporting documentation, attendance with clients at immigration interviews, appearing in Immigration Court on behalf of clients, state and federal court appearances (as dictated by clients’ legal needs), legal analysis and planning, frequent creation of written work product (including but not limited to legal memoranda, briefs, letters, and so forth), analysis and resolution of professional ethics issues, and other skills necessary to function effectively as lead counsel on a variety of immigration cases.