Asylum is a form of protection available to people fleeing persecution in their home countries due to their race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or membership in a particular social group. This training session is intended to prepare probono attorneys who encounter more advanced issues in their asylum cases.

Topics include: asylum based on social group including gender claims and gang claims, bars to asylum, and alternative forms of fear-based immigration relief, such as withholding of removal and protection under the Convention Against Torture. Practice before the Immigration Court and the Board of Immigration Appeals will also be discussed. The faculty will include experienced immigration practitioners, an immigration judge and a member of the Board of Immigration Appeals.

Training participants are strongly encouraged to accept a pro bono referral from one of the sponsoring organizations.

This training is appropriate for attorneys, paralegals, and law students. Attorneys who agree to take on a pro bono case in the future must be admitted to practice in some U.S. jurisdiction and have their own malpractice insurance.

$25 for attorneys; $15 for paralegals; free for legal services provider employees

The Registration desk will open at 8:30 a.m.

Please click here to register online.

This training is presented by the D.C. Bar Pro Bono Program, with support from Capital Area Immigrants' Rights (CAIR) Coalition, Whitman-Walker Health and Human Rights First. The training is co-sponsored by Catholic Charities Immigration Legal Services, Tahirih Justice Center, and the D.C. Bar International Law Section and Litigation Section.