NIJC’s Immigrant Legal Defense project offers a wide range of legal services to low-income immigrants seeking to apply for lawful permanent residence (green cards), citizenship, visas, and other legal protection from deportation.
These services include:
- Applications for Lawful Permanent Residence
Assistance in completing and filing applications for lawful permanent residence (also known as a green card). - Naturalization/Citizenship
Legal assistance for permanent residents who want to apply to become U.S. citizens. - Family-based immigration
Legal assistance for permanent residents and U.S. citizens who want to apply to bring family members to the United States or to allow family members in the United States to adjust their status. - Temporary Protected Status (TPS)
Legal assistance for immigrants who qualify for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) visas based on their country of origin and dates of immigration. - Visas for immigrant victims of crimes
Assistance in obtaining a visa for immigrants who have been a victim of a crime and are willing to assist law enforcement in the investigation of that crime. - Visas for immigrant victims of human trafficking
Assistance in obtaining a visa for immigrants who have been trafficked into the United States. - Nicaraguan Adjustment and Central American Relief Act (NACARA)
Assistance in completing and filing applications for Nicaraguan, Cuban, Salvadoran, and Guatemalan immigrants and nationals of the former Soviet Union who entered the United States in the 1990s. - Removal/deportation defense
Legal representation for immigrants who are in deportation proceedings. - Legal protections for immigrant victims of family violence
Legal assistance for men and women who qualify for immigration benefits under the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) because they have been abused by a U.S. citizen or permanent resident.
Who We Can Help
NIJC’s Immigrant Legal Defense Project offers legal consultations and other services for income-eligible individuals living in the Chicago and Goshen, Indiana, region. Individuals living outside the Chicago region can find a list of free and low-cost immigration legal aid organizations throughout the country on the Immigration Advocates Network website.
Contact Information
To make a legal consultation appointment:
Use the NIJC Assistant chatbot in the bottom right corner of our website.
The chatbot is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Or call 312-660-1370.
The phone line is open to appointment requests Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Central Time