Immigration Staff Attorney

Bilingual Immigration Staff Attorney

Program: Hogar Immigrant Services - Legal
Full-time (exempt)

Primary Office: 6301 Little River Turnpike, Suite 300, Alexandria, VA 22312
Hours per Week: 40
Salary Range: $65,783 - $67,200
Staff Supervisor: Supervising Attorney
Telework Available: Hybrid

** COVER LETTER REQUIRED**
Position Description:
The Immigration Staff Attorney prepares a wide range of family-based and humanitarian immigration cases for submission to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), Department of State, Immigration Court, and the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA). S/he represents clients before the USCIS Washington District Office, Arlington Asylum Office, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Office of Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO), Immigration Court, and BIA, including removal proceedings.

Position Responsibilities:
• Conduct consultations independently to determine clients’ eligibility for immigration benefits
• Maintain a caseload of affirmative family-based and/or humanitarian immigration cases, coordinating all aspects of clients’ cases including client communication, relevant research, drafting personal statements, preparing immigration forms, writing briefs, drafting court motions and orders, and advocacy with law enforcement and other agencies
• Supervise Hogar’s Legal Assistant(s)

Other Duties:
• Assist in the supervision of volunteers and student interns
• Solicit the help of volunteer attorneys, paralegals, and others to assist in the provision of services when necessary
• Provide in-service training to staff and volunteers on immigration-related skills and knowledge
• Provide public education in the community, collaborating with other agencies
• Participate as needed in agency- and program-wide data collection, fundraising, training, and strategic planning
• Participate in meetings with immigration legal services community-based organizations
• Participate in a regular basis in day-long weekend group processing workshops
• Provide referrals to clients for non-legal services as needed
• Provide data for grant and agency reports as needed
• Other related duties as assigned

Qualifications & Skills:
• Fluency in Spanish (speaking and writing) required
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills
• Exceptional organizational skills and attention to detail
• Ability to work both independently and collaboratively to manage a substantial workload with deadline pressures
• Demonstrated ability to work in a team environment and multi-task
• Competence in communicating and interacting with others of diverse cultural, geographic, and economic backgrounds in a professional and compassionate manner, including interacting with individuals experiencing substantial levels of emotional, physical, financial, or other hardship
• Demonstrated knowledge of Microsoft Office 2007 or later
• Ability to use online case management software
• Ability to handle and maintain confidential information
• Regular access to a vehicle required for transportation to and from government agencies and workshop or other community events

Education and Experience:
• Juris Doctor degree and admission to the bar of any state; Virginia bar admission preferred
• Minimum of one year of experience or training in family-based and/or humanitarian immigration law (may include law school clinics and/or internships, recent graduates)

Physical Demands:
• The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. While performing the duties of this job, the employee is occasionally required to stand; walk; sit; use hands to finger, handle, or feel objects, tools or controls; reach with hands and arms; climb stairs; balance; stoop, kneel, crouch or crawl; talk or hear; taste or smell. The employee must occasionally lift and/or move up to 25 pounds. Specific vision abilities required by the job include close vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision, depth perception, and the ability to adjust focus.

BENEFITS: Annual Bar dues and AILA membership dues paid, Vacation, Sick, 15 Paid Holidays, Medical, Dental, Vision, Pension, Employee Assistance Program, Diocesan Tuition Reimbursement K-12 after 1 year, free parking, Professional development tuition assistance eligible after 1 year, Closed between Christmas and New Years *Mileage reimbursement where applicable.