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African Services provides free immigration legal services to New Yorkers. Since our founding, our Legal Department has helped eligible individuals from over 120 countries with naturalization, green card applications, work permits, TPS, DACA, and other types of immigration benefits. We also provide information about many of the changes happening in immigration law and policy.
Scope of Services
We may be able to accept the following types of cases:
- Naturalization (citizenship) for eligible green card holders
- Green card applications for eligible individuals with a qualifying family sponsor or with an approved asylum application
- Renewals of green cards and work permits (employment authorization documents) for eligible individuals
- Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for nationals of certain countries
- Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) for eligible renewals only
- Petitions for family members abroad (*we can only help you with the first step of this process and only when the petitioner is a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident [LPR]*)
- Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests for your immigration case file
- VAWA, U visas, and T visas, subject to capacity
- Asylum (Pro se only), subject to capacity
- Standby Guardianship
PRUCOL
If you need a PRUCOL letter or a Non-PRUCOL letter, please email prucol@africanservices.org or call 212-222-3882 ext. 2180 and leave a message. Your email or voicemail must include your name, your preferred language, and your phone number.
Legal Programs:
Legal help is also available through programs offered by ASC and our partners and funders:
- Immigrant Opportunity Initiatives (IOI) (Funded through New York City’s Human Resources Administration)
- Interest on Lawyer Account (IOLA) Fund (Funded through New York State)
- MOIA Legal Support Center (Funded by the Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs)
- Welcoming New York (Funded by New York State via the New York Immigration Coalition)
- WelcomeNYC (Funded by New York City Council)
Legal Updates
Please see the PDFs linked below for important legal information.
Get Involved with ASC’s Legal Department
If you are interested in an internship, pro bono work, or volunteering with our Legal Department, please click here. If you are a legal practitioner who needs to contact us or if you have questions about volunteering, please email legalhotline@africanservices.org.