Advancing the justice mission of the Recognition and Accreditation Program through robust, skills-based training

The Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc., (CLINIC) is pleased to announce this court skills training opportunity for partially accredited representatives who want to qualify and apply for full accreditation to represent clients in immigration court. The Partial to Full Accreditation Initiative will guide participants through activities, webinars, and readings, and will culminate in a 3-day court skills training from Feb. 6-8, 2024, in Atlanta, Georgia. During this in-person training, the participants will perform direct examinations, objections, re-direct examinations, closing arguments and more in small groups! The training will teach participants the skills needed to successfully apply for full accreditation and represent clients in immigration court. CLINIC faculty will provide individualized feedback after each performance.

Alumni of our 2022 class shared this feedback:

• “Fantastic and challenging course. I felt pushed (in a good way) and loved working with the same breakout group. Instructors were top notch!”
• “This initiative demystified immigration court for me. I feel confident I can represent clients in removal proceedings. Of course, I will have to gain experience as anybody would, but I have no doubt I have the foundation and the resources to continue to successfully grow.”
• “I did not know what to expect and was very nervous before the training. However, I felt like my confidence was built up while attending the court training with the help of the retired IJ and the staff members. This is a training that I would recommend for anyone who is interested in immigration.”

If interested in this opportunity, please:

If interested in this opportunity, please: watch the informational webinar (recorded on July 11, 2023) if you did not join live. We recommend watching it before submitting your application.

The application is now closed,please contact training@cliniclegal.org if you have any questions. 

• Applicants will receive notification of their selection status by Aug. 18 and if selected for this training, your organization must 1) sign and submit the Agreement form agreeing to meet the requirements of the training and 2) submit the $395 training fee by Sept. 1.

To review the sample Project Timeline and Summary of Steps, please click here.

To review a sample Agreement, please click here .

Prior to attending the court skills training, participants must:

• View webinar recordings on removal defense and program considerations for engaging in removal defense available through an e-learning course online platform.
• Identify an in-house/local attorney or fully accredited representative mentor and make arrangements to obtain hands-on immigration court experience through your mentor as soon as possible.
• Observe a master calendar or individual hearing in immigration court and submit reflections in writing.
• Study the training materials, including a case file that we will use during the court skills training, and complete a case assessment exercise based on the case file.

Other initiative requirements:

• Participate in the in-person 3-day court skills training that will be held in Atlanta, Georgia from Feb. 6-8, 2024.
• Work on a short legal writing assignment that can be used as part of your accreditation application.
• Upon completion of the in-person court skills training, collect documentation towards your application for full accreditation and work with CLINIC to finalize and submit the application to DOJ’s Office of Legal Access Programs (OLAP). CLINIC’s DOJ Recognition and Accreditation Toolkit contains a step-by-step guide to the application process. Specifically, refer to the resource Action Plan for obtaining DOJ Full Accreditation.
• Provide CLINIC a final report upon receiving full accreditation that explains how this in-depth training and full accreditation status impacted you professionally and your organization’s capacity to serve your local immigrant communities. Alternatively, if you do not obtain full accreditation status, your report should explain why you were unable to complete this requirement.

If you have additional questions about this training initiative, please contact training@cliniclegal.org. If you are a CLINIC Affiliate and have questions about applying for full accreditation, please submit your questions on the Affiliate Support Form.