Model Code of Responsibility of BIA-Accredited Representatives
The need for professionally trained advocates continues to
be critical due to complex changes in immigration law, that were enacted in
1996, and more recently with government restructuring and creation of the
Department of Homeland Security. Since 1991, ILRC’s National Paralegal Training Program (NPTP) has supported nonprofit organizations and
paralegals in obtaining Board of Immigration (BIA) agency recognition and legal worker accreditation to
represent clients, essential steps for access to high quality legal represenatation. For years ILRC has
monitored and advocated for policies and procedures to aid nonprofit legal
service providers in serving their low-income clients.
ILRC developed our skills-based, hands-on, interactive curriculum, A Guide
for Immigration Advocates, in 1991 with the support of the Ford
Foundation. Since then, we have
sponsored the comprehensive training on the fundamentals of immigration law in
collaboration with dozens of our partner organizations across the country. ILRC has worked to institutionalize our
40-hour intensive training courses in colleges and community-based
organizations, recruiting and training instructors as far and diverse as New
York to Iowa, Texas to Oregon. On
average, these courses have been offered a dozen times a year (in various
locations), training over 300 students a year. The courses have several formats, generally with weekly classes in a
semester format, and some formats offer five or six 8-hour instructional days
for a condensed training experience. Please check out our Trainings link for additional information on
the National Paralegal Training Program courses.
Updated April 2004
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