Each year IJC awards Justice Fellowships to recent law graduates from around the country – individuals with tremendous talent, promise, and a demonstrated commitment to providing legal services for low income people and immigrants.

IJC trains Justice Fellows to become experts in immigration law and pairs them with leading non-profit legal services providers and community based organizations. IJC matches selected Fellows with our partnering host organizations based on the applicant’s experience and interest, gaps in services within the community, location interests, and partnering host organizations’ needs. 

Justice Fellows represent immigrants in an array of immigration matters including:

• Removal defense
• Affirmative asylum applications
• Relief available to juveniles and victims of crime, domestic violence, or human trafficking. 

Justice Fellow General Eligibility Requirements:

• Applicants may be 3Ls, graduating law school by the spring of 2024
• Applicants must have graduated no earlier than Spring 2022
• At the time of selection must have authorization to work in the United States for two years

Unaccompanied Children Program in partnership with the Vera Institute of Justice and Acacia Center for Justice

In addition to our traditional Justice Fellowship program of 25-30 fellows per year, we are expanding our footprint to meet the urgent need for legal representation. IJC recently partnered with the Vera Institute of Justice and Acacia Center for Justice to place approximately 75 Justice Fellows with their network of legal service providers across the country as part of the Unaccompanied Children Program. Applicants with an interest in preserving the rights of migrant children are strongly encouraged to apply.

There is high demand for Justice Fellows to provide quality legal services to unaccompanied children in removal proceedings. Spanish fluency is preferred, however language supports will be provided for those working towards fluency.

All IJC Fellows serve for two years and are provided with a full salary and benefits through their host organization placement.

Application Components:

NOTE: Every component of your application must be submitted by the deadline of October 20, 2023 at 11:59 PM EST

• Résumé (no more than two pages)

• PDF of your law school transcript (unofficial)

• Statement of Interest (500 words or less): Describe why you would like to be an IJC Justice Fellow.  Questions to consider in drafting the Statement of Interest include:

  • Why are you interested in immigration law?

  • How might an IJC Fellowship prepare you for the career you want to have in the future?

  • Why, specifically, are you interested in participating in a fellowship program, versus a staff attorney role?

  • What skills and experiences have prepared you for work with immigrant communities?

• Essay Question (500 words or less): At the core of IJC’s mission is the goal of increasing access to counsel.  If you could design a universal representation system for immigrant courts nationwide what would it look like? Who would qualify for representation and why and what mechanisms would you recommend for appointing counsel?

When setting up your account you will be asked to enter a name for your submission – PLEASE USE YOUR FULL NAME (LAST, FIRST) AS THE SUBMISSION TITLE.  

Submitting Letters of Recommendation:

• Within the application portal, you will need to enter email addresses for two references who will each submit a letter on your behalf.

• Once you enter your recommender’s email address into the system, they will be sent an email with a link to create an account and submit their letter of reference on your behalf.  We strongly recommend that you immediately follow up with your recommender to make sure they receive the email. Frequently, recommender notifications are routed to spam, therefore please be sure to notify your recommenders to check both their inbox and spam folders. The system will automatically remind recommenders to submit their letters several days before the application deadline, however, we also encourage you to send them a note to remind them of the upcoming deadline.

• If your recommender does not receive the email link, please use the Apply support feature (embedded in the "i" button in the upper right hand corner of the navigation bar). Your recommender may also contact IJC at fellowship@justicecorps.org for further assistance.

• You will be able to and are encouraged to submit your application even if letter(s) of reference have not been uploaded to the system, however, out of fairness to all applicants, we will not review your application until both letters have been completed.  We will not grant application deadline extensions for letters of recommendation.

Again, every component of your application must be submitted by the deadline of October 20, 2023 at 11:59 p.m., EST, including your reference letters, so please reach out to your references early and often and let them know to expect an email requesting a reference on your behalf.  

The Selection Process:

1. All Justice Fellow applications and supporting documents are due on October 20, 2023 at 11:59 p.m. EST.

2. Application review round one: a selection committee gathers to review all Justice Fellow applications and makes recommendations to IJC staff in early November

3. Application review round two: IJC staff reviews applications recommended by the selection committee and schedules interviews with prospective Justice Fellows in mid-November

4. Interviews: Brief, 30 minute interviews are held mid-November/early December via remote videocalls. 

5. Matching: IJC staff select finalists from the interview pool and places some applicants on the waitlist. We then solicit input from finalist and waitlist Justice Fellow applicants and finalist host organizations regarding their preferred matches. That information is used to appropriately match host organizations and applicants via tentative offers made in early to mid-January. 

6. Offers: In late January 2024/early February 2024, offer letters are sent to selected Fellows.

For technical concerns please use the Apply support feature (embedded in the "i" button in the upper right hand corner of the navigation bar). For application questions, you may contact us at fellowship@justicecorps.org.   

To learn more about Immigrant Justice Corps visit our website: www.justicecorps.org.

Informational Webinar

Justice Fellowship Info Session

Thursday, July 27, 5-6 PM EST

Register here!