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 or currently enrolled in an LLM program, graduating law school by the spring of 2025
• Applicants must have graduated no earlier than Spring 2023
• At the time of selection must have authorization to work in the United States for two years

Application Components:

NOTE: Every component of your application must be submitted by the deadline of Sunday, October 20, 2024 at 11:59 PM ET

• Application Form

• Resume/C.V. (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?

• Two letters of recommendation

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.

• Your recommender may also contact IJC at recruitment@justicecorps.org for further assistance. They can send a PDF copy of their letter of recommendation to recruitment@justicecorps.org, however applicants are still required to enter their information in the system so we can upload it on the recommender's behalf. 

• 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.

Again, every component of your application must be submitted by the deadline of October 20, 2024 at 11:59 p.m., ET, including your recommendation 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, 2024 at 11:59 p.m. ET.

2. Application Review: a selection committee gathers to review all Justice Fellow applications and makes recommendations to IJC staff in early late October/early November. IJC staff reviews applications recommended by the selection committee and schedules interviews with prospective Justice Fellows starting in November.

3. Interviews: Brief, 30 minute interviews are held in November via remote videocalls.

4. Matching: IJC staff select finalists from the interview pool and places some applicants on the waitlist in late November/early December. 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. 

5. Offers: In late January 2025/early February 2025, offer letters are sent to selected Fellows.

If you have any questions about the application or selection process, you may contact us at recruitment@justicecorps.org.

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

Informational Webinars 

We want to share the upcoming dates for upcoming informational webinars that will offer an opportunity to connect with the IJC staff that applicants may engage with as Justice Fellows. 

While the content is the same, we suggest prospective fellows attend the session in the region they hope to practice in. Law school faculty and staff may benefit most from attending the region where the law school is located. Of course, all are welcome to join any of the webinar options, especially if one works better for your schedule. 

Registration Link: Regional IJC Justice Fellow Informational Session: West

Saturday, September 14th, 10-11 AM PT 

States: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, Washington, Wyoming   

Registration Link: Regional IJC Justice Fellowship Informational Webinar: East

Saturday, September 21st, 10-11 AM ET 

States: Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, North Carolina, New York, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Vermont, Virginia, Washington D.C., West Virginia    

Registration Link: Regional IJC Justice Fellowship Informational Webinar: Midwest

Saturday, September 28th, 10-11 AM CT 

States: Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Ohio, Tennessee, Texas, Wisconsin