AILA Quicktake #256: AILA's Military Assistance Program

1/11/19 AILA Doc. No. 19011131.

Erin Lynum from AILA's Practice and Professionalism Center, talks about the growing interest in the Military Assistance Program and how, as an immigration attorney, you can help our service members.

Learn more about MAP at www.aila.org/military
For the Volunteer Application: https://form.jotform.com/70244113677958
If you have additional questions, please contact AILA Pro Bono at probono@aila.com

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Video Transcript

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For the past 10 years AILA's Military Assistance Program or MAP
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has been dedicated to providing knowledgeable pro bono counsel and
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peace of mind to the courageous men and women of the United States Armed Forces.
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While military attorneys have a wealth of experience in other areas, many often do
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not have experience with immigration law. As a result in 2008, AILA teamed up with
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military legal assistance offices to connect service members and recent
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veterans across the country and abroad with immigration attorneys to help them
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with their immigration cases. MAP cases often include assistance with fiancee
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and spousal visas, permanent residency and citizenship applications, parole in place,
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and much more.
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It's through the hard work of a our members like you that we have been
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able to connect more than 2,000 service members with knowledgeable
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and experienced immigration attorneys since MAP's inception. We have been told
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by service members time after time that our volunteer attorneys offer them a
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ray of hope when they have been trying to navigate the immigration system.
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Thank you to all our MAP volunteers for being that guiding light
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for the past decade as map has grown
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with more than 65,000 immigrants in the military in countless service members
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with immigrant family members along with increased immigration enforcement
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the need for immigration assistance for our troops has grown
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dramatically in recent years.
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In its first year MAP received 173 requests for assistance.
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Ten years later our program receives more than 500 requests for assistance annually.
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We invite you to join the ranks of AILA MAP volunteers.
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To qualify as a volunteer, we ask the volunteers be licensed,
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practicing immigration attorneys in good standing.
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Signing up is easy, complete the application in the link in the
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description box and once your application is accepted you will receive
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weekly lists of servicemember cases that have already been screened by
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immigration attorneys on AILA's National Military Committee. You simply email us
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directly to claim a case that interests you and we introduce you to the service member.
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So that you may begin working with them on their case.
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As a MAP volunteer, you will have access to the MAP listserve which is the helpful source for
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connecting with fellow colleagues over questions related to the military
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and immigration. For more information about the program please visit our website.
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We hope you will consider signing up today
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and join us in giving back to our military. Thank you