The following links provide a great deal of information regarding many facets of immigration. These tools are provided so that you can educate yourself about the U.S. immigration system and understand how it works and the ways in which it needs to be improved. We hope you will take advantage of these resources and share them with your friends, families, and colleagues. Each site below has been given a brief synopsis, along with links from the site that we have linked individually. You can visit each site by clicking on the name or image of the sites below.

Please remember that none of the following sites constitute and/or are meant as a substitute for legal advice. If you need help with your immigration case, it is important that you contact an experienced immigration attorney or legal service agency. It is illegal for people who are not lawyers to provide legal advice. To find an agency working in Minnesota in addition to ILCM, click here.

AILA (American Immigration Lawyers Association)
www.aila.org

The AILA website provides some excellent tools for immigration policy advocacy. This is a great place to start to learn about current legislation and how people who represent you, vote on immigration-related bills.

Energy of a Nation
www.energyofanation.org

This site administered by the Advocates for Human Rights is a great resource for Minnesota immigrants, citizens, educators, policy makers, and students interested in educating themselves about immigrants, immigration policy, and how they can advocate for fair and compassionate policy.

Green Card Stories
www.greencardstories.com

ILCM is proud to promote Green Card Stories at various events—including a recent event featuring the film Tony and Janina’s American Wedding in November 2011. The inspirational sagas told in Green Card stories mirror the diverse background and history of ILCMs clients and highlights the importance of ILCMs continuous efforts to represent low-income immigrants.

Immigration Law Help
www.immigrationlawhelp.org

Immigration Law Help is a resource available for state-by-state approaches to assisting low-income immigrants.

Immigration Policy Center (IPC)
www.immigrationpolicy.org

The Immigration Policy Center is a division of the American Immigration Law Foundation. The site includes special reports, fact checks, policy briefs, and research papers.

LexisNexis Immigration Law Community (formerly Bender's Immigration Bulletin)
www.lexisnexis.com/community/immigration-law

The LexisNexis site offers a multitude of resources for legal and academic needs within immigration communities. The site formerly known as Bender's Immigration Bulletin continues to provide national immigration news and legal stories within Lexis Nexis.

Migration Policy Institute
www.migrationpolicy.org

The Migration Policy Institute is the source for demographic information about immigration in your area and in the entire United States. The MPI compiles data for migration on a global scale, allowing you to understand U.S. immigration from a global perspective. They also provide resources for immigration integration policy.

National Immigrant Justice Center
www.immigrantjustice.org

The National Immigrant Justice Center provides up-to-date information on current issues such as immigration enforcement and human rights, detention and due process, LBGT aslyee rights, and Know Your Rights information.

National Immigration Forum
www.immigrationforum.org

The National Immigration Forum "advocates and builds public support for public policies that welcome immigrants and refugees and are fair to and supportive of newcomers to our country." This site has many great publications, policy papers, and background information, as well as ideas for local communities on how to welcome and integrate new arrivals.

Repository of Resources for Undocumented Students

The issue of advocacy and support for undocumented students came to the attention of the College Board during its first Prepárate™: Educating Latinos for the Future of America conference in 2007. This repository reflects available resources in select states for undocumented students in the U.S.

Shusterman's Immigration Update
www.shusterman.com

Shusterman's Immigration Update and Bender's Immigration Bulletin are geared to the legal community and provide updates about immigration procedure, policy, and RSS newsfeeds.

USCIS (United States Customs and Immigration Service)
www.uscis.gov

In 2003 the INS ceased to exist, and its functions were taken over by the newly created USCIS, a division of the Department of Homeland Security. The USCIS website has general information about the immigration system, how to apply for immigration benefits, and how to contact immigration field offices or speak with a USCIS representative.

Click here to see a clip of a mock naturalization interview.

Useful Documents

Useful Videos

A video clip on the consular interview:

A video clip on the medical exam process: