Immigration Aid

Immigrants becoming naturalized United States citizens.

Supporting Resettlement for Afghans Who Supported Us

As the U.S. armed forces departed Afghanistan in 2021, they orchestrated a massive evacuation of civilians from the Taliban-controlled country. Many of those who fled had in some way assisted the U.S. during the preceding two decades. Because of their association with the U.S., they faced the risk of retaliation by the Taliban.

As part of an effort to help these refugees win asylum in the U.S., DWT devoted over 350 pro bono hours to helping refugees file pro se asylum applications and prepare for their asylum interviews.

According to DWT’s Susan Stith, who assisted three refugees in 2023, the interviews are “a very critical stage” of the asylum process. “There are certain requirements you need to have to gain asylum and certain legal bars. Our clients need to have a full understanding of that before they go into the meeting.”

Prepping these clients is a lot like preparing any witness in a trial, she says. “We spend time to understand their story and do a mock interview to make sure they’re putting their best foot forward.”

Susan and other DWT lawyers and paralegals pursued these matters in collaboration with immigrant justice groups that included VECINA, Resettlement Action DC, and the American Immigration Council, and partnered with in-house counsel at TD Bank. The Immigration Justice Campaign and Welcome Legal Alliance recognized DWT as Law Firm of the Month for our dedication to this work.

“My dad was career Air Force and I like that we stick behind the people we work with,” says Susan. “Bringing immigrants to this country is our great strength.”

My dad was career Air Force and I like that we stick behind the people we work with. Bringing immigrants to this country is our great strength.

Susan Stith | Counsel

As part of an effort to help these refugees win asylum in the U.S., DWT devoted over 350 pro bono hours to helping refugees file pro se asylum applications and prepare for their asylum interviews.

According to DWT’s Susan Stith, who assisted three refugees in 2023, the interviews are “a very critical stage” of the asylum process. “There are certain requirements you need to have to gain asylum and certain legal bars. Our clients need to have a full understanding of that before they go into the meeting.”

Prepping these clients is a lot like preparing any witness in a trial, she says. “We spend time to understand their story and do a mock interview to make sure they’re putting their best foot forward.”

Susan and other DWT lawyers and paralegals pursued these matters in collaboration with immigrant justice groups that included VECINA, Resettlement Action DC, and the American Immigration Council, and partnered with in-house counsel at TD Bank. The Immigration Justice Campaign and Welcome Legal Alliance recognized DWT as Law Firm of the Month for our dedication to this work.

“My dad was career Air Force and I like that we stick behind the people we work with,” says Susan. “Bringing immigrants to this country is our great strength.”

My dad was career Air Force and I like that we stick behind the people we work with. Bringing immigrants to this country is our great strength.

Susan Stith | Counsel

Team: Susan Stith, Rodney Shanks, Matthew R. Tuchman, Mary de Rosas, Morgan Fagan, Nohayla Benayad, Christine Parkins Johnson, Vera Chen, Ella Beres, Stevin S. George, Chava Brandriss, Victoria Samuels, Anna Fero, Monder “Mike” Khoury, Aakshita Bansal, and Shelly Malik.

Advocating for Immigrant Children

DWT is privileged to work alongside Legal Services for Children, one of the first nonprofit law firms in the nation. We were honored to receive the organization’s 2023 Excellence in Pro Bono Award.

Accepting the award at LSC’s annual event in San Francisco, DWT’s Vidhya (“Vid”) Prabhakaran recounted his years-long work on behalf of an LSC client named Victor, first helping him receive his U visa and then his Green Card. “Providing all of the documentation necessary to make his case was very difficult and would have been basically impossible for him to do on his own,” said Vid. “Thankfully Victor had the support of LSC and DWT. I’m deeply grateful for our seamless collaboration.”

DWT attorneys and staff devoted nearly 200 hours to LSC matters in 2023, which included our hosting a DACA Renewal clinic in partnership with Uber.

Team: Vidhya Prabhakaran, Katie E. Jorrie, James W. Tomlinson, Lauren M. Harris, Brenna Hull, Daniela Najera, David Huang, Edric Itchon, Aakshita Bansal, Judy Pau, Anna Fero, Kimberley Chan, and Jean L. Tom.

Advocating for Immigrant Children

Davis Wright is privileged to work alongside Legal Services for Children, one of the first nonprofit law firms in the nation. We were honored to receive the organization’s 2023 Excellence in Pro Bono Award.

Accepting the award at LSC’s annual event in San Francisco, DWT’s Vidhya (“Vid”) Prabhakaran recounted his years-long work on behalf of an LSC client named Victor, first helping him receive his U visa and then his Green Card. “Providing all of the documentation necessary to make his case was very difficult and would have been basically impossible for him to do on his own,” said Vid. “Thankfully Victor had the support of LSC and DWT. I’m deeply grateful for our seamless collaboration.”

DWT attorneys and staff devoted nearly 200 hours to LSC matters in 2023, which included our hosting a DACA Renewal clinic in partnership with Uber.

Team: Vidhya Prabhakaran, Katie E. Jorrie, James W. Tomlinson, Lauren M. Harris, Brenna Hull, Daniela Najera, David Huang, Edric Itchon, Aakshita Bansal, Judy Pau, Anna Fero, Kimberley Chan, and Jean L. Tom.

Additional Corporate Partnerships to Aid Immigrants

Recognizing the extraordinary importance of the DACA program for young people in our country, lawyers and staff from Spotify and DWT partnered to prepare DACA renewal applications for clients of Volunteers of Legal Service in New York.

Team: Brad Miller, Sunny Knight, Alexandra J. Marinzel, Anna Fero, and Joanmanuel Comas.

Additional Corporate Partnerships to Aid Immigrants

Recognizing the extraordinary importance of the DACA program for young people in our country, lawyers and staff from Spotify and DWT partnered to prepare DACA renewal applications for clients of Volunteers of Legal Service in New York.

Team: Brad Miller, Sunny Knight, Alexandra J. Marinzel, Anna Fero, and Joanmanuel Comas.

U.S. citizenship provides many privileges that non-citizens spend years of great effort to obtain. These include voting rights, the opportunity to petition for foreign relatives to emigrate to the U.S., and access to healthcare. Volunteers from DWT and Bloomberg partnered with Immigration Institute of the Bay Area to assist clients on their journey to obtain citizenship. DWT also organized a similar clinic with Citizens Financial Group in partnership with Catholic Migration Services.

Team: Marina C. Gruber, Evan Coppotelli, Don Meier, Stephen T. Gannon, Zoraida Defex, Michael V. Rella, Rich Zukowsky, Amit S. Aulakh, and Olalekan N. Sumonu.

U.S. citizenship provides many privileges that non-citizens spend years of great effort to obtain. These include voting rights, the opportunity to petition for foreign relatives to emigrate to the U.S., and access to healthcare. Volunteers from DWT and Bloomberg partnered with Immigration Institute of the Bay Area to assist clients on their journey to obtain citizenship. DWT also organized a similar clinic with Citizens Financial Group in partnership with Catholic Migration Services.

Team: Marina C. Gruber, Evan Coppotelli, Don Meier, Stephen T. Gannon, Zoraida Defex, Michael V. Rella, Rich Zukowsky, Amit S. Aulakh, and Olalekan N. Sumonu.

Undocumented immigrants are especially vulnerable to crime, exploitation, and violence. But with the right legal guidance, they can overcome these barriers and find a path to safety. Together with volunteers from a half-dozen in-house legal departments, and in partnership with Legal Services NYC, DWT screened low-income victims of violence to evaluate eligibility for U visas (available only to victims of serious crimes who have cooperated with law enforcement) and VAWA self-petitions (which provide immigration relief to domestic violence survivors married to U.S. citizens or permanent residents). Our in-house corporate partners included Bloomberg, Capital One, Citi, Discover Financial Services, and Microsoft.

Criminal Justice Reform

Ability, integrity, and service to others – these are the three pillars on which Davis Wright Tremaine was built. As our founding partner once famously said, “…unless we are serving mankind to the top extent of our ability and putting our best talent into that service, what good is life?”

Learn More at DWT.COM/PRO-BONO

DAVIS WRIGHT TREMAINE LLP

Ability, integrity, and service to others – these are the three pillars on which Davis Wright Tremaine was built. As our founding partner once famously said, “…unless we are serving mankind to the top extent of our ability and putting our best talent into that service, what good is life?”

Learn More at DWT.COM/PRO-BONO