Most Afghan evacuees arrived in the US on Humanitarian Parole. To gain permanent status in the US, they must apply for asylum. Under the direction of Betsy Kovacs, volunteer extraordinaire, the JFS Legal Team of 15 people, most with legal training, have volunteered to serve as paralegals under the supervision of two expert asylum attorneys, Nicole Coudari and Seth Leech. This program would not be viable without the generous support of these incredible individuals who contribute their time and expertise to prepare asylum applications for our approximately 120 Afghan evacuees combined in the Springfield and Berkshire areas. Since none of our paralegal attorneys have asylum let alone refugee or immigration experience, our Legal Team members have spent hours in training on-line and in person.
Our paralegal volunteers interview our clients using on-line interpretation services, and the expertise of Safieullah Safie, JFS Asset Building Program Coordinator and Paralegal, who often provides in-person interpretation services. They draft narrative descriptions of their past persecution and fear of future persecution and collect documents to support their applications. Bill Levine, Esq. researches and drafts the country conditions reports tailored to each of our applicants required for their asylum applications. We expect Asylum Hearings to commence this summer following the submission of our asylum applications. This legal representation is a lifeline for Afghan evacuees, and we couldn’t do it without our volunteer paralegals!
The JFS Legal Team Supports the Legal Needs of our JFS Afghan Evacuees
