Immigration
Legal Aid Society of San Diego welcomes walk-ins. For faster service call 1-877-LEGAL AID (1-877-534-2524).
TTY 1-877-735-2929
If you wish to come to an office, we have 3 locations:
Southeast San Diego Office
Midtown San Diego Office
North County San Diego Office
If you are eligible, we can help you with the following:
- Family-based immigration, including naturalization and citizenship
- Removal defense (Immigration Court)
- VAWA
- U and T Visas
- Green Card Renewal
- Waivers
Unfortunately, we cannot help with DACA, DAPA, and employment based immigration issues.
Be On Time: For Directions, scroll up and click on the office you are going to. If you will be late, call the person you are coming to see.
If you do not call and are more than 15 minutes late for your appointment, your appointment may be canceled.
GREEN CARD REPLACEMENT/RENEWAL
- If you need help to replace your permanent resident alien card (“green card”), call 1-877-534-2524 . Once you have an appointment please fill out the Replacement/Renewal of Permanent Resident Card Questionnaire (English) (Spanish) and bring it with you to your appointment. ALSO, please bring These Documents (English) (Spanish) to your appointment.
NATURALIZATION
- If you are a permanent resident and would like our help to become a naturalized U.S. citizen, call 1-877-534-2524. Once you have an appointment, please fill out this Naturalization Questionnaire (English) (Spanish) and bring it with you to your first appointment. ALSO please bring These Documents (English) (Spanish) to your appointment.
IMMIGRATION OF FAMILY MEMBERS
- If you need help to immigrate a family member, depending on who you would like to immigrate, in addition to evidence of your (the applicant’s) own immigration status, please bring the following:
- Immigrate your parent: your birth certificate and your parents’ marriage certificate
- Immigrate your child: your child’s birth certificate, and the marriage certificate for the mother/father of the child if born during a marriage
- Immigrate your spouse: your marriage certificate and proof of termination of all prior marriages for both you and your spouse
- Immigrate your brother/sister: your birth certificate, your brother or sister’s birth certificate and your parents’ marriage certificate
- Future Community Naturalization Workshops
- To get information about a pending immigration case, contact Citizenship and Immigration Services
- Get information about Immigration Court
- To get immigration court case information such as next hearing date and case decision information (you must have your A# when you call): 1-800-898-7180
- For information on medical and psychological resources available to people with asylum claims, contact Survivors of Torture International in San Diego
- You can learn about Human Trafficking and how to identify victims
- Catholic Charities (replacement greencards, family petitions, replacement documents, etc.)
- Jewish Family Service (naturalization, affirmative asylum applications, asylum defense in Immigration Court proceedings, etc.)
- International Rescue Committee (refugee and asylee adjustment of status, naturalization, English and Civics classes, etc.)
- UURISE (for North County callers) (naturalization, replacement documents, family petitions, etc.)
- Employee Rights Center (naturalization, replacement documents, family petitions, etc.)
- Mexican Consulate (victims of crimes, victims of domestic abuse, humanitarian parole requests)
- Employment Discrimination
- General assistance from 211 (financial, housing, mental health services, etc.)
Documents to Bring to Your Appointment (if you have them) (English) (Spanish)
Naturalizaton Questionnaire (English) (Spanish)
Replacement/Renewal of Your Permanent Resident Card - Questionnaire (English) (Spanish)
NOTES:
- If you can, print the questionnaire you need, and fill it out. It will speed up your appointment. If you cannot, we will still see you.
- If your LPR card will expire within the next 60 days, please be sure to mention this when calling for an intake appointment.
- employment based immigration cases
- affirmative asylum claims
- DACA (deferred action for Childhood Arrivals)
- Student visas
- Temporary protected status
- Medical or humanitarian requests to enter the U.S. (humanitarian parole)
- Employment Visas
- Asylum
Attorneys: we welcome volunteer attorneys whether you are recently graduated from law school or a seasoned attorney interested in helping in a new area of practice. We ask that all volunteer attorneys commit to at least six months of volunteering for a minimum of 1-2 days each week. If you feel you can make this commitment, please fill out the form and indicate when you would like to begin your volunteer service and any restrictions (e.g., you know that you must conclude volunteering by certain date, upcoming extended vacation, etc.)
Law Students: we welcome law student volunteers and interns. We ask that all volunteer law students commit to at least six months of volunteering for a minimum of 1-2 days each week. If you feel you can make this commitment, please fill out the form and indicate when you would like to begin your volunteer service and any restrictions (for example, you know that you must conclude volunteering by certain date, time off for finals, etc.)
Interpreters: we welcome interpreters. Our general need for interpreters arises from non-English speakers who need an interpreter at their CIS interviews, and for non-Spanish/English speakers who come to our office seeking assistance. Our need for interpreters varies, so we prefer to have translators available on an “on-call” basis. Please fill out this form.
Non-legal: we welcome volunteers for non-legal duties. The Immigration Team conducts several immigration-related presentations throughout the community each year, in addition to handling immigration cases. Our team has many administrative tasks for which we welcome volunteer help. Please fill out this form.