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Urgent Referrals for Individuals in Immigration Detention

To request VAAP’s immigration legal help for nondetained individuals, SCROLL TO THE NEXT SECTION BELOW ⬇️

If you are reaching out because someone has been arrested by ICE or is currently in immigration detention, please use our dedicated referral line, detained@vaapvt.org OR complete the form below. These communication channels are monitored by VAAP staff and volunteers who focus on detention defense. Please do not duplicate your submission here or via other channels or with staff, as that can slow down our response times.

To help us act quickly, please include in your message: Full name of the detained person, their date of birth, their A-number (if known), where they are being held (facility name, if known), and your contact information and relationship to the person.

If you have immigration documents (such as prior court papers, bond paperwork, or ICE notices), you may share them by replying to your referral email with the attachments OR sending photos to our WhatsApp, 802-999-5654.

After VAAP receives the referral, you will receive an automatic confirmation that your referral was received. Our team will triage referrals as quickly as possible. We may not be able to respond to every referral or provide direct representation. Sending an email to this address does not create an attorney-client relationship. Because multiple people often send referrals about the same individual, we will coordinate internally to reduce duplication.

We know these moments are urgent and stressful. VAAP’s role is to ensure detained community members have access to legal information and, when possible, representation, so that no one makes a life-changing decision about their immigration future based only on advice from ICE. Note that sending information to VAAP does not create an attorney-client relationship, and all information received will by handled pursuant to the Vermont Rules of Professional Conduct (VRPC).

The VRPC requires VAAP to consider our existing workload, capacity, and available legal relief when evaluating a referral for new legal help. Unfortunately, many individuals who become detained are not eligible for relief under current immigration laws, and we may not be able to offer representation in every case. We maintain our attorney referral list publicly, below, and may not be able to respond individually to each referral maker.

We share the community’s frustration about the severe shortage of immigration legal services in Vermont. VAAP is working hard to scale up staffing and expand the services we can deliver. In the meantime, we encourage you to voice your concerns about immigration legal access barriers:

Email your referral to detained@vaapvt.org, or complete and submit the following form:

FOR NONDETAINED INDIVIDUALS SEEKING IMMIGRATION LEGAL HELP: Free Immigration Lawyers Serving Vermont

  • Vermont Asylum Assistance Project

    Focus: Detained Removal Defense.

    Technical assistance provider and pro bono coordinator pivoting from initial asylum filings to removal defense legal work—including asylum, withholding, CAT, cancellation of removal, and other relief—and education. Request VAAP’s legal help for non-detained cases by calling 1-800-889-2047 or visiting vtlawhelp.org and for detained cases by calling the Migrant Justice rapid response line at 802-881-7229.

    No walk-ins. By appointment only.

  • Center for Justice Reform Clinic

    Focus: Detained Removal Defense.

    Teaching clinic staffed by law students providing detained and nondetained removal defense—including asylum, withholding, CAT, cancellation of removal, and other relief—as well as criminal-immigration consultations. Request CJRC’s legal help for non-detained cases by calling 1-800-889-2047 or visiting vtlawhelp.org and for detained cases by calling the Migrant Justice rapid response line at 802-881-7229.

    No walk-ins. By appointment only.

  • Association of Africans Living in VT

    Focus: Affirmative Immigration Applications.

    Community-based organization with on-site legal team offering “affirmative” immigration application assistance including family petitions, work permits, green cards, asylum applications, naturalization, and other forms of humantiarian relief. Request AALV’s legal help by calling 802-985-3106 or visiting aalv-vt.org/.

    Walk-ins welcome at 20 Allen St 3rd Fl, Burlington.

  • Vermont Afghan Alliance

    Focus: Afghan Asylum and Green Cards

    Community-based organization with on-site legal team offering immigration legal assistance to Afghan Nationals living in Vermont. Request VAA’s legal help by calling 802-999-7182 or visiting vtafghanalliance.org/.

    Walk-ins welcome at 60 Main St, Burlington.

  • WISE Upper Valley

    Focus: Immigration Relief for Survivors

    Upper Valley gender-based violence service provider with an on-site legal team offering “affirmative” immigration application assistance including visas for survivors of trafficking and or violent crimes, Violence Against Women Act self-petitioners, asylum, and more. Request WISE’s legal help by contacting 603-448-5922 or visiting https://wiseuv.org/i-need-help/

    Walk-ins welcome at 38 Bank St., Lebanon NH.

  • Committee for Refugees & Immigrants

    Focus: Refugee Green Cards, Citizenship

    Vermont field office of national refugee resettlment organization with on-site legal team offering asylum help for Afghan nationals and family reunification, green card, and citizenship applications for refugees. Request USCRI’s legal help by calling 802-654-1704 or visiting https://refugees.org/uscri-vermont/.

    Walk-ins welcome at 462 Hegeman Ave, Colchester.

  • Canada-U.S. Border Rights Clinic

    Focus: Canada-U.S. border crossing

    Looking for guidance about asylum seeking in Canada versus the U.S.?

    https://canadaborderclinic.org/

  • Immigrant Advocates Network

    Focus: National Directory

    Looking for free help in a state besides Vermont?

    https://www.immigrationadvocates.org/legaldirectory/

IF THE FREE LEGAL SERVICES PROVIDERS ARE UNAVAILABLE OR UNABLE TO ASSIST: Private Immigration Lawyers Serving Vermont

for non-immigration legal issues:

other free lawyers serving vermont

  • Legal Services VT & Vermont Legal Aid

    Focus: Civil Legal Services (Housing, Benefits, Healthcare)

    https://vtlawhelp.org/

    T: 1-800-889-2047

  • South Royalton Legal Clinic at VLGS

    Focus: Civil Legal Services for Orange and Windsor Counties

    https://www.vermontlaw.edu

    T: 802-831-1000

  • Vermont Network to End Domestic Violence

    Focus: Civil Legal Services for Survivors of Gender Violence

    https://www.vtnetwork.org/

    T: 802-223-1302

  • Have Justice Will Travel

    Focus: Family, Civil Legal Services for Southern Vermont

    havejusticewilltravel.org

    T: 802-447-8500

  • Disability Rights VT

    Focus: Civil Rights in Institutional Mental Health Treatment

    https://disabilityrightsvt.org/

    T: 802-229-1355

  • VT Public Defender

    Focus: Criminal Defense and Immigration Consequences

    https://defgen.vermont.gov/

    T: 802-828-3168

  • Federal Public Defender

    Focus: Criminal Defense and Immigration Consequences

    https://vt.fd.org/

    T: 802-862-6990

  • American Civil Liberties Union Vermont

    Focus: Plaintiff-Side Civil Rights Litigation in Federal, State Courts

    https://www.acluvt.org/

    T: 802-223-6304