Immigrants & Refugees

For legal help, use only a lawyer or a nonprofit approved by the U.S. Department of Justice. A "notario" is not a lawyer here, and bad advice can cost you your case. Free and low-cost legal help is at the Latin American Association, 404-638-1800; Catholic Charities Atlanta, 404-920-7725; and Asian Americans Advancing Justice-Atlanta, 404-890-5655. GAIN, 678-335-6040, helps people asking for asylum and survivors of crime. KIND helps children who came alone. See immigration legal help.

If you have a case in immigration court, check your next hearing date by calling 800-898-7180 with your A-number, the number that starts with A on your immigration papers. Do not miss a hearing. If you do, the judge can order you deported without you there.

Everyone in the United States has some rights, whatever their status. You can stay silent and ask for a lawyer. Officers need a warrant signed by a judge to come into your home. To find someone who has been detained, search locator.ice.gov.

For everyday help, you do not need papers. Community clinics see patients without asking about status, and public schools must enroll every child. Children born here can get Medicaid, PeachCare and SNAP even when their parents can't. If you worry that benefits could hurt your case, ask one of the legal groups before you apply or cancel.

For English classes, jobs and settling in, the same groups help, along with New American Pathways, the International Rescue Committee and CPACS. Ask for an interpreter. Hospitals and benefit offices must give you one for free. See refugee resettlement.

When you go, bring every paper you have, even the ones you don't understand.

Written by ATL Care from the listings in this directory. See something wrong? Tell us.