Immigration Legal Services | Catholic Charities of Maine

About Immigration Legal Services

Immigration Legal Services (ILS) provides affordable, DOJ-accredited legal representation to low-income refugees, asylees and other New Mainers seeking green cards, U.S. citizenship, or family reunification. We deliver compassionate, culturally aware, trauma-informed services in many languages to address our clients’ immediate legal challenges and meet the evolving needs of Maine’s diverse immigrant populations.

ILS is one of only two organizations in the greater Portland area recognized by the U.S. Department of Justice to have accredited legal representatives authorized to represent clients before U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.

Services Provided by Immigration Legal Services

Catholic Charities Maine Immigration Legal Services provides DOJ-accredited representation before USCIS (and in certain circumstances consular processing through the U.S. Department of State) focusing on the following immigration processes:

Naturalization to obtain United States Citizenship (Form N-400)
Adjustment of Status to obtain Lawful Permanent Resident status (LPR status or “Green Cards”) (Form I-485)
Family Reunification Petitions for Maine-based residents seeking to bring family members living abroad to the United States (Form I-730 for refugee and asylee applicants; Form I-130 for LPRs and U.S. Citizens, DS-260, I-864, I-129F)
Requests for Fee Waiver (I-912)
Interpretation services (if needed) for client consultations, meetings, and interviews with USCIS.

Fees

Hiring a private attorney for your green card application or for other immigration needs can be very costly. ILS guarantees this: no one will be turned away due to inability to pay. Please note that ILS is committed to serving low income clients who often will qualify for fee waivers from USCIS, which can lower the cost of applying for immigration benefits. ILS will guide you through this process.

ILS Fees (per client)

Green Card for RIS Refugee Clients: $200

Green Card for non-refugees: $300

Naturalization: $400

Family Reunification for Refugees and Asylees: $200 (for the first beneficiary, $100 for additional)

I-130 Petition for Relative $300 (per beneficiary)

For other services, including overseas consular processing please contact ILS.

What Is Included for Our Clients

For this low price, ILS assists clients with the preparation and completion of application forms, accompanies clients to USCIS interviews, provides certain interpretation services, prepares responses to Requests For Evidence issued by USCIS, and will stay with clients until they receive the benefit sought or are denied. For a separate fee, ILS will provide assistance for overseas beneficiaries through the consular process.

Join our Waitlist

If you live in Maine, are low income, and are an immigrant or want to bring an immigrant relative to the U.S, you may be eligible for our services.

OUR CAPACITY IS LIMITED - CALL OR EMAIL TO TRY TO GET ON OUR WAITLIST

Call (207) 560-7689 to speak with an ILS representative. They will take some basic information from you. If we determine that you may be eligible for our services, you will be placed on our waitlist.

Email us at: [email protected]

Please include your name (first, middle and last), what language you speak, your phone number, what service you need help with (Green Card, Citizenship, or Family Reunification)

Current waitlist times are approximately 12 months.

Frequently Asked Questions

General ILS Questions

Am I eligible for ILS services?
To be eligible for our services, you must live in Maine, you must be low income, you must either be an immigrant or seeking to bring an immigrant family member to the United States.

What does it mean to be low income?
ILS defines low-income as earning less than or equal to 200% of the federal poverty level. You should qualify if you receive public benefits such as MaineCare, SNAP, General Assistance, etc.

What is covered by my ILS fee?
IILS provides clients with DOJ-accredited legal representation through all aspects of the application process for certain immigration benefits. ILS prepares forms, accompanies clients to interviews, provides interpretation services for meetings and interviews, advocates with congressional offices, and can help with obtaining supporting documentation, and more.

What other services do you provide?
In limited circumstances, ILS may assist clients with related processes and forms such as: Certificate of Citizenship (N-600); Refugee Travel Documents (I-131); Green Card replacement (I-90); Employment Authorization (I-765). These services are typically only offered if related to green card, naturalization, or family reunification applications.

What don’t you do? What is not covered by my ILS fee?

ILS does not represent clients in immigration court.
ILS fees do not include translation of documents, which are required by USCIS.
We cannot help with non-immigration related legal matters.

Do you take walk-ins?
No. Please call or email to get on our waitlist.

Who can I bring to the United States?

If you are a U.S. citizen, you can petition to bring:

Your spouse;
Your unmarried children under 21 years of age;
Your unmarried sons or daughters 21 years of age or older;
Your married sons or daughters of any age;
Your brothers or sisters (you must be 21 years of age or older); (ILS has paused sibling petitions) and
Your mother or father (you must be 21 years of age or older)

If you are green card holder, you can petition to bring:

Your spouse;
Your unmarried child under 21 years of age; and
Your unmarried son or daughter 21 years of age or older

If you are a refugee or asylee, within 2 years of obtaining that status, you can petition to bring:

Your spouse
Your unmarried children under the age of 21
In some limited cases your parents (through the AOR program but only if they are registered refugees)

Can I bring my cousin or my aunt or uncle?
In most cases, no, US Immigration law typically only allows petitioning for certain immediate family members.

Why is it important to consult with a lawyer or accredited legal representative?

The Maine Immigration and Nationality Law Assistance Act, 4 MRSA §807-B, says that only a lawyer or an accredited representative can give legal help with your immigration paperwork. If a person is not a lawyer or an accredited representative, they can give only non-legal help. The law explains what a person who is not a lawyer or an accredited representative CAN and CANNOT do.

A person who is not a lawyer and not an accredited representative CAN:

Translate your immigration paperwork from English into your language
Translate your answers into English
Transcribe your answers to an immigration form
Help you get documents to submit with your immigration forms, such as birth and marriage certificates
Refer you to an immigration attorney or accredited representative

A person who is not a lawyer and not an accredited representative CANNOT:

Say that they can obtain special favors to help with the immigration process
Say that they have special influence with any government agency or employee
Provide legal assistance with immigration paperwork, including selecting immigration forms, suggesting what answers to put on an immigration form, and/or filling out the form themselves
Keep money for immigration services not performed
Refuse to give you back your original documents
Fail to complete and sign an immigration form as the preparer
Say that they are a "notario," "immigration consultant," "immigration agent," "immigration assistant, "attorney," or any other title that suggests they can provide legal help with immigration cases.