At NYLAG, we emphasize bringing legal services into the communities that need it most. To achieve this, we partner with over 150 community-based organizations and work with more than 600 social service organizations each year. In 2023, one such community partner included Adhikkar, a women-led community center and workers’ center that provides direct services to the Nepali-speaking community and organizes low-income workers and impacted community members to promote social justice and human rights. Following the Department of Homeland Security’s extension of the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) designation of Nepal, we partnered with the New York Office for New Americans and Adhikaar to assist Nepalese nationals with their immigration Temporary Protection Status (TPS) re-registration and Employment Authorization (EAD) applications.
Adhikaar has been supporting Nepali TPS holders since 2015, organizing legal clinics with the help of legal service providers like NYLAG. In 2023, Adhikaar and NYLAG assisted 38 members with their TPS registration application and work authorization application over the course of two legal clinics.
Maya Gurung, a case manager at Adhikaar, shared, “Organizations like NYLAG are a great resource and support to our community in providing legal services. Our members will be able to update their immigration status and receive new work authorization, which will help them continue their lives.”
NYLAG extends gratitude to the attorneys from Fried Frank LLP, Kirkland & Ellis LLP, the Law Offices of John E. Moore, and students from Fordham University School of Law, Columbia Law School, New York University Law School, Hofstra University, and John Jay College for volunteering their time and skills to assist Nepali TPS holders in 2023.
Do you work for a law firm and want to learn more about volunteering at a single-day clinic in the community? Learn more on our website or contact Wilma Tamayo, NYLAG’s Pro Bono Coordinator, at wtamayo@nylag.org or 212-659-6077.
