Each season Immigration Equality offices welcome interns, legal fellows, and volunteers. Beginning this week, we will be introducing you to some of them with 20 questions. Want to work with us? Find out more here.

 

Name: Albert Chen
Age: 31
School/Major/Year: McGill Law, 2008
Position: Legal Fellow
Office: New York Headquarters

 

In one sentence, what do you do all day?

 

I answer binational couple immigration law inquiries and directly represent asylum seekers.

 

How is that going?

 

Fabulously well.

 

What are you hoping to accomplish while here?

 

I hope to help as many people as possible who are in horrible situations because of homophobia; either due to violence against the LGBT+ community abroad, or because of discriminatory immigration laws here in the United States.

 

Where are you from?

 

I was born and raised in Toronto, Canada. I have lived, studied, and/or worked in Montreal, Washington D.C., New York, and Taipei, Taiwan and feel that my experiences in all these places have shaped who I am and how I approach my work helping people from diverse backgrounds and life histories.

 

Who did you root for in the World Cup?

 

I don’t follow sports — I love to run long distance races though….

 

What do you like most about New York?

 

In New York City you can totally and 100 percent be yourself. Because of this freedom, you can meet other wonderful people who have big dreams, a lot of talent, and who are doing interesting things with their lives.

 

The least?

 

Because it’s a big city and because many people here are workaholics, it can be difficult to develop a community of close friends or to take life at a slower pace. This makes for a dynamic, but stressful environment.

 

What neighborhood are you living in?

 

Hell’s Kitchen

 

Any suggestions for interns trying to live in New York?

 

Immigration Equality couldn’t have its headquarters in a better place as the constellation of non-profit, community, and social services groups and law firms in New York City is unmatched in their range, number, and size. Not only have I been able to interact with a wide range of clients, I have also made connections in various organizations and law firms. I have a strong sense of pride at how all these groups and organizations contribute to making the world a more just place.

 

What do you do in your free time?

 

I run often with the gay running group, Front Runners New York. There’s also so many good restaurants, bars and clubs in New York that I jump at the chance to get out and meet new people. The gay culture here is diverse, sophisticated and just plain fun. I’m on my second season subscribing to the Metropolitan Opera. Finally, I like wandering and discover new neighborhoods.

 

What are you currently reading?

 

The Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad. I never read it in high school and I want to watch the movie Apocalypse Now, so I thought it would be good background.

 

Favorite TV show?

 

I don’t watch TV, there’s too many fun things to do in the city.

 

If you had one superpower what would it be?

 

The ability to teleport to other countries so that I can collect documents for my clients.

 

What's the most surprising part of your internship?

 

TThe most surprising part of this fellowship is the amount of responsibility I have to advocate for my clients, and for making important legal decisions that will affect their cases.

 

What's the hardest part?

 

The hardest part is making tough decisions, such as telling someone that we cannot help them.

 

What's your interest in immigration rights?

 

As the child of immigrants, I readily see the benefits of immigration. As a foreigner here in the U.S., I can also identify with the challenges that many foreign nationals here face.

 

How did you learn about Immigration Equality?

 

A friend who had worked in the non-profit sector in New York knew of Immigration Equality’s great reputation and recommended I apply since it seemed like a good fit for me.

 

Are you at immigration Equality just for the summer?

 

No, I’m here for a full year fellowship.

 

To whom would you recommend an Immigration Equality internship?

 

I would recommend working here to anyone who likes a challenge, who feels that they are ready for a lot of responsibility, and who wants to learn a lot about the real world practice of law or advocacy/lobbying.

 

What are you planning next after your time with us?

 

I will be starting work with my corporate law firm, but hope to continue working with Immigration Equality on pro bono cases.

Each season Immigration Equality offices welcome interns, legal fellows, and volunteers. Beginning this week, we will be introducing you to some of them with 20 questions. Want to work with us? Find out more here.

 

Name: Lorenz Haselberger
Age: 23
School/Major/Year: Harvard Law School/JD Candidate/2012
Position: Legal Intern
Office: New York Headquarters

 

In one sentence, what do you do all day?

 

I help LGBT/H foreign nationals facing persecution in their home countries win asylum in the United States.

 

How is that going?

 

Fantastic

 

What are you hoping to accomplish while here?

 

My supervisors gave me primary responsibility to prepare the affirmative asylum application of one of our clients, so I hope that I’ll be able to win asylum for that client before the summer is out. I’m also working on a defensive asylum case that’s currently pending before an IJ. I’m writing the brief for that case, so I hope it does the trick.

 

Where are you from?

 

I spent the first years of my life in Munich, Germany. I emigrated to the United States in 1991, when I was about five years old. I grew up in Wallingford, Pennsylvania, in the suburbs of Philadelphia.

 

Who did you root for in the World Cup?

 

I don’t really watch sports.

 

What do you like most about New York?

 

Nighttime walks with my boyfriend along the Promenade in Brooklyn

 

The least?

 

I’ve experienced a bit more homophobia here in NYC than I did in my little bubble in Cambridge, Massachusetts

 

What neighborhood are you living in?

 

Brooklyn Heights

 

Any suggestions for interns trying to live in New York?

 

Don’t waste a lot of money trying to find a place in Manhattan, Brooklyn Heights is just as nice and much cheaper.

 

What do you do in your free time?

 

I like to go rowing, hiking, snowboarding and running. I also like to read.

 

What are you currently reading?

 

Orlando, by Virginia Woolf. I’m also perusing ImEq’s fabulous Asylum Manual, which is a must-read for any attorney working on LGBT/H asylum claims.

 

Favorite TV show?

 

The Wire

 

If you had one superpower what would it be?

 

I’ve always wanted to be able to fly.

 

What's the most surprising part of your internship?

 

The amount of responsibility legal interns get here seems unusual. I was pretty surprised when I got my first case-file plopped on my desk on my second day on the job. It can be kind of intimidating at first, but it certainly forces you to learn quickly.

 

What's the hardest part?

 

Listening to horrific stories of persecution and abuse from LGBT/H clients can be pretty depressing.

 

What's your interest in immigration rights?

 

I’m gay and I’m an immigrant.

 

How did you learn about Immigration Equality?

 

My career advisor at HLS’s Office of Public Interest Advising.

 

Are you at immigration Equality just for the summer?

 

Yes.

 

To whom would you recommend an Immigration Equality internship?

 

Anyone interested in immigration law, LGBT/H rights, or both.

 

What are you planning next after your time with us?

 

I plan to take a short vacation in Virginia, return to Cambridge, and work hard in my second year of law school.

We’re less than a few nights away from Immigration Equality’s annual Safe Haven Awards, featuring best-selling author Elizabeth Gilbert (Eat, Pray, Love and Committed) and Gregory C. Simon, Senior V.P. of Worldwide Policy for Pfizer.

 

There’s still time to buy your tickets online, and join us as we celebrate our allies and toast pro bono partners who have made a life-saving difference in the lives of LGBT and HIV-positive immigrants and their families.

 

If you haven’t already done so, reserve your tickets today and plan to join us on Tuesday, June 8th at the AXA Equitable Center on 7th Avenue in New York City. The evening kicks off with a welcome reception at 6:30, followed by our awards ceremony — and Elizabeth Gilbert’s keynote address — at 7:30pm.

 

If you bought multiple tickets, your guest list can be emailed to Win by this Friday, June 4th.

 

In addition to a wonderful evening of inspiring stories from our allies, you’ll also have an opportunity to bid on unique auction items that directly support our work to end discrimination against LGBT immigrant families. This year’s one-of-a-kind auction items include:

• An opportunity to underwrite the Immigration Equality Action Fund’s new online advocacy center (Opening Bid: $1,500)
• A bow tie and style consultation from the dapper shopkeepers of FineandDandyShop.com, a binational couple-owned design shop (Opening Bid: $500)
• Underwriting a one-hour, detailed intake for a prospective asylum seeker who has turned to Immigration Equality for help ($95 per intake sponsorship)

Every winning bid – and every ticket sold – will be directed to the Immigration Equality Action Fund and put to immediate use in support of our work to end discrimination against LGBT and HIV-positive immigrants and their families.

 

Have you ‘committed’ to joining the fight? To get started, click here and reserve your tickets (for pick up at the door) now. We all look forward to welcoming you on Tuesday night.

Every day, Immigration Equality receives calls and emails from binational couples, asylum seekers, detainees and others who turn to our legal team for free, confidential legal counsel. Each year, we receive thousands of such inquiries . . . all fielded by a legal staff of just four people. In recent days, we have received questions and concerns regarding how legal inquiries are handled by our staff, and want to shed some light on that process.

 

It’s important to know that, when you reach out to Immigration Equality for legal help, your inquiry is answered in relation to the urgency of your situation. We prioritize, for example, binational couples who are facing immediate separation and deportation; detainees who are already in detention and require immediate legal representation; and asylum seekers whose claims are particularly time-sensitive because of filing deadline issues. Our mission – when we were founded in 1994 and unchanged today – is to help binational couples, asylum seekers and those impacted by HIV immigration discrimination.

 

Other calls and emails are answered as quickly as possible, but given our staffing limitations this may take several days. Because our services are free, we never prioritize anyone based on their ability to pay. Because our resources are limited, we always respond to the most urgent requests first.

 

If you have a legal emergency – such as immediate deportation, current detention, etc. – please call our legal team, if at all possible. We accept collect calls from detention facilities. Otherwise, the quickest way to ensure a response to your inquiry is via our online contact form. Each message is reviewed by a member of our legal team, and we respond as quickly as possible.

 

Keep in mind that we are a small legal aid team, offering free legal counsel to a very large community of LGBT immigrants and their American family members. We do our best to be as responsive as possible, and we need everyone’s patience as we work to stop imminent deportations . . . help individuals who are detained . . . and win safe haven for asylum seekers who, because of legal requirements, have especially time-sensitive needs.