NIJC's New Advocate Training: What It Means for Chicago Immigrants

You got a Notice to Appear and nobody explained what happens next. Maybe someone mentioned a new training program where community members learn to help people like you, and now you're wondering whether that's the same as hiring a lawyer, or something less. It isn't the same, and knowing the difference before your first hearing date can be the difference between staying in the country and a removal order entered while you weren't even in the room.

The National Immigrant Justice Center's Advocate Training Center, announced in 2025 (per NIJC, nijc.org), trains lay community members and nonprofit staff to become DOJ-accredited representatives under 8 C.F.R. § 1292.12. Accredited representatives can appear in immigration court for nonprofit clients, but they are not licensed attorneys and cannot file federal circuit court appeals.

The Hard Truth

Accreditation Is Not a Law License

NIJC's Advocate Training Center is a real resource, and training more people to understand the system helps families who would otherwise face Chicago Immigration Court (55 E. Monroe Street) with no guidance at all. But a DOJ-accredited representative is not a substitute for a licensed attorney, and conflating the two can cost someone their case.

A fully accredited representative, approved under 8 C.F.R. § 1292.12 through EOIR's Office of Legal Access Programs, can file forms, submit evidence, and appear in immigration court on behalf of a recognized nonprofit's clients. A partially accredited representative is limited to practice before USCIS, not the immigration court or the Board of Immigration Appeals. Neither category can file a petition for review in a U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals — that filing requires admission to that specific circuit's bar, something only a licensed attorney can hold. If your case ends with the Board of Immigration Appeals denying relief, the next step is federal court, and an accredited representative cannot take you there.

EOIR's published guidance for recognition and accreditation applicants indicates the review process for an organization's Form EOIR-31 and an individual's Form EOIR-31A commonly runs 90 to 180 days from filing (per EOIR Office of Legal Access Programs, justice.gov/eoir/office-legal-access-programs). If your Notice to Appear already has a hearing date set, that timeline alone tells you whether a community training program can produce an accredited advocate before your case is decided.

What Happens If You Wait

What Missing a Step Actually Costs

Under INA § 240(b)(5), 8 U.S.C. § 1229a(b)(5), an immigration judge can order someone removed in absentia if they miss a scheduled hearing after receiving proper notice. No advocate, accredited or not, can undo that order afterward by explaining that the person was confused about who was representing them. Reopening an in absentia order requires a motion filed within strict limits set by the same statute, and judges routinely deny motions that arrive late or without a specific, documented reason.

Deadlines compound on a crowded docket. Chicago Immigration Court was carrying more than 50,000 pending matters as of early 2025, according to Syracuse University's TRAC Immigration project (trac.syr.edu), which tracks EOIR data nationwide. A docket that size means continuances are not automatic, and a respondent who shows up without representation at a merits hearing may be told to proceed that day. Deciding whether a program volunteer, an accredited representative, or a licensed attorney fits your case is a decision with a clock attached, not an open-ended one.

Step-by-Step Process

What NIJC's Advocate Training Center Actually Does

NIJC announced the Advocate Training Center in 2025 to expand the number of people in Chicago who can legally assist immigrants beyond NIJC's own in-house staff (per NIJC's announcement, nijc.org). NIJC's published program materials describe an existing caseload serving thousands of immigrants, refugees, and asylum seekers across the Chicago area each year (per NIJC, nijc.org); the training center is built to extend that capacity by preparing lay community members and partner-nonprofit staff for DOJ recognition and accreditation under 8 C.F.R. § 1292.12 — not to replace attorney representation in contested removal cases.

Steps From Notice to Appear to a Decision

Receiving the Notice to Appear. This document lists the allegations and the charge of removability and should state an initial hearing date and location, often Chicago Immigration Court at 55 E. Monroe Street. Read the INA section cited on the form.
Deciding who represents you. Under the EOIR Immigration Court Practice Manual, Chapter 2, a respondent may proceed pro se, retain a licensed attorney, or — if eligible through a recognized nonprofit — use a DOJ-accredited representative. A Notice of Entry of Appearance (Form EOIR-28) must be filed with the court, consistent with the appearance framework at 8 C.F.R. § 1003.38(b).
Filing through ECAS. Chicago Immigration Court requires represented respondents to file electronically through EOIR's Electronic Case Access System. A volunteer still learning the system can cause delay here; missed ECAS filings are a common, avoidable cause of adverse rulings.
Master calendar hearing. The judge confirms representation, takes pleadings, and sets a schedule for evidence and a merits hearing. Unrepresented respondents lose ground most often by not knowing what the judge is asking for at this stage.
Merits hearing and relief applications. Contested applications for asylum, cancellation of removal, or other relief are litigated with testimony and evidence here. See our asylum claims and cancellation of removal pages for the evidence standards involved.
If detained, a separate bond process. Someone held on the Chicago-area detained docket can request a custody redetermination hearing, argued separately from the removal case itself. See our bond hearings page.
If the judge denies relief, the appeal clock starts. A notice of appeal to the Board of Immigration Appeals is due within 30 days of the written decision under 8 C.F.R. § 1003.38(b). Our BIA appeals page covers that filing. If the Board denies the appeal, the next filing is a petition for review in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the circuit covering the case, which requires an attorney admitted to that circuit's bar.

A Real-World Example

A Composite Example: How the Advocate-to-Attorney Handoff Works

This is a composite, illustrative scenario built from common patterns in Chicago removal cases, not a real client. A woman without status is served a Notice to Appear after a traffic stop. A community organization connects her with a volunteer who completed NIJC's advocate training and is working toward accreditation. The volunteer helps her understand the charge on the Notice to Appear and accompanies her to the first master calendar hearing, where the judge confirms the allegations and sets a filing deadline for any application for relief.

Because her case involves a contested legal question about whether a prior conviction triggers removability, the volunteer refers her to a licensed attorney before the filing deadline, a referral the EOIR Practice Manual anticipates by distinguishing full and partial accreditation from attorney representation. The attorney substitutes into the case through Form EOIR-28, requests time to gather country-conditions evidence, and prepares her to testify. At each stage, the file moves through the same sequence: master calendar hearing, evidentiary deadline, merits hearing, and, if necessary, a notice of appeal within the 30-day window under 8 C.F.R. § 1003.38(b). None of this tells you how her case will turn out. What it shows is the exact point where a volunteer's training runs out and a law license becomes necessary.

William J. Vasquez handles removal defense, bond hearings, and appeals before the Board of Immigration Appeals for clients in the Chicago Immigration Court system. His practice includes cases referred after a nonprofit's initial screening or community advocate contact, the same handoff point described in NIJC's own training model, where a case moves from an accredited representative to an attorney once a contested legal issue or a federal appellate question arises. He is admitted to practice law and represents clients in matters involving the Immigration and Nationality Act, including § 240 removal proceedings and motions to reopen under the ineffective-assistance framework set out in Matter of Lozada, 19 I&N Dec. 637 (BIA 1988).

Key Terms Explained

Notice to Appear (NTA): The charging document that initiates removal proceedings under INA § 240, 8 U.S.C. § 1229a, listing the factual allegations and the ground of removability.

DOJ Recognition and Accreditation: A program under 8 C.F.R. § 1292.12, administered by EOIR's Office of Legal Access Programs, that lets a nonprofit organization ('recognition') and specific staff or volunteers at that organization ('accreditation') represent clients without a law license, within defined limits.

Fully vs. partially accredited representative: A fully accredited representative may appear before the immigration court and the Board of Immigration Appeals; a partially accredited representative is limited to matters before USCIS.

EOIR: The Executive Office for Immigration Review, the Department of Justice component that runs the immigration courts and the Board of Immigration Appeals (justice.gov/eoir).

ECAS: EOIR's Electronic Case Access System, which Chicago Immigration Court requires represented respondents to use for filings, per the EOIR Immigration Court Practice Manual, Chapter 2.

Matter of Lozada: A 1988 Board of Immigration Appeals decision, 19 I&N Dec. 637, setting the procedural requirements a respondent must meet to claim ineffective assistance of counsel as grounds for a motion to reopen.

In absentia order: A removal order entered under INA § 240(b)(5) when a respondent who received proper notice fails to appear for a scheduled hearing.

Petition for review: The filing that asks a U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to review a final BIA decision; it requires an attorney admitted to that specific circuit's bar.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Can a DOJ-accredited representative trained through NIJC's program replace a lawyer in my removal case? A: Not entirely. A fully accredited representative can appear in immigration court for a recognized nonprofit's clients under 8 C.F.R. § 1292.12, but only a licensed attorney can file a petition for review if your case reaches a U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

Q: How long does it take to become a DOJ-accredited representative in Illinois? A: EOIR's Office of Legal Access Programs reports that recognition and accreditation applications (Form EOIR-31 and EOIR-31A) commonly take 90 to 180 days to process, per EOIR's published guidance at justice.gov/eoir/office-legal-access-programs.

Q: What happens if I miss my immigration court hearing in Chicago? A: The judge can enter an in absentia removal order under INA § 240(b)(5), 8 U.S.C. § 1229a(b)(5), if you received proper notice. Reopening that order requires a timely motion with a specific, documented reason for the absence.

Q: Does NIJC's Advocate Training Center cost anything to attend? A: NIJC describes its program as free, ongoing training for community members and nonprofit staff, distinct from fee-based continuing-education coursework some other organizations offer for accreditation preparation (per NIJC, nijc.org).

Q: If a community advocate helped me at my first hearing, can I still hire an attorney later? A: Yes. Switching from an accredited representative or self-representation to a licensed attorney at any point is done by filing a Notice of Entry of Appearance (Form EOIR-28) with the court, consistent with the EOIR Immigration Court Practice Manual, Chapter 2.

Clients who work with our office describe a process where someone explains each filing before it happens: what the ECAS docket shows, what the next hearing date requires, what a denial would mean for the next step. We don't publish outcome statistics. Immigration court results depend on the specific judge, the specific facts, and the specific relief available, and anyone who promises a result before reviewing your file is telling you something they can't back up.

If you're weighing whether a community advocate, a DOJ-accredited representative, or a licensed attorney is the right fit for your situation, that's a question worth answering before your next hearing date, not after.

Call our office to schedule a consultation on your removal defense case, bond hearing, or BIA appeal. We'll review your Notice to Appear, your hearing date, and whether your case involves the kind of contested legal issue that needs attorney representation rather than, or in addition to, a community advocate referral.

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