AILA Partners with Nonprofit Lender to Help Immigrants Pay Legal Costs

Jessica Folker, Law Week Colorado, Feb. 18, 2022

"Earlier this month, the American Immigration Lawyers Association and nonprofit lender Capital Good Fund announced a partnership to help immigrants pay for legal costs. Under the new program, Capital Good Fund became AILA’s preferred immigration loan partner for funding immigration legal services. Capital Good Fund currently offers small personal loans in nine states to help low-income families get through financial emergencies, pay for immigration costs and make their homes safer and more energy efficient. Since its inception in 2009, the Rhode Island-based nonprofit has provided more than $2 million in immigration loans. The loans can be used to cover attorney fees, immigration detention bonds and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services filing fees, which can exceed $1,000 for a single form. Clients may borrow up to $20,000, but the average immigration loan is about $5,500, according to Capital Good Fund founder and CEO Andy Posner."