APALC provides legal information, counseling and representation to individuals, especially those who speak little or no English, on the telephone or in person. APALC prioritizes issues affecting immigrant and low-income communities.
Immigration & Citizenship
APALC helps individuals with immigration and citizenship issues. With local partner organizations, APALC provides free citizenship assistance in Los Angeles and Orange counties, as well as across California and the nation. APALC collaborates with community-based groups to hold free immigration workshops and also takes a limited number of immigration cases at low or no cost.
Domestic Violence and Family Law
APALC assists low-income and limited English speaking survivors of domestic violence with family law and immigration services, including helping them obtain restraining orders, child custody, and support orders and to achieve legal status without the help of their abuser. APALC also assists victims of labor or sex trafficking with obtaining legal status.
Housing
APALC helps those facing foreclosures or evictions, with a focus on limited English speaking immigrants. In addition to aiding homeowners in obtaining loan modifications, APALC has represented AA and NHPI homeowners victimized by loan modification scams. APALC also represents low-income tenants facing eviction from their apartments or rental homes.
Legal Intake in Asian Languages
The Asian Language Legal Intake Project (ALLIP) provides toll-free hotlines in Cambodian (Khmer), Chinese (Mandarin and Cantonese), Korean, Thai, and Vietnamese. The intake staff also provides help in English, Tagalog, and other languages. Callers receive resources, counseling or referral to an APALC attorney or another legal aid organization on issues such as housing, domestic violence, family law, immigration, citizenship, consumer fraud, employment, and discrimination.
Orange County
APALC’s Orange County office conducts legal clinics and self-help workshops for the AA and NHPI communities. In partnership with the Orange County courts, APALC holds regular Vietnamese-language family law workshops. APALC also provides legal assistance to a limited number of Orange County-based immigrant survivors of domestic violence.
