U.S. Department of Justice Executive Office for Immigration Review Office of Legal Access Programs OMB#1125-0012 Request for New Recognition, Renewal of Recognition, Extension of Recognition of a Non-Profit Religious, Charitable, Social Service, or Similar Organization GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS Please read carefully before completing and submitting Form EOIR-31 A. When to submit a Form EOIR-31: New Recognition · Organizations must use this form (Form EOIR-31) when requesting recognition as a non-profit religious, charitable, social service, or similar organization approved to designate a representative or representatives to provide immigration legal services on behalf of its clients before the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) (i.e., the immigration courts and the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA)) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), or before DHS only. Approved applicants will appear on the roster of recognized organizations maintained by EOIR's Office of Legal Access Programs. Organizations must use a different form, Form EOIR-31A, to request accreditation of a representative to provide immigration legal services on behalf of its clients before EOIR and DHS, or before DHS only. A separate request for accreditation (Form EOIR-31A) is required for each proposed representative. An organization must file at least one request for accreditation at the same time that it is applying for new recognition. Organizations may file for accreditation of additional representatives any time after approval of recognition. Approved applicants will appear on the roster of accredited representatives maintained by EOIR's Office of Legal Access Programs. · Renewal of Recognition · Recognized organizations must use this form (Form EOIR-31) when seeking to renew recognition. o Organizations recognized by the Office of Legal Access Programs after January 17, 2017. Organizations conditionally recognized must renew two (2) years after the initial approval of recognition; all other organizations must renew six (6) years after the last approval of renewal of recognition unless otherwise specified below. To determine when your organization should request renewal, check the recognition approval letter from OLAP or the Roster of Recognized Organizations and Accredited Representatives to determine the expiration date of recognition. o Organizations recognized by the Board of Immigration Appeals prior to January 17, 2017, the effective date of the rule amending the requirements for recognition and accreditation, must initially renew recognition at different time periods: 1-year, 2-years, or 3-years after the effective date, based on the following criteria: For more information about requesting recognition, visit the EOIR website at: http://www.justice.gov/eoir/ra.htm Page 1 of 7 Form EOIR-31 Rev. Jan. 2017 American LegalNet, Inc. www.FormsWorkFlow.com o For organizations without an accredited representative on January 17, 2017 ­ organizations must seek renewal within 1-year of January 17, 2017 o For organizations that were recognized more than 10 years prior to January 17, 2017 ­ organizations must seek renewal within 2-years of January 17, 2017 o For organizations that were recognized less than 10 years prior to January 17, 2017 ­ organizations must seek renewal within 3-years of January 17, 2017 · For headquarters or designated office with extension(s) to branch offices that are approved by OLAP under 8 CFR § 1292.15, the headquarters or designated office's recognition approval date is the date that triggers the renewal requirements for all offices. For example, the headquarters or designated office of an organization was recognized more than 10 years prior to January 17, 2017, but branch offices of the organization were separately recognized five (5) and three (3) years prior to that date. For the headquarters and the branch offices to remain recognized, the organization must apply for renewal of recognition within two (2) years of January 17, 2017. The organization may also seek extension of its recognition to additional offices or locations at that time. Extension of Recognition · Organizations requesting recognition and currently recognized organizations must use this form (Form EOIR-31) when seeking to extend or renew extension of recognition from the organization's headquarters or designated office to any other office or location where the organization regularly offers immigration legal services. The name and address of the extended locations will be included on the roster of recognized organizations once approved. Representatives accredited at the organization's headquarters or designated office location may serve clients at any of the other approved offices or locations. B. Where to submit a Form EOIR-31: R&A Coordinator Office of Legal Access Programs Executive Office for Immigration Review 5107 Leesburg Pike, Suite 1900 Falls Church, VA 22041 C. How to request new recognition, renewal of recognition, or extension of recognition: Part 1. · Provide the organization's complete name, including any other names under which it is doing business or that it previously used to request recognition or accreditation. Also, provide the organization's contact information. The organization's physical location (street address) must be provided; a post office box number is not acceptable. Part 2. For more information about requesting recognition, visit the EOIR website at: http://www.justice.gov/eoir/ra.htm Page 2 of 7 Form EOIR-31 Rev. Jan. 2017 American LegalNet, Inc. www.FormsWorkFlow.com Only choose one of the following items to show what action you are requesting with this form: · New Recognition: Check this box if you are an organization which: (1) has never requested recognition; (2) previously requested recognition and the request was disapproved; or (3) previously had been approved for recognition and then the organization's recognition was terminated. If the organization previously had its request for recognition disapproved or its recognition terminated, please provide the date of the disapproval or termination. Renewal of Recognition: Check this box if you are an organization which is currently recognized and seeking to renew your recognition. o An organization seeking renewal that has no extended office or location and has had no changes to the information provided in Part 5 through Part 8 of this form since the last date of approval of recognition may skip those parts and continue