This Guidebook, available from the Cultural Orientation Resource Center, is intended to give refugees information about fundamental aspects of life in the United States and includes the following chapters: Pre-Arrival Processing, The Resettlement Agency, Community Services, Housing, Transportation, Employment, Education, Health, Managing your Money, Rights and Responsibilities, and Cultural Adjustment. You may download the guide in PDF format in a variety of languages, including:

• Amharic
• Arabic
• English
• Farsi
• Karen
• Kirundi
• Nepali
• Russian
• Somali
• Spanish
• Swahili
• Tigrigna

Established in 1982, the National Immigration Forum is the nation’s premier immigrant rights organization. The Forum is dedicated to embracing and upholding America’s tradition as a nation of immigrants. The Forum advocates and builds public support for public policies that welcome immigrants and refugees and are fair to and supportive of newcomers to our country.

A free website that enables immigrants to find local citizenship, civics, and/or English as a Second Language (ESL) classes (searchable by zip code) in communities nationwide.

Helpline 1-800-375-5283
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services website has location and filing information for immigration benefits, including political asylum. Free immigration forms may be downloadable or filed from this site. Case status information for cases pending with USCIS may be obtained. Be sure to review the Education & Resources section of the site to see the resources and training tools available.

The Language Portal is a digital library of close to 600 resources relating to the use of language access services in social services and public safety agencies.  The Portal includes legal guidelines, service models, master contracts for service providers, hourly translation and interpretation rates for different languages in key areas of the United States, pay differentials for multilingual staff, and sample translated documents.

Examining Asylum Seekers: A Health Professional's Guide to Medical and Psychological Evaluations of Torture is published by the organization, Physicians for Human Rights. Copies of the manual can be ordered from their website.

When writing affidavits, see especially section VII. Written Reports and Oral Testimony, p. 95-151.