International Refugee Assistance Project

We founded the International Refugee Assistance Project (IRAP) in 2008 as a global legal aid and advocacy organization. We specialize in refugee law, offering services like appeals, legal aid, advocacy, resettlement, litigation, policy development, and pro bono support. We focus on climate displacement, family reunification, asylum, complementary pathways, humanitarian parole, special immigrant visas, general refugee resettlement, direct legal services, private sponsorship, and legal and digital resources. We mobilize legal resources to provide direct client services and advocate for refugees and displaced persons. Our goal is to ensure safe passage to destination countries and influence legal practice in the US and globally to promote humane treatment for these individuals.

We use multiple strategies, including legal aid, strategic litigation, policy advocacy, media advocacy, and sharing legal information, to advance the rights of people seeking safety worldwide. This approach helps us deliver direct legal services, share legal knowledge, and drive systemic advocacy. As a virtual public interest law firm, we offer free, high-quality legal services to displaced individuals no matter where they are. We have offices in the United States, Jordan, Lebanon, and Germany, and a large network of pro bono attorneys and student advocates.

Our work has a measurable impact: we have provided legal aid to over 44,000 displaced people. Our policy advocacy has helped over 570,000 people. Our systemic litigation department has also won many court cases, opening and expediting pathways to safety in the U.S. for nearly 710,000 individuals.

Beyond direct services, we create and share content for external audiences. This includes developing and distributing legal information resources in text and multimedia formats. We also manage updates to our Legal Information website, assist with UX/UI and information architecture, and build internal systems to streamline workflows. We conduct client-focused work like fact-finding, client interviews, and intake processes, along with legal research and preparing practitioner guides. Our U.S. Litigation Department drives systemic change through impact litigation in immigration and refugee rights. Our Global Pro Bono Department works with partner networks to deliver high-impact projects. We also coordinate with partners, research stories, and produce original written and visual content for various digital platforms.

Our mission is to create a world where refugees and all people seeking safety can claim their right to freedom of movement and a path to lasting refuge. We believe everyone should have a safe place to live and a safe way to get there. Our work is centered on the experiences and needs of displaced people, ensuring it is client-focused and responsive to their real-world challenges.

We are also committed to core values that shape our internal culture and external engagement. We strive to be an equitable and anti-racist organization. We know that a diverse team is crucial for a strong workplace and for effectively serving our diverse client base. We actively pursue diversity, equity, inclusion, and access (DEIA), which influences our hiring practices and internal support structures. We encourage applications from individuals with lived experiences in the communities we serve, members of other marginalized communities, and those whose identities are underrepresented in the legal profession. We aim to build a team that reflects the populations we assist.

Our compensation framework also reflects our values. We use established salary scales to promote transparency and fairness. Our compensation goals are to pay competitively to attract and retain talented staff, ensure staff are treated equally regardless of nationality, and maintain financially sustainable wages for our long-term impact. This approach ensures our internal operations match our external advocacy for human rights and justice.

We have 51 to 200 employees. We are an adaptive organization that responds to fast-changing human displacement events worldwide. Our work environment emphasizes collaboration, both among staff and with clients and partners. This collaborative approach helps us find gaps in support for displaced people that we can address through our direct legal services, legal knowledge sharing, and systemic advocacy.

We cultivate a culture of equity, displacement awareness, and strong collaboration with refugee communities. We are committed to being an equitable and anti-racist organization, knowing that a diverse team is vital for a strong workplace and for providing excellent service to our clients. We support this commitment with initiatives to enhance staff well-being and professional growth. We invest in staff bonding and team building, organizing in-person retreats for strategic planning and connecting. Each office also receives a monthly budget for team bonding activities to build camaraderie and a supportive atmosphere.

Professional development is central to our culture. We support staff career growth with dedicated funding for workshops, training, and language classes, enabling continuous learning and skill enhancement. We know our work can be emotionally demanding, so we offer resiliency groups. These groups provide a private, safe space for employees to discuss personal and professional challenges related to their work, supporting mental and emotional well-being. Our commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion, and access is also clear in our support and funding for staff-led affinity groups. These groups focus on marginalized communities, individuals facing historical barriers to an equitable and inclusive work environment, and people with lived experiences in the communities we serve. This reinforces an inclusive and supportive workplace for everyone.

We provide a comprehensive and generous benefits package that is equitable across all office locations, while also adhering to local laws and requirements. We are dedicated to supporting the well-being of our employees and their families.

Medical Health & Wellness: We cover 100% of all premiums for employee medical insurance. This coverage extends to eligible family members, including spouses, children, and where legally permissible, domestic partners. For staff with medical coverage elsewhere or who choose a cost-sharing plan, we offer generous medical reimbursements. We also provide a wellness reimbursement for self-care activities like gym memberships, massages, meditation classes, or running shoes. We offer stipends for vision reimbursement and mental health support.

Retirement: U.S. full-time tax-paying staff can participate in a 401k plan with an employer match. We also contribute to government-administered retirement plans for eligible employees in our Lebanon office and are working to establish similar plans for staff in Germany and Jordan.

Parental Leave: We offer a generous program, allowing parents to take 17 weeks of leave after a birth or adoption. For staff traveling for work, we provide a childcare stipend. In Germany, statutory parental leave regulations apply, and leave can extend beyond six months.

Paid Time Off: All full-time employees accrue 20 vacation days annually. This includes a year-end break from December 25 to January 1, 5 personal days, and sick time. Our holiday allowance varies by office, typically from 17 to 20 days off per year. For example, staff in Germany receive 25 vacation days and unlimited sick time. In total, employees can expect 20 or more vacation days and 22 or more public/organizational holidays per year.

Sabbatical and Other Leave: Many staff members are eligible for a sabbatical program, offering extended leave of up to four months. We also provide additional paid leave for specific life events, including blood, bone marrow, and organ donation; bereavement; family military leave; religious observance; voting; and jury duty.

Work Arrangements: We support flexible work arrangements, offering remote internship options and remote work within the U.S. for certain positions. We also provide reimbursement for work-from-home equipment to support comfortable and productive remote work. We use transparent salary scales to ensure competitive and equitable compensation for all staff.