Programs & Services
Legal and Immigration Services
Know your rights
It is important to understand your legal rights as a young person living in New York City. The Door’s Legal Services Center is here to provide you with different kinds of legal counsel. We offer services in English, Spanish and Mandarin, and can access translators for many other languages. We can help if you are:
- A recent immigrant
- In deportation proceedings
- Undocumented, which means you are living in the United States without the proper paperwork
- In foster care
- Pregnant or caring for a child
- Homeless and/or living without your parents
- In need of public benefits, such as Section 8 housing, food stamps, Medicaid or welfare, social security, etc.
- In need of help with family law issues such as paternity, child support, domestic violence, child custody and visitation rights
- Having problems with your landlord
- Being victimized or stalked
- In need of proper forms of personal identification, such as a birth certificate, passport, non-driver’s license, etc.
*We do not take criminal or juvenile delinquency cases.
To Make an Appointment
The first step to getting legal help is to become a Door member. Once you are a member, there are two ways you can make an appointment:
- Walk in to our offices on the 3rd floor of The Door anytime Monday through Friday from 2:00 - 5:00 p.m.
- Call 212-941-9090, ext. 3280. If no one answers the phone, please leave a message and speak slowly, clearly and leave a phone number where we can call you back. Say your name and phone number twice so we can be sure to get the right information.
Emergency Intake
If you believe that your situation is an emergency, please alert a staff member in the Legal Services Center so that we can provide you with help as soon as possible. Examples of emergency situations include:
- Losing your housing, also called eviction
- Losing your public benefits
- Physical danger or violence
- Deportation proceedings
- Risk of having your children removed and put into foster care by the New York City Administration for Children’s Services (ACS)
- Being a victim of human trafficking, meaning that someone has illegally brought you to this country in exchange for payments or other benefits
Try to bring all relevant paperwork with you to your appointment.
Pro Bono Support
The Legal Services Center is grateful to our private law firm partners who make it possible for us to meet our clients’ needs. Current partners include:
Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft, LLP
Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP
Fragomen, Del Rey, Bernsen & Loewy, LLP
Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy LLP
Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP
Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP & Affiliates
To learn more about the Legal Services Center, contact legalstaff@door.org or call 212-941-9090, ext. 3280.