Pros
Exposure to a wide variety of cases, including complex family-based cases, natz, humanitarian cases (U visas, etc.). The clients you travel to visit in rural Illinois are extremely appreciative because of the lack of immigration service providers in their area. The agency has positive working relationship with NIJC and other Chicago area immigration experts, leading to mentorship opportunities for those complex cases. Since the agency is so small, you often work under minimal supervision. As long as you get the work done and keep up with your deadlines, you will most likely be given this freedom throughout the duration of your employment. A great arrangement if you are a self-motivated worker. Once you have proved yourself competent in the basic case areas, you may be able to take on asylum and a limited amount of removal defense, as long as it doesn't interfere with your other cases. Wonderful co-workers. This is not a bad place to get your foot in the door of immigration law. You will learn a lot, both about immigration law, non-profit dynamics, and the challenges or serving clients in a rural area. Note that although the salary is low, the cost of living in Normal, Illinois (including rent prices) is extremely low. The actual management of staff on a day to day basis was less than ideal during my time at the Immigration Project. However, Charlotte Alvarez was recently promoted to Executive Director. From my brief time working with her (when she was a Staff Attorney), she was a real sweetheart. Very caring, competent, and got along with everyone. She is maybe the one person savvy, and diplomatic, enough to handle this particular Board of Directors. As we all know, your manager’s personality makes all of the difference in the world. As long as Charlotte is in charge, I would count that as a definite plus.
Cons
The location is not an exciting one for a young, single law grad (the key is to take frequent trips to Chicago). Insufficient vacation time, especially in light of the evenings and weekends sacrificed for outreach events. The Board, unfortunately, doesn't see it this way. Other benefits (retirement, healthcare) could also be improved. Few chances to represent clients in court, since the agency traditionally hasn't focused on removal defense (reasonable since the court is 3 hours away in Chicago). The lack of paid administrative support means you will be helping with mail, copying your own cases, answering all of your own calls, etc. This can be distracting and lengthen the time it takes to get through actual case work. A lot of competition in Illinois among non-profits for a small number of grants. This fact, in combination with the state's budgetary problems, leads to a less than ideal environment for non-profit work.