For years now, LinkedIn has teamed up with IIBA to help immigrants seeking economic opportunity and stability in the United States.
Since 2017, LinkedIn’s Pro Bono Team has helped people achieve their dreams of U.S. citizenship, by hosting IIBA’s naturalization workshops on LinkedIn’s Campus and by providing pro bono support for the workshops. LinkedIn’s Pro Bono Team has also worked with IIBA’s legal team to make sure young immigrants can successfully renew their DACA status, granting them work authorization and protection from deportation.
Hanh Vo, Vice President of Commercial Legal at LinkedIn and the co-founder of LinkedIn’s Pro Bono Team, says, “LinkedIn’s vision is to create economic opportunity for every member of the workforce, so IIBA’s DACA and naturalization workshops were a natural fit for LinkedIn’s Pro Bono Program.”
Hanh, herself an immigrant, said many of the individuals on the LinkedIn Pro Bono Team are immigrants themselves.
This year, with community safety in mind, IIBA converted our in-person workshops to remote workshops using Zoom. Since then, LinkedIn’s Pro Bono Team has supported two virtual DACA renewal workshops and one citizenship workshop, helping 30 individuals renew their DACA status and 20 eligible green card holders apply for U.S. Citizenship.
Abby Haregewoin, a Business System Analyst at LinkedIn, grew up in Ethiopia and moved to the United States at the age of seven. As a member of the LinkedIn Pro Bono Team, she says IIBA’s work is close to her heart.
“I support IIBA because it’s the right thing to do. If you are in a position to help, you should help others. We don’t choose where we’re born or the circumstances we have to deal with, so if you are able to make it here, and you need help, I’m glad there are organizations like IIBA to help.”
