Internships

Refugee and Immigrant Program Interpretation and Translation Internship

Please note that internship applications must be submitted using the form on our website.

The Refugee and Immigrant Program welcomes interns to specialize in foreign language translation and interpretation. This is our first semester offering this internship and we are excited to work in collaboration with our inaugural intern class to deepen the service we provide our clients and community. We are interested in working both with those pursuing interpretation, translation, or a related field academically or professionally, as well as with those whose experience with this type of work has been within their community. The number of hours worked per week can range from 1-40, depending on the availability of the applicant and the demand for services in the language(s) they know. 

Primary duties and responsibilities

• Interpreting meetings between volunteer attorneys and clients seeking asylum, visas for survivors of trafficking and status for child immigrants.
• Interpreting interviews between Advocates staff and potential new clients. 
• Translating legal documents (e.g., birth certificates, police reports, etc.) in support of clients' applications. 
• Assisting in the drafting of clients' statements and declarations in support of their applications. 

Experience and qualifications

• Experience interpreting (spoken) and/or translating (written) between two or more languages.
• Interest in refugees, immigrants, and other new arrivals to Minnesota, North Dakota, and South Dakota (internship can be performed from anywhere).
• Inter-cultural competency.

Required Skills

• Spoken fluency in English and at least one other language required.
• Preference for written fluency in English and at least one other language.
• High preference for those with native or near native fluency in at least one of the following languages (listed alphabetically): Dari, French, Oromo, Pashto, Russian, Somali, Spanish, Ukrainian.
• Preference for those who in addition to one of the above languages are also fluent in one of the following (listed alphabetically):Afar, Amharic, Arabic, Ewe, Fula, Garifuna, Ixil, K'iche' Kiswahili, Kreyòl, Krio, Mam, Miskito, Mixtec, Portuguese, Q'eqchi', Quechua, Tigrinya, Wolof.

Questions?

Please see our Frequently Asked Questions page. If your question is not answered in there, you can email internships@advrights.org. Please note that internship applications must be submitted using the form on our website.