personal statement examples immigration

• Table of Contents
• Preface & Acknowledgements
• Acronyms & Abbreviations
• 1. A Brief History
• 2. Sources of Law
• 3. Elements of Asylum Law
• 4. Precedential LGBTQ/H Asylum Cases
• 5. The One-Year Filing Deadline
• 6. Withholding of Removal
• 7. Relief Under CAT
• 8. Voluntary Departure
• 9. Real ID Act
• 10. Safe Third Country
• 11. Challenging Asylum Cases
• 12. Working with Asylum Seekers
• 13. Working with LGBTQ/H Asylum Seekers
• 14. Elements of an Application
• 15. Preparing the I-589
• 16. Sample I-589
• 17. Preparing the Asylum Declaration
• 18. Declaration Dos and Don’ts

19. Annotated Sample Declaration

• 20. Corroborating Client-Specific Documents
• 21. Corroborating Country Conditions
• 22. Indexed Country Conditions Sample
• 23. Sample Cover Letter
• 24. Assembling Everything
• 25. Affirmative Application Process
• 26. Immigration Court Proceedings
• 27. Board of Immigration Appeals
• 28. Federal Court Review
• 29. Detained Asylum Seekers
• 30. Obtaining an Employment Authorization Document
• 31. Asylee Status
• 32. Withholding Status
• 33. CAT Status
• Important Resources

The information contained herein is for reference only and may not be up to date. It does not constitute legal advice. You should always consult an attorney regarding your matter.

SAMPLE DECLARATION

UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY CITIZENSHIP AND IMMIGRATION SERVICES ASYLUM OFFICE LYNDHURST, NEW JERSEY IN THE MATTER OF: JOAO DOE

STATEMENT IN SUPPORT OF APPLICATION FOR POLITICAL ASYLUM

I, Joao Doe, declare under the penalty of perjury, pursuant to 18 U.S.C. sec. 1546, that the following is true and correct:

» Practice pointer: The declaration should begin with a brief introduction which lays out the basis of the asylum claim.

1. My name is Joao Doe. I was born on February 23, 1975 in Sao Bernardo do Campo, a suburb of Sao Paulo Brazil, and I am a thirty year old native and citizen of Brazil.

2. I am a gay man. In Brazil, there was and is such intense hatred and violence against actual or suspected homosexuals by the government, its police, death squads and society that I had to flee to the United States. As a gay man, I suffered public ridicule, beatings, and sexual abuse by police and prisoners. I struggled through my childhood and adolescence to hide my homosexuality, fearing rejection, violence and abuse from the police and others merely because I was different.

» Practice pointer: In general it is best to the use the term “gay man” or “lesbian” rather than “homosexual” as a self-definition. It is okay to use the terms interchangeably in the body of the declaration, but the noun “homosexual,” especially in the phrase, “I am a homosexual” sounds very clinical and has a slightly negative connotation.

3. Although I arrived in the United States on July 7, 2001, I was just diagnosed with HIV on July 18, 2005. In my country, people with HIV and AIDS are called AIDS carriers and mistreated by the government and society. There is much blame against gays for AIDS and therefore they perceive male persons with AIDS as homosexuals and mistreat them more. The fact that I am a gay man living with HIV makes me a greater target for future mistreatment in my country. While I have always been afraid to return to Brazil, now that I know that I am also HIV-positive, I am certain that returning to Brazil would be a death sentence. Because of this enormous change in my situation, I am now filing for asylum.

» Practice pointer: If the applicant has missed the one year filing deadline, this will certainly be an issue in the case. It is therefore important to address the issue head on.

» Practice pointer: Bold face point headings help make the declaration readable for the adjudicator.

» Practice pointer: Although childhood mistreatment will almost never, in and of itself, be sufficient to win an asylum claim, it is important for the adjudicator to have as full an understanding of what the applicant’s life was like in his country as possible.

4. I am the fourth of eight brothers and sisters. My father is a shoe repairman and my mother, a housewife. I was more effeminate than most young boys growing up. As a kid, my classmates ridiculed me at school and on the streets shouting “menina” (“girl”) or “viado” (“faggot.”) They’d sometimes shove me when we were at the playground.

» Practice pointer: When detailing specific bad names or incidents with name calling, it’s best to write out the exact word in the language in which it was spoken (or written) and include the English translation directly afterwards.

5. I remember one incident in particular. When I was maybe nine or ten years old, around 1985, I was walking home from a school and a group of boys were playing soccer. When I was walking by they stopped playing and whispered to each other and then asked me if I wanted to play with them. I was nervous because I wasn’t a very good player, but I was so happy to be asked to join in, that I put down my books and ran over to join them. As soon as I made it over to the players, one of them pushed me to the ground and said that soccer wasn’t a game for “viados” and that if wanted to join the game, I could be the ball. Then they all started kicking me, and I curled up to avoid getting hit on the head, and they were all laughing, “look he even looks like a ball.” At one point they were all laughing so hard, I had the chance to get up and run away.

6. I ran all the way home. I remember trying so hard not to cry in front of the boys when they were kicking me, but as soon as I got away, I couldn’t help crying and crying. In my rush to escape, I left my books behind. I was too ashamed to tell my family what had happened and I lied to my teacher about losing my books.

» Practice pointer: It is very important to include detailed accounts of specific incidents which the applicant recalls. It is in these details that the adjudicator can really understand what the applicant went through in the past and why the applicant fears returning. It is also easier for the adjudicator to judge the client’s credibility if there is a specific incident about which the adjudicator can elicit more details. Often applicants are reticent to discuss specific incidents and instead make broad statements like, “I was called names all the time.” Or “I was always getting beaten up.” It’s okay for the applicant to make broad statements like this, but it’s essential to also detail specific examples.

7. I was too young to understand why I was different but knew that I was not as masculine as my brothers and other boys my age. I had no friends as a boy since the other boys insulted me and didn’t want to be seen with me. I didn’t tell my family about these painful episodes because I didn’t want to alarm them and call more attention to the ways that I was different from other boys. My family avoided discussing my difference.

Adolescence

8. In 1989, when I was around thirteen or fourteen years old, I started to realize that I was physically attracted to other guys. I had always known that I was different from the other boys, and I’d always heard the name “faggot,” but it wasn’t until I was in my teens that I began to have real feelings for other guys and began to understand just what my “difference” meant.

» Practice pointer: Remember that in an asylum case based on sexual orientation, the first thing you need to prove to the adjudicator is that your client actually is gay. The best way to do this is by providing detailed information about his “coming out” process, including when he first began to realize that he was gay and when he had his first romantic relationship with another man.

9. In 1990, when I was fifteen, I began to work at a local grocery store during the day and attend school at night. Until then I had been ridiculed and ostracized because others saw that I was effeminate and therefore assumed that I was homosexual. But up to that point I had never acted on my feelings.

10. In 1991, when I was sixteen years old and still working at the grocery store, a man by the name of Jorge moved into town from a larger city and started working at the Post Office down the street from the store. In or around May, 1991, I was in the town park when Jorge approached me and persuaded me to have sexual relations with him in a dead end street. I say “persuaded” because he was much older and came from a big city and said that he was married. I felt uncomfortable having sex with someone I’d just met, but I was sixteen and had never had any sexual contact with anyone. I remember feeling really scared, but at the same time, feeling kind of relieved to finally confirm for myself that I was gay and that that’s why I’d always felt so different.

11. While I knew that this encounter in the park wasn’t going to become a lasting relationship, I never imagined what Jorge would do. After we had our encounter, Jorge told a classmate of mine, Paulo, that I had had sex with him.

12. Paulo began to blackmail me, threatening to tell everyone in school how I was in fact a “viado” (“faggot”) unless I brought him things from the store where I worked such as cigarettes, beer and food. I had no choice but to do what he told me because I was so afraid of how much worse my life would be if he told more of my classmates that I truly was homosexual.

» Practice pointer: Although purely private incidents with other students may not meet the definition of persecution (since there is no state involvement and no unsuccessful effort by the applicant to receive state protection) it is worth including these accounts because they help to paint a picture of the intolerance the applicant faces in his society.

13. Although Paulo never did tell my classmates, I spent the next two years in that school in constant fear. I was afraid of how much worse my life would be if everyone at school knew for sure that I was gay. I was also afraid that I’d get caught stealing from the store and have to explain to my boss and parents the reason I was taking things.

My Family Moves to Sao Paulo

14. In 1993, at age eighteen, my parents decided to move to Sao Paulo itself. I was relieved that we were moving because I could no longer take the ridicule and blackmail by my classmate and hoped that my life as a gay man would be better there. Once there, I did meet other gay men, and I thought that my life would be easier. However, I soon realized that in big cities the problems for gay people were even bigger as I now describe.

15. I had not yet graduated from high school and hoped that moving to a new city, I’d be able to make a new start. I still had one more year before I would graduate and thought that moving someplace new, I could leave my troubles behind me, but almost immediately, my new classmates suspected that I was gay and made my life miserable calling me not by my name but names like “bicha” (“faggot”). I was so miserable that I eventually stopped going to school.

16. I remember one occasion when I got into the classroom late, but still before the teacher came into the room. As soon as I entered the classroom, all of the other students burst into laughter. I took my seat, and tried not to look at them. Instead I looked at the board in the front of the room, where there was a drawing of a man with an erect penis having sex with a goat. An arrow pointed to the man with my name.

17. I remember opening a book and pretending to read so that I could try to ignore the other students. When the teacher came in, he started yelling at me, asking me if I’d drawn this picture, and the students all began laughing again. I was so humiliated, I just left the classroom without saying anything.

» Practice pointer: It is always best to include specific examples of mistreatment or problems which the applicant suffered. It is much more powerful for the reader to hear the details of a particular incident than for the applicant to make generalized statements like, “Other students always made fun of me.”

18. There were other times that I would remain in the classroom to avoid being publicly humiliated by the other students when I went outside. I actually filed complaints with the school director’s office. Instead of disciplining the other students, the director told me that if I would act more like a man, I would not have these problems with the other students.

» Practice pointer: It is important to state that the applicant filed complaints, if he did, because this helps show that what he suffered was not merely isolated incidents of adolescent cruelty, but rather that the institutions in his country did not protect him from this behavior.

19. Even though I only had half a year left to get my high school degree, in the winter of 1993, I dropped out of school. I remember that my mother was very disappointed because she always thought I’d go on to college and maybe become a lawyer or a doctor. Instead, I got a job working in a men’s clothing store called Armando’s.

20. I was relieved to be away from the abusive environment of the school at last, though I also felt depressed about my future. This was a hard time because I was still living with my family, but I couldn’t explain to them the real reason I left school. I just told them that there was no point to going to school and that I was old enough to earn my own money.

My First Relationship

» Practice pointer: To prove that the applicant actually is a member of the particular social group of “homosexuals,” it is important to include detailed information about relationships he had as proof of his sexual orientation.

21. After I’d been working at Armando’s for around six months, my life changed for the better. A young man came into the store looking to buy a suit, and I went over to ask him if he needed help. Immediately I felt a connection with him. I could sense him looking at me longer than he needed to and I felt nervous talking to him.

22. I helped him try on several suits. He told me his name was Ricardo and he asked me to meet him at a bar later. I remember feeling like I could barely breathe when I wrote down the address of the bar.

23. I met Ricardo later that night at a bar that was filled with men. It was the first time I’d been to a gay bar. I felt scared going in there because I knew these bars were sometimes raided by the police, but I also felt elated seeing all these gay men who were so comfortable being together.

24. As soon as I saw what kind of bar this was, I knew for sure that Ricardo was interested in me in the same way I was interested in him. Since I still lived with my family, we went to his apartment from the bar. This was an amazing night for me, to be with someone close to my age (Ricardo was 22), who seemed like he really liked me and was comfortable with being gay himself.

25. After that, Ricardo and I started to see each other regularly. This was an amazing period for me. After spending my whole life feeling like there was something wrong with me and like I’d never fit in, I finally found a person who was like me and who accepted me as I was. About nine months after I met Ricardo, in early 1995, I moved into his apartment with him.

26. I’m sure that while I was still living at home, my family had begun to understand the true nature of my relationship with Ricardo. We were together all the time. I started coming home very late, and sometimes not at all. And when we weren’t together we were talking on the phone. Although I could sense increasing tension with my family, everyone chose to ignore the situation and pretend that what they knew was happening wasn’t really happening.

27. Living with Ricardo was wonderful. We were finally free to be ourselves together without having to worry about when I’d get home or what my family might think. Knowing someone who had been “out” longer than I had was also very good for me. Ricardo introduced me to his other gay friends, and I soon had a whole circle of gay friends.

Problems with the Police

28. Even though my home life was improving, however, this didn’t mean that as a gay man I was free to live without fear in Brazil.

29. My friends and I never found peace on the streets since young heterosexual men would approach, insult and even attack us as “viados” (“faggots”) and AIDS carriers. Even then there were gangs of men who would drive by us in the plaza and throw rotten eggs, water balloons, sticks, and rocks at us shouting that we were faggots and AIDS carriers.

30. The police in Brazil, who are supposed to protect people, instead were often the most abusive towards gay people. We gay people could not defend ourselves against the police but only held our heads down and listened to them in silence. We always knew that if we made them angry, they had this special mistreatment called “telephone,” a technique where the police officer opened his two hands, lifted us his arms and brought them down hitting the person’s ears, causing intense pain and ringing in the ears.

31. I recall one night in 1996 that the police applied the telephone to my friend Claudio because they claimed that he was homosexual, out late at night and should be home and he spoke back to them.

32. Ricardo and I were at home at around 11:00 when Claudio knocked on our door, waking us up. His shirt was torn and he looked visibly shaken. I asked him what happened but he wouldn’t talk about it, he just asked if he could sleep on our couch. It wasn’t until the next morning that he told us what the police had done and about the “telephone” treatment he had received.

» Practice pointer: Since asylum claims are based on fear of future persecution as well as past persecution, it is helpful to include accounts of serious problems that other gay people the applicant knew experienced. As with the applicant’s own experiences, it’s important to include details rather than to generalize.

I Am Raped by a Policeman because I Am Gay

33. In the summer of 1996 I suffered a terrible experience which still haunts me. I was coming home at night from eating dinner out with some friends. After I’d walked a few blocks from the restaurant towards the bus stop, a man who seemed drunk approached me and told me to walk with him. I told him I did not have time and tried to walk away from him. He then grabbed me, called me “a faggot” and told me not to do anything funny because he had a gun. He forced me to walk with him all the way up a hill near a sawmill, located on the other side of the train tracks. He then pulled down his pants and forced me to perform oral sex on him at gunpoint. Afterwards, he made me take off my clothes and raped me. When he finished, he put his gun into my anus and told me to be still, otherwise he would pull the trigger. He warned me that if I told anyone, he’d kill me. He left me there at the sawmill alone, crying. I made my way home.

34. I pulled myself together before I got home, and I decided not to tell Ricardo about what had happened. To this day, I don’t really understand why I didn’t tell him. But that night I just felt dirty and used, and felt, somehow like I was at fault for this happening. I worried that Ricardo wouldn’t want to be with me any more if he knew.

35. I was angry about what happened, but I also feared reporting this experience to the authorities given his threat. After this happened, I was scared to leave my home because I was afraid I might see him again and he might abuse me sexually again. Even though I didn’t tell Ricardo what had happened, our relationship changed after this. About two months after the rape, the two of us broke up, though we remained friends. I moved out of Ricardo’s apartment and shared an apartment with another gay friend named Silvio. Silvio and I became good friends, but were never romantically involved.

» Practice pointer: It is always helpful to get affidavits or letters from the applicant’s former partner(s) confirming their relationship as another way of proving the applicant’s sexual orientation.

36. In June, I learned who the man that raped me was when I saw his photograph in the Diario Do Rio Doce newspaper. His name was Joaquim Cruz and he was an undercover member of the Policia Militar de Governador Valadares, PMGV, the military police. The newspaper reported on his death. He was killed in retaliation for having allegedly killed a young couple with a hammer. When I realized that he had been a military police officer, I was even more thankful that I did not report him to the authorities. Now that he was dead, I felt a little safer but that would not last for long.

» Practice pointer: It is always important to explain whether or not the applicant reported the mistreatment to the authorities. If the applicant did report the incident, what was the result? If the applicant did not report the incident, why not? Even when the applicant suffers harm directly from government agents (like police officers) adjudicators may want to know whether the applicant reported the incident to a higher authority within the government. The applicant should explain why he didn’t feel safe doing so, even if the reason (i.e. the police already abused him) seems obvious to him.

My Second Incident with the Police

» Practice pointer: Incidents of mistreatment directly at the hands of the government are the clearest examples of persecution. It is crucial to provide in-depth, detailed accounts of any problems the applicant experienced with the police, military or other government agencies.

37. On another occasion, in around March, 1997, at around 9:30 p.m., I was sitting in the Plaza Italia with my friends Silvio and Nelson, talking with other gay friends when all of a sudden four police cars pulled up with two police officers in each car. They said to one another, “There are the faggots” and pointed their guns at us. They ordered us to get in their cars because the Police Chief wanted to see us. We asked why but they refused to answer but said that we would soon know why. When we got to the police station, we continued to ask why we were under arrest, and the police officers continued to insult us as “viados” (“faggots”), and ordered us to shut up and behave since otherwise we would be beaten.

38. The commanding officer directed us into a room and ordered us to get undressed down to our underwear and get in a line to be processed for the cell. At the head of the line there were two police officers holding a “cacetete,” a weapon made of hard rubber with a wooden handle. They ordered us to walk by them to the cell. Each time we passed, they smacked us hard twice in the buttocks saying this was our stamp to get in the cell. Being hit by the “cacete” was very painful.

39. The commanding officer forced us into a ten foot by ten foot cell with a cement floor and six common criminals. The officer told the criminals “here come your girlfriends, rape them and do what you want with them.” He encouraged the criminals to sexually abuse us! The criminals clarified that they were in there for some time for different kinds of offenses from fights, to car thefts and drugs.

40. As soon as the officer left, the criminals attacked us, pairing up, making us perform oral sex and raping us. I cried to myself as I endured this rape by two criminals. I knew that we were outnumbered and the police condoned the criminals’ actions, so there was nothing I could do to escape.

41. At sunrise, when a guard came to the cell to check on us, we asked when we were to see the Police Chief. The guard told us that it might not be until tomorrow if he decides to take the day off. I became petrified that I was to be detained without charges indefinitely at the mercy of these criminals and their sexual abuse.

42. Thankfully a few hours later, an officer finally came to bring us from the cell to see the Police Chief. We were ordered up against the wall when the Chief came in. In front of the other officers, the Chief insulted us as “viados” (“faggots”) and asked us how we enjoyed the evening in the cell. He ordered us to walk across the room, still in our underwear, saying that we walked like faggots. He warned us that he did not want to hear anything about us or see us hanging out on the street, since the next time, we would not be released the following day but be kept in jail for our faggot ways. He then ordered us to get dressed and sent us out of the police station. “Look at the faggots walk,” the Chief and other officers laughed as we left. It was therefore now completely clear to me that the Chief and police had detained me and my friends and encouraged the criminals to sexually abuse us as punishment simply because we were gay.

43. I suffered bruises from the criminals’ rape all over, including in my rectum and I could not sit down for days from the pain. I did not seek medical attention for fear of being identified as a homosexual by the doctor and mistreated. I did not report the actions of the police since it was the police themselves who told the criminals to abuse us. I believed if I tried to make some sort of complaint, I would only be attacked again by the police. In Brazil, gay men frequently “disappear” and I feared for my life if the police thought I was a troublemaker.

» Practice pointer: If the applicant suffers an injury which requires medical treatment, it’s important to obtain the medical records. If the applicant did not seek medical treatment, it’s important to explain why not since the adjudicator may wonder why the applicant has not provided medical records otherwise.

My Third Incident with the Police

44. About one month after the arrest, on the Wednesday before Good Friday of 1997, at around 8:30 p.m., I was with my friend Silvio, and another friend, Jose, just walking down the street together, when we saw two police cars approaching. The sight of the police sent us running for our lives given the Chief’s previous threat against us if the police found us again. I could not escape too far but scrambled up a bushy tree from where I could not see much of what happened but could hear everything. I heard the police officers shout “stop!” I heard one of my friends, Jose, begging the officers to let him go because he had done nothing wrong. The police said that he looked like a faggot and that they would take him to the station. “Get in,” they shouted to him and drove off.

45. After they left, I got down from the tree thankful that I had not been discovered but panicked over what might happen to Jose. I later learned that they detained him overnight without charges. He wouldn’t speak with us about what happened to him in jail, so I suspect that he was also subjected to sexual abuse.

46. During this time, I had started to take classes at night so that I could get my high school graduation certificate. I had begun to realize that I wouldn’t have any future if I didn’t go back to school. In the fall of 1997, I began to take business classes part-time at the University of Sao Paulo while continuing to work at the clothes store.

My Fourth Incident with the Police

47. At the end of February, 1998, I went to Rio de Janeiro to spend Carnaval. On a Saturday night at around midnight, I was walking in a park with an acquaintance named David when two police officers suddenly appeared. The officers demanded to know what we were doing. We told them that we were only talking, which was the truth. The officers called us liars since no two men would go to a park just to talk. They demanded to know which of us was the “bicha” (“faggot”). We denied that we were faggots. They responded that if we did not confess, they would take both of us to jail where we would be kept until Ash Wednesday. I decided to confess since I feared the abuse we would face in jail. They ordered David to leave.

48. When I asked whether I could go now, they responded, “Not before you give us something in return.” The officers pointed their guns at me and ordered me to perform oral sex on both of them. I felt sickened to have to do this, but realized that they had guns and I was completely at their mercy. The abuse lasted around 30 minutes. Afterwards, they released me, telling me “Go, but don’t look back or you’re dead.” As I walked from the park, I shivered in fear that they would shoot me in the back even as I did not look back at them. Again, with the police themselves abusing me and threatening me, I was too afraid to try to report what happened. I didn’t want to go near a police station for fear I’d see the same officers again.

49. After this incident happened, I decided that I would try to avoid going to places where gay people gathered because I was terrified to have another encounter with the police. For the next couple of years I focused all of my energies on working during the day and going to school at night. This was a lonely time for me but I felt like my life was moving forward since I was doing well in school.

My Fifth Incident with the Police

50. It wasn’t possible for me to live my life completely without human contact, however, so one night in June, 2001, after an exam, I went out to a bar with Christian, a gay friend from the university. I was returning home late at night at around 1 a.m., when two police officers stopped me and asked where I was coming from. I told them the truth that I was coming from a bar called Los Ventos. Everyone knew that gay people met each other at this bar, so the police assumed I was gay and began to ridicule me. They told me that I was a faggot, looking to get “fucked,” and that they would take me into the station to let the prisoners have fun with me. I was terrified of being thrown in with the common criminals again and being sexually abused again, so I told them I had to get home to go to work the next morning and began to walk away. One officer took his cacetete in rage and smacked my left hand threatening me to “get out of their sight, faggot!”

51. I was so afraid, I started running. I remember that I could hardly see while I was running because I couldn’t stop myself from crying. I really believed that I was going to be shot in the back for running away from them, but at that point I decided that I’d rather be killed than be forced again to have sex with the police. Even now when I think about it I remember how I felt that night, scared, angry, humiliated, and completely powerless to protect my rights in a country where the police are free to attack us.

52. That night I decided that whatever it took, I had to get out of Brazil. Later that week, I applied for a tourist visa to come to the U.S. but it was denied.

Escape to the United States

53. After many years of not having an honest conversation with my family about my sexuality, I finally sat down and told my mother everything that I had experienced because I am gay. We talked late into the night, both crying and she agreed to help me get out of Brazil. She helped me pay for a plane ticket to Mexico, and on June 23, 2001, I flew to Mexico City. After that, I met up with some coyotes who were friends of my mother’s brother. On July 7, 2001, I entered the United States without inspection by Laredo, TX.

» Practice pointer: Although in this case the applicant missed the one year filing deadline so his exact date of entry is not essential, it is still helpful to bolster his overall credibility if he can submit evidence confirming his story of entering the United States Thus, he should submit a copy of the airline ticket or passport with the entry stamp into Mexico. It will also be crucial to include an affidavit or letter from the applicant’s mother confirming that she agreed to help him after concluding that his life was at risk in Brazil.

54. On July 18, 2005, at the Callen-Lorde Community Health Center, I tested HIV-positive. The news devastated me partly since I always practiced safer sex, except when the police and criminals in Brazil sexually abused me against my will. I panic just thinking about being deported to Brazil as a gay man living with HIV. It is my understanding that there is intense discrimination against people with HIV and AIDS in Brazil. Because of poor information about AIDS, people with HIV and AIDS are treated unfairly. Those who have the disease are ostracized and treated like lepers. I recall that many times while in Brazil since people think homosexuals are responsible for AIDS and are AIDS carriers, people who suspected that I was a homosexual insulted and threatened me as an AIDS carrier even when I was HIV-negative. Now that I am HIV-positive, I believe they will try to hurt me any way possible by not treating me in the hospital, refusing to give me employment, and not protecting me from police or gang violence.

55. I also fear for my life if deported because I am a gay man, considering the abuse I already experienced as a homosexual and considering the rise of the death squads that have been killing homosexuals with impunity. I have heard from my friends in Brazil of several people in my city who were murdered because of their sexual orientation and HIV status. I heard that in May 2003, Oswaldo Borges, an acquaintance of mine was found dead at age 27, with his body dismembered at a gas station in town. It is believed that he was murdered because he was HIV-positive.

56. To date, I still experience nightmares over what happened to me with the police, criminals and society. However, I wake up and am thankful for having found real safety in the United States.

57. I did not apply for political asylum until now in the United States since I did not know that the persecution I suffered in the past and fear in the future as a gay man could be the basis for political asylum here. It was not until I was diagnosed with HIV, two months ago, that I learned about asylum from a social worker at the Callen-Lorde Community Health Center. The social worker, Martin Peña referred me to Immigration Equality.

58. Although I have always been afraid to return to Brazil because of my sexual orientation, now, as a gay man who is also HIV-positive I’m more afraid than ever. I believe that if I’m deported to Brazil I will again face abuse and rape by the police, and that the mistreatment I face will be even worse now that I am also HIV-positive.

59. It is my hope that after so much abuse and mistreatment as a homosexual including physical and sexual abuse by the police and criminals and the prospect of even more abuse and mistreatment as a homosexual with HIV/AIDS if deported to Brazil, that the Asylum Office will consider granting me political asylum in their discretion. I thank you for your consideration of my application.

Signature Line Joao Doe Sworn to before me this 15th day of February 2006

Signature Line Notary Public

This Manual is intended to provide information to attorneys and accredited representatives. It is not intended as legal advice. Asylum seekers should speak with qualified attorneys before applying.

This handbook is intended for use by pro bono attorneys and immigration attorneys working on LGBTQ/HIV asylum cases.

Self-help asylum guides for LGBTQ and HIV-positive people without attorneys.

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How To Write An Asylum Statement

Individuals in the US who are afraid of persecution in their home country may file for asylum in the US. Asylum is a type of protection the US government grants someone who has been persecuted or fears future persecution, in their home country.

Part of the asylum filing process is to write an asylum statemen t, and we will take a close look at how to write an asylum statement.

Individuals who demonstrate past or potential future persecution, due to their race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, and/or due to their political opinion, are generally eligible for asylum . This is true as long as the persecution is carried out by the government and/or a group that the government cannot or will not control. 

Asylum Application Rules and Your Personal Statement

Although there are several ways to apply for asylum, including an affirmative asylum application process and a defensive asylum application process, the rules, requirements, and best practices are often the same.

For example, if you are filing for asylum, you should consider submitting a personal declaration as part of your asylum application. A personal declaration, or personal statement, explaining your story and why you are filing for asylum is generally helpful to your case. Although a personal statement is not strictly required, it is often better to have a well-written declaration submitted prior to your interview or court date .

What To Include In Your Personal Asylum Statment

In the personal statement, you have the ability to explain what happened to you in your home country clearly and without interruption.

A well-written personal statement also helps the Immigration Judge or U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) officer by giving them the opportunity to read about your story and understand the grounds of your case ahead of time.

It is always a good idea to work with an experienced immigration attorney when applying for asylum, especially as immigration attorneys can help you with your personal statement to ensure that your statement is the best possible for your case.

Beginning To Write An Asylum Statement

Many asylum applicants are uncertain about how to write a personal statement and don’t know what type of information to include. While there are no exact official rules about how to write a personal statement, there are a number of things to keep in mind to help you write your story.

Personal Asylum Statment Introduction

First, the statement should begin with a general introduction of yourself and your dependents on your asylum case . This section may include the names and birthdates of all applicants/dependents as well as the location of births, and citizenship country or countries. You can also provide background information including your education status, especially if this information is important to your case or it helps readers understand your current status and situation.

The introduction section is specifically an introduction point to your statement, so it is best to include information that you feel will best help the judge or officer understand who you are. 

Write An Asylum Statment In Multiple Sections

There are multiple ways to write a personal statement. For example, you could write down all the things that happened to you in chronological order, this means that you would describe everything that occurred in the order that they happened to you.

Or you could write your statement in sections describing what you are afraid of and using the incidents that happened to you as examples of the persecution you are afraid of. You could also create a statement that combines different styles.

What To Include In Your Asylum Statment

There is no exact formula for describing your story. Instead, what is important to keep in mind is that you make sure to include the following items:

• Explain the persecution you experienced and/or the persecution you fear will happen in your country, and explain why you are or will be persecuted.
• Make sure to describe how the persecution is due to or connected to your race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, and/or due to your political opinion.
• Describe everything that happened to you in your country that made you leave the country.
• Explain what you fear will happen to you if you returned and explain who/what group you are afraid of.
• Include any incidents that depict your fears such as incidents of threats, warnings, attacks, violence, and/or any other harm, etc.
• Include descriptions of incidents or targeting of other family members or even friends if they face similar risks or are similar to you in their situation.
• Explain why you cannot relocate to any other part of your country to be safe and explain why the government or law enforcement cannot, will not, or did not help you.
• “I declare under penalty of perjury under the laws of The United States that the foregoing is true and correct.”

Once you have completed the statement, make sure to sign and date the document. You may also want to consider going to an official notary and signing the document before them so they can notarize the statement. Again, this is NOT a requirement, but it does add a layer of verification to show that you did in fact sign the document. 

How Much Detail to Include On Your Asylum Statement

When you are writing your story, do not get held up by unimportant details. Make sure to include details that are helpful to your case, but it is not important to describe every color, shape, and smell of every incident. When there are too many details included, the reader can get overwhelmed.

Similarly, many applicants think that they must include every single date and time that something happened, but they often have trouble remembering these details. You do not have to be so exact. If you cannot independently recollect a date or time, then do not include it. You can make more general statements about the date. For instance, you might say that it happened in “early January.”

If you can’t remember the month, you could say “at the beginning of the year.” Sometimes it is even ok to say something happened a “few weeks or months later.” Just make sure that you do not guess on dates and write them into the statement because if you can’t remember the date you wrote during the interview, the officer or judge could think that you are not telling the truth.

Addressing Major Changes With Your Asylum Statement

In addition to these details, make sure to address any major changes in your country since you left, if it makes a difference to your story. If there have been major elections or if social or political conditions have changed, make sure to explain why you are still in danger despite these changes. Similarly, if there have been additional developments to your case since you came to the US, please make sure to include this in your statement as well.

For instance, if you have found out that people have been searching for you since you left, or if family or friends have been threatened because of you, or if more warnings have been issued to you or about you, make sure to provide this information.

Also, if you have continued to engage in activity that puts you at risk in your country, especially activities like posting on social media, or publishing information some other way, make sure to describe this and explain why it puts you even more at risk for persecution.

Keep in mind that any major developments should be at least mentioned in your personal statement. You will always have the opportunity to discuss details and specifics in your interview or before the judge, but you don’t want to leave out anything that will be important to discuss at that time.

FAQs To Write An Asylum Statement

How long should an asylum personal statement be, is there an exact template or best way to write a statement, how should i write my statement if my english is not good, conclusion on how to write an asylum statment.

Your personal statement is an important part of your asylum application. The asylum personal statement gives you the opportunity to tell your story and describe why you are seeking asylum. There are many different ways to write your asylum personal statement. If you have any questions about applying for asylum or writing your personal statement, consult a trained immigration attorney .

Table Of Contents

Asylum Denial Reasons in 2024

How to provide evidence for your asylum case, what is race-based asylum, can i apply for asylum while on a j1 visa.

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July 27, 2022

5 Tips on Writing About the Immigrant Experience for Law School

Many applicants are recent immigrants or have parents who are immigrants and plan to write about this aspect of their life in a personal statement or diversity statement . Certainly, having this life experience makes you distinctive and can add to your appeal at any school . But, often these essays fall flat. 

First, you must decide if you are going to write your immigrant narrative in the personal statement or diversity statement or both. How do you decide? The personal statement is the opportunity to answer the questions, why law school and why now. If your immigrant story is part of the answer, then introduce the narrative here. If you hope to become a tax attorney, your immigrant story may be best told in your diversity statement. Each statement should stand alone. They should complement each other and not duplicate each other. For those applicants using both opportunities to tell aspects of your family history, don’t repeat. Tell unique stories and provide unique insight in each essay.

Here are 5 tips to help you improve:

• Show. Don’t Tell . Just telling the reader that you and/or your family assimilated or learned English isn’t always enough. You need to show the admissions committee – paint a scene . Give a specific example. You need an arresting image to get their attention. Did you learn English watching cartoons? Immersed in an elementary school classroom? Are you still maintaining cultural aspects of your country of origin, and if so what are they and why? How do they impact your law school decisions or how will they impact the law school community?
• Show grit. In your essays, focus on how you solved the problem rather than the problem itself. For example, if you moved to the U.S. and didn’t speak any English, what did you do? How did you learn the language? How did you make friends, form a new community? Are you still observing certain holidays or traditions from your native country? If so, what are they and why? How do they influence you today?
• Avoid clich é s . “Fish out of water.” “Cultural differences.” “Breaking down barriers.” “Pulled up by their bootstraps.” These are phrases that are repeated often. That repetition has made them, well, cliched. You are trying to set yourself apart from the applicant pool; don’t employ overused phrases that cause you to blend in. You are better off explaining your situation with specificity than turning to hackneyed, overused, boring clichés.
• Don’t make Mom the focus. Often, applicants write about people they admire – usually a parent or grandparent. It’s great to love your family, but don’t make them the focus of your essay. You need to show the admissions committee that you are a good fit , not your father, mother, or other relative. Set a scene, but make yourself the lead character.
• Make a point. Going through an experience – good or bad – means nothing if you haven’t gained insight into yourself. Law schools want people who can think critically and examine the world around them. Your essay needs to show what you learned and how you can apply that skill to your studies and work. How have you grown from this experience? How does your experience help other people?

Remember that most basic failures of imagination in essay writing occur because applicants don’t want to spend time brainstorming, thinking, and writing . All that preparation is an important part of the process that will produce a quality finished product worthy of pride.

Work one-on-one with an Accepted advisor to devise an admissions strategy that will help you present a compelling story and produce an application that will stand out and get you accepted. Check out our  Law School Admissions Consulting Services  for more information. 

Related Resources:

• 5 Summer Experiences That Could Enhance Your Law School Profile
• The Paul & Daisy Soros Fellowships for New Americans Application Essay Tips
• 7 Simple Steps to Writing an Excellent Diversity Essay

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Home » Blog » How to Write an I-751 Affidavit Letter of Support

How to Write an I-751 Affidavit Letter of Support

April 16, 2024 Replace/Renew Green Card

When filing Form I-751 to remove the conditions on residence, the conditional permanent resident also needs to submit evidence that the relationship was entered in “good faith.” U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) wants to confirm that the marriage was not entered into for the purposes of evading immigration laws. Much confusion surrounds the need to submit an I-751 affidavit.

What is an I-751 affidavit (letter of support)? Is the letter sufficient proof of a bona fide marriage? Who should write a letter of support? Do I need I-751 affidavits if I am getting a divorce? How should someone write the letter of support? Do you have a sample I-751 affidavit? How can CitizenPath help me?

I-751 Letter of Support, Explained

These “letters of support” are statements written by people that know the couple and have first-hand knowledge of the relationship. The I-751 affidavit helps support other evidence that the couple submits to demonstrate that the marriage was entered in good faith and is a not a “sham” marriage.

The I-751 affidavit is not mandatory, but it’s strongly suggested by many attorneys. What’s more, strong evidence of a bona fide marriage may help petitioners avoid the I-751 interview. Affidavits are most useful when the petitioner’s evidence of a bona fide marriage is weak and possibly insufficient.

An Affidavit is Not Primary Evidence

An I-751 affidavit can never replace strong, objective evidence that a bona fide marriage exists. The best evidence of a genuine, good faith marriage includes proof of having children together, joint finances (such as bank accounts, insurance, and retirement plans) and jointly owned property. These documents demonstrate that the couple lives together and is planning for the future together.

Most attorneys will agree that an affidavit is never as good the primary forms of evidence mentioned above. However, petitioners can use the I-751 affidavit letter to fill in gaps or build a stronger case on top of existing evidence. But petitioners should expect USCIS to weigh the objective forms of evidence more heavily than an I-751 affidavit.

33 Great Documents for Proving a Bona Fide Marriage on an I-751 Petition

Who should write an i-751 affidavit.

Typically, I-751 affidavit letters of support are written by friends of the married couple. The letter is not limited to friends; it may be written by a family member or even a religious leader. Ideally the person writing the letter of support has known the couple since before the marriage and until the present time. There is no requirement that the writer must be a U.S. citizen or even live in the United States. But remember, they should be a close confidant that is familiar with the couple’s life together. So the writer should ideally be local to the couple.

The I-751 affidavit is the writer’s opportunity to testify to their personal experience with the couple and share observations that led to the conclusion that the couple is in love and each spouse has honest intentions to remain a married couple. Of course, it’s impossible to be sure than even the most sincere couple will remain married forever. The writer can only testify to the extent of their personal knowledge.

Use of an Affidavit When Filing with a I-751 Waiver

In some cases, a marriage that was entered with the best intentions does not have a happy ending. Bona fide marriages could terminate early due to divorce or death. In these situations, the conditional resident must file Form I-751 with a waiver for the joint filing requirement. Even if the marriage didn't work out, the conditional resident must still prove that they entered the marriage in good faith and intended to build a life together.

Proving a bona fide marriage does become more difficult when the conditional resident is no longer married. An I-751 affidavit can help to establish the good intentions of the couple and the unfortunate reasons for the marriage ending (particularly in cases with spousal abuse).

The conditional permanent resident should contact an immigration attorney before filing Form I-751 with a waiver for the joint filing requirement. In these cases, USCIS will scrutinize the I-751 petition more heavily. An attorney can help the conditional resident achieve the best outcome.

Properly Created Affidavit for Form I-751

An affidavit is basically a sworn letter. The person who writes an affidavit is an affiant. The affiant swears to the affidavit’s truth. When submitting I-751 affidavits to USCIS, experts recommend a typed letter. Every I-751 affidavit should cover these basic points:

• Full name and address of affiant
• Date and place of birth
• Relationship to the conditional resident and spouse
• An account of your relationship explaining:
• How you met the couple
• Time frame you have known the couple
• Give a sense of the frequency (i.e. frequently socialize)
• Details explaining how the person acquired this knowledge (i.e. friends)
• Date and signature

Remember, the I-751 affidavit is supporting evidence to prove that the couple has a bona fide marriage. That is, the marriage is true and genuine. So the affiant should ideally provide a short account of why they believe this is true. The affiant can use a story that demonstrates the couple’s mutual commitment, the hard work that the couple have put into the immigration process, etc.

The letter does not need to be notarized, but it is important to include a sworn statement that states, “I swear, under penalty of perjury, that the foregoing is true and correct to the best of my knowledge.”

The petitioner should understand that an affidavit is only supporting evidence. You must use primary forms of objective evidence to prove a good faith marriage and then use the affidavit to back it up.

Prove a Good Faith Marriage When Filing I-751

Sample i-751 affidavit.

CitizenPath has prepared a downloadable I-751 affidavit sample that you can forward to friends who are willing to write a letter of support. The downloadable PDF file includes a list of the basic points that the writer should cover in the letter and an example I-751 affidavit.

Use the sample I-751 affidavit as an example. Remember that each letter is unique and should contain elements that are personal to your story. The affiant should be honest and use anecdotes to demonstrate why they came to the conclusion that the couple has a bona fide marriage.

Although it is rare, the affiant should understand that they may be required to testify before an immigration officer as to the information contained in the affidavit.

USCIS may require the couple to attend an interview after filing Form I-751 and the required evidence. However, the odds of avoiding this interview are greatly improved by providing adequate (quantity) and strong (quality) evidence of a bona fide marriage in the petition package. Many couples are able to avoid the I-751 interview. Filing at least two well-prepared I-751 affidavit letters of support in addition to primary forms of objective evidence can help seal the deal.

Tips for Avoiding the I-751 Interview After Conditional Residence

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• 2 Examples of What to Include in Your Personal Statement
• Bright Immigration
• Posted on December 6, 2021
• By Brightimigration
• In Bright Immigration
• Leave a comment

Bringing your loved ones into Canada to gain PR (permanent residence) status can be daunting. That is because there are just so many requirements to fulfill, and missing one document can cost you your chances. One of the most important yet hardest to do for the application is to prove that your relationship is genuine. Fortunately, there is one thing you can do and present to confirm that your relationship is real, and that is with a personal statement.

How do you make a compelling personal statement? Generally, you would want to fill it with as much relevant information as possible. We say relevant because what is in your personal statement will depend entirely on your situation. Here are a few examples of that.

The encounter

How you met your partner will dictate what you will include in your personal statement. For example, if you met each other online, then you will need to provide specific information and proof to support that. This will include the platform on which you communicated as well as the frequency at which you were in contact. Other things you can include to establish that you are indeed together is to write clearly just why you two decided to get together in the first place.

You probably have already met the other person in real life and have spent considerable time together. As such, you should include evidence to support this, most notably the day you first met face-to-face. Do this by recounting the date as well as the location where you met. Include photos, if any, to provide further proof.

The marriage

With so many ways one can get married to their partner, you must be clear about how exactly the two of you got married and the reason behind the decision. For instance, if you went through an arranged marriage, you would need to state why it happened and why your parents think you and your spouse were a good match. Note that some reasons are unacceptable for immigration applications. A great example of this is to have gotten married for the sole purpose of getting into a particular country such as Canada.

That said, you should include as many details of the wedding day as possible. Write down the names of those responsible for making the ceremony happen, detailing each individual’s role. You can also include the date, location, and photos of the event.

The above are just examples of what you should include in your personal statement. Remember, your personal statement will be different from anyone else’s, so there might be other requirements that you will need to submit.

Nevertheless, the key takeaway is that you should include as much information as possible regarding your relationship with your partner in your personal statement. From the first day you met your love to the day you married them, include as much accurate information as possible. By doing so, you give yourself a much higher chance of proving your relationship to be authentic and finally bring your partner, or yourself, into Canada.

If you’re looking for professional help from a  Canadian immigration firm , please contact us at [email protected] or call 1-888-404-8472.

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Immigration Personal Statements Samples For Students

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Regardless of how high you rate your writing abilities, it's always an appropriate idea to check out an expertly written Personal Statement example, especially when you're dealing with a sophisticated Immigration topic. This is exactly the case when WowEssays.com directory of sample Personal Statements on Immigration will come in useful. Whether you need to brainstorm an original and meaningful Immigration Personal Statement topic or examine the paper's structure or formatting peculiarities, our samples will provide you with the required material.

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18 Law School Personal Statement Examples That Got Accepted!

This blog contains law school personal statement examples written by applicants who were successfully accepted to multiple law schools after working with our admissions experts as part of our  application review programs . Your  law school personal statement  is one of the most important parts of your application and is your best opportunity to show admissions officers who you are behind your numbers and third-party assessments. Because of its importance, many students find the personal statement to be daunting and demanding of the full scope of their skills as writers. Today we're going to review these excellent law school personal statement examples from past successful applicants and provide some proven strategies from a former admissions officer that can help you prepare your own stellar essay. 

>> Want us to help you get accepted? Schedule a free strategy call here . <<

Article Contents 44 min read

Law school personal statement example #1.

When I was a child, my neighbors, who had arrived in America from Nepal, often seemed stressed. They argued a lot, struggled for money, and seemed to work all hours of the day. One day, I woke early in the morning to a commotion outside my apartment. Police officers were accompanying my neighbors out of the building. They were being deported. In my teens, I was shocked to see that our kind, friendly neighbors had exhausted their last chance to stay in America as they lost a court appeal. 

Since that time, I have worked closely with the many immigrant families in my neighborhood, and now university town. I began by volunteering at a local community center. Together with social workers, I served food and gave out clothes to new arrivals. My diligent work ethic led to more responsibility, and I received training in basic counseling techniques, first aid skills and community services. Soon, I was tasked with welcoming new community members and assessing their health and social needs. I heard the many difficult stories of those who had traveled thousands of miles, often through several countries, risking everything to reach a safe, welcoming country. I was proud to contribute in some small way to making America welcoming for these individuals.

The community center is where I had my first formal contact with legal aid lawyers, who were a constant source of knowledge and support for those who needed assistance. I was struck by the lawyers’ ability to explain complex legal processes to nervous and exhausted incomers: law, I realized, was about more than procedure. I decided that I, too, would strive to balance a wealth of technical knowledge with my caring, compassionate personality.

As soon as I enrolled in university, I knew I had the chance to do so. In my very first week, I signed up to volunteer at the university’s legal aid center, where I worked closely with law professors and students on a range of cases. Academically, I have focused on courses, such as a fourth-year Ethics seminar, that would help me develop rigorous critical reasoning skills. More importantly, I knew that, given my experience, I could be a leader on campus. I decided to found a refugee campaign group, Students4Refugees. Together with a group of volunteers, we campaigned to make our campus a refugee-friendly space. I organized a series of events: international student mixers, an art installation in our student commons, and concerts that raised over $5,000 for the charity Refugee Aid. I am proud to say that my contributions were recognized with a university medal for campus leadership.

I have seen time and again how immigrants to the United States struggle with bureaucracy, with complex legal procedures, and with the demands of living in a foreign and sometimes hostile climate. As I plan to enter law school, I look back to my neighbors’ experiences: they needed someone who knew the law, who could negotiate with the authorities on their behalf, who could inform them of their rights—but they also needed someone who would provide a caring and compassionate outlet for their stresses. I know that Townsville University’s combination of academic rigor, legal aid services, and history of graduates entering labor and non-profit sectors will allow me to develop these skills and continue making contributions to my community by advocating for those in need.

• Thematic consistency: It focuses on just one theme: justice for immigrants. Each paragraph is designed to show off how enthusiastic the student is about this area of law. Personal statements—including those for law school—often begin with a personal anecdote. This one is short, memorable, and relevant. It establishes the overall theme quickly. By constraining their essay’s focus to a single general theme, the writer can go into great depth and weave in emotional and psychological weight through careful and vivid description. The personal statement isn’t a standard 3-paragraph college essay with a spotlight thesis statement, but it conveys similar impact through presenting a central focus organically, without resorting to simply blurting out “the point” of the piece.   
• Shows, rather than tells: Connected to this, this statement focuses on showing rather than telling. Rather than simply telling the reader about their commitment to law, the applicant describes specific situations they were involved in that demonstrate their commitment to law. “Show don’t tell” means you want to paint a vivid picture of actions or experiences that demonstrate a given quality or skill, and not simply say "I can do X." Make it an experience for your reader, don't just give them a fact. 
• Confident, but not arrogant: Additionally, this personal statement is confident without being boastful—leadership qualities, grades, and an award are all mentioned in context, rather than appearing as a simple list of successes. 
• Specific to the school: It ends with a conclusion that alludes to why the applicant is suitable for the specific school to which they’re applying and points to their future career plans. Thoroughly researching the law school to which you’re applying is incredibly important so that you can tailor your remarks to the specific qualities and values they’re looking for. A law essay writing service is really something that can help you integrate this aspect effectively. 

What Should a Law School Personal Statement Do?

1.      be unique to the school you’re applying to.

Students are always asking how to write a personal statement for law school, particularly one that stands out from all the rest. After all, advice from most universities can often be quite vague. Take this zinger from the  University of Chicago : “Write about something personal, relevant, and completely individual to you… Just be yourself.” Every school will have different requirements or content they want to see in a personal statement. This is why it’s a good idea to review specific guidelines for the school to which you’re applying. For example, you can read Yale Law School personal statement examples , Stanford Law personal statement examples , and an NYU personal statement to get an idea of what these schools look for.

2.      Demonstrate your skills and capabilities

For motivated students with the world at their fingertips, it’s a tough ask to narrow your character down into a few hundred words! But this is exactly the point of such generic guidelines—to challenge aspiring law students to produce something unique and convincing with minimal direction by the university. Law is, after all, a profession that demands your language to be persuasive, and the personal statement is merely one of many exercises where you can demonstrate your language skills. 

3.      Meet basic requirements

While the law school personal statement is about far more than just following essay directions, you still need to keep basic formatting and length restrictions in mind. Most law schools ask for a 2-page personal statement, but lengths can range from 2-4 pages. Georgetown Law School , for instance, recommends a 2-page personal statement but explicitly states that there is no official minimum or maximum. In general, length does not make a personal statement better. Rambling, meandering sentences and tiresome descriptions will only hurt the impact of your ideas, especially considering how many thousands of pages admissions committees have to churn through each year.  

In short, keep to 2 double-spaced pages, and only go below or above this is if you absolutely have to, and if the school to which you're applying allows it. You want to keep things as widely applicable as possible while drafting your personal statement, meaning that you don't want to draft a 4 page letter for the one school that allows it, and then have to significantly rewrite this for your other schools. Stick to 2 pages. 

4.      Embody what the school is looking for

Lastly, many law schools won’t offer hyper-specific prompts, but will give you general law school admissions essay topics to follow. For instance, the University of Washington’s law school provides a number of topics to follow, including “Describe a personal challenge you faced” or “Describe your passions and involvement in a project or pursuit and the ways in which it has contributed to your personal growth and goals.” These topics may feel specific at first, but as you begin drafting, you’ll likely realize you have dozens of memories to choose from, and numerous ways of describing their impact. While drafting, try to explore as many of these options as possible, and select the best or most impactful to use in your final draft.  

Want to write the perfect law school personal statement? Watch this video:

Law School Personal Statement Example #2

In my home community, the belief is that the law is against us. The law oppresses and victimizes. I must admit that as a child and young person I had this opinion based on my environment and the conversations around me. I did not understand that the law could be a vehicle for social change, and I certainly did not imagine I had the ability and talents to be a voice for this change. I regularly attended my high school classes because I enjoyed the discussions and reading for English and history, and writing came easily to me, but I wasn’t committed to getting good grades because I felt I had no purpose. My mindset changed as I spent time with Mark Russell, a law student who agreed to mentor and tutor me as part of a “high school to law school” mentorship program. Every week, for three years, Mark and I would meet. At first, Mark tutored me, but I quickly became an “A” student, not only because of the tutoring, but because my ambitions were uncorked by what Mark shared with me about university, the law, and his life. I learned grades were the currency I needed to succeed. I attended mock trials, court hearings, and law lectures with Mark and developed a fresh understanding of the law that piqued an interest in law school. My outlook has changed because my mentor, my teachers, and my self-advocacy facilitated my growth. Still, injustices do occur. The difference is that I now believe the law can be an instrument for social change, but voices like mine must give direction to policy and resources in order to fight those injustices.

Early in my mentorship, I realized it was necessary to be “in the world” differently if I were to truly consider a law career. With Mark’s help and the support of my high school teachers, I learned to advocate for myself and explore opportunities that would expand my worldview as well as my academic skills. I joined a Model UN club at a neighboring high school, because my own school did not have enough student interest to have a club. By discussing global issues and writing decisions, I began to feel powerful and confident with my ability to gather evidence and make meaningful decisions about real global issues. As I built my leadership, writing, and public speaking skills, I noticed a rift developing with some of my friends. I wanted them to begin to think about larger systemic issues outside of our immediate experience, as I was learning to, and to build confidence in new ways. I petitioned my school to start a Model UN and recruited enough students to populate the club. My friends did not join the club as I’d hoped, but before I graduated, we had 2 successful years with the students who did join. I began to understand that I cannot force change based on my own mandate, but I must listen attentively to the needs and desires of others in order to support them as they require.

While I learned to advocate for myself throughout high school, I also learned to advocate for others. My neighbors, knowing my desire to be a lawyer, would often ask me to advocate on their behalf with small grievances. I would make phone calls, stand in line with them at government offices, and deal with difficult landlords. A woman, Elsa, asked me to review her rental agreement to help her understand why her landlord had rented it to someone else, rather than renewing her lease. I scoured the rental agreement, highlighted questionable sections, read the Residential Tenancies Act, and developed a strategy for approaching the landlord. Elsa and I sat down with the landlord and, upon seeing my binder complete with indices, he quickly conceded before I could even speak. That day, I understood evidence is the way to justice. My interest in justice grew, and while in university, I sought experiences to solidify my decision to pursue law.

Last summer, I had the good fortune to work as a summer intern in the Crown Attorney’s Office responsible for criminal trial prosecutions. As the only pre-law intern, I was given tasks such as reviewing court tapes, verifying documents, and creating a binder with indices. I often went to court with the prosecutors where I learned a great deal about legal proceedings, and was at times horrified by human behavior. This made the atmosphere in the Crown Attorney’s office even more surprising. I worked with happy and passionate lawyers whose motivations were pubic service, the safety and well-being of communities, and justice. The moment I realized justice was their true objective, not the number of convictions, was the moment I decided to become a lawyer.

I broke from the belief systems I was born into. I did this through education, mentorship, and self-advocacy. There is sadness because in this transition I left people behind, especially as I entered university. However, I am devoted to my home community. I understand the barriers that stand between youth and their success. As a law student, I will mentor as I was mentored, and as a lawyer, I will be a voice for change.

What’s Great about this Second Law School Personal Statement?

• It tells a complete and compelling story: Although the applicant expressed initial reservations about the law generally, the statement tells a compelling story of how the applicant's opinions began to shift and their interest in law began. They use real examples and show how that initial interest, once seeded, grew into dedication and passion. This introduction implies an answer to the " why do you want to study law? ” interview question.
• It shows adaptability: Receptiveness to new information and the ability to change both thought and behavior based on this new information. The writer describes realizing that they needed to be "in the world" differently! It's hard to convey such a grandiose idea without sounding cliché, but through their captivating and chronological narrative, the writer successfully convinces the reader that this is the case with copious examples, including law school extracurriculars . It’s a fantastic case of showing rather than telling, describing specific causes they were involved with which demonstrate that the applicant is genuinely committed to a career in the law. 
• Includes challenges the subject faced and overcame: This law school personal statement also discusses weighty, relatable challenges that they faced, such as the applicant's original feeling toward law, and the fact that they lost some friends along the way. However, the applicant shows determination to move past these hurdles without self-pity or other forms of navel-gazing.  Additionally, this personal statement ends with a conclusion that alludes to why the applicant is suitable for the specific school to which they’re applying and points to their future career plans. The writer manages to craft an extremely immersive and believable story about their path to the present, while also managing to curate the details of this narrative to fit the specific values and mission of the school to which they’re applying.

What’s Great About This Third Law School Personal Statement? 

• Description is concise and effective: This writer opens with rich, vivid description and seamlessly guides the reader into a compelling first-person narrative. Using punchy, attention-grabbing descriptions like these make events immersive, placing readers in the writer's shoes and creating a sense of immediacy. 
• Achievements are the focus: They also do a fantastic job of talking about their achievements, such as interview team lead, program design, etc., without simply bragging. Instead, they deliver this information within a cohesive narrative that includes details, anecdotes, and information that shows their perspective in a natural way. Lastly, they invoke their passion for law with humility, discussing their momentary setbacks and frustrations as ultimately positive experiences leading to further growth. 

Want more law school personal statement examples from top law schools?

• Harvard law school personal statement examples
• Columbia law school personal statement examples
• Cornell law school personal statement examples
• Yale law school personal statement examples
• UPenn law school personal statement examples
• Cambridge law school personal statement examples

Law School Personal Statement #4

What’s great about this fourth law school personal statement.

• Engaging description: Like the third example above, this fourth law school personal statement opens with engaging description and first-person narrative. However, the writer of this personal statement chooses to engage a traumatic aspect of their childhood and discuss how this adversity led them to develop their desire to pursue a career in law.  
• Strong theme of overcoming adversity: Overcoming adversity is a frequent theme in personal statements for all specialties, but with law school personal statements students are often able to utilize uniquely dramatic, difficult, and pivotal experiences that involved interacting with the law. It may be hard to discuss such emotionally weighty experiences in a short letter but, as this personal statement shows, with care and focus it's possible to sincerely demonstrate how your early struggles paved the way for you to become the person you are now. It's important to avoid sensationalism, but you shouldn't shy away from opening up to your readers about adverse experiences that have ultimately pointed you in a positive direction. 

Why "show, don't tell" is the #1 rule for personal statements:

Law School Personal Statement Example #5

What’s great about this fifth law school personal statement  .

• Highlights achievements effectively: This writer does a fantastic job of incorporating their accomplishments and impact they had on their community without any sense of bragging or conceit. Rather, these accomplishments are related in terms of deep personal investment and a general drive to have a positive impact on those around them—without resorting to the cliches of simply stating "I want to help people." They show themselves helping others, and how these early experiences of doing so are a fundamental part of their drive to succeed with a career in law.   
• Shows originality: Additionally, they do a great job of explaining the uniqueness of their identity. The writer doesn't simply list their personal/cultural characteristics, but contextualizes them to show how they've shaped their path to law school. Being the child of a Buddhist mother and a Hindu father doesn’t imply anything about a person’s ability to study/practice law on its own, but explaining how this unique aspect of their childhood encouraged a passion for “discussion, active debate, and compromise” is profoundly meaningful to an admissions panel. Being able to express how fundamental aspects of law practice are an integral part of yourself is a hugely helpful tactic in a law school personal statement. 

If you\u2019re heading North of the border, check out list of  law schools in Canada  that includes requirements and stats on acceptance. ","label":"Tip","title":"Tip"}]" code="tab2" template="BlogArticle">

Law School Personal Statement Example #6

What’s great about this sixth law school personal statement .

• Weaves in cultural background: Similar to the writer of personal statement #5, this student utilizes the cultural uniqueness of their childhood to show how their path to law school was both deeply personal and rooted in ideas pervasive in their early years. Unlike the writer of statement #5, this student doesn't shy away from explaining how this distinctiveness was often a source of alienation and difficulty. Yet this adversity is, as they note, ultimately what helped them be an adaptable and driven student, with a clear desire to make a positive impact on the kinds of situations that they witnessed affect their parents.  
• Describes setbacks while remaining positive: This writer also doesn't shy away from describing their temporary setbacks as both learning experiences and, crucially, springboards for positively informing their plans for the future. 

What’s Great About This Seventh Law School Personal Statement? 

• The writer takes accountability: One of the hardest things to accomplish in a personal statement is describing not just early setbacks that are out of your control but early mistakes for which you must take responsibility. The writer of this personal statement opens with descriptions of characteristics that most law schools would find problematic at best. But at the end of this introduction, they successfully utilize an epiphany, a game-changing moment in which they saw something beyond their early pathological aimlessness, to clearly mark the point at which they became focused on law.  
• The narrative structure is clear: They clearly describe the path forward from this moment on, showing how they remained focused on earning a law degree, and how they were able to work through successive experiences of confusion to persist in finishing their undergraduate education at a prestigious university. Of course, you shouldn't brag about such things for their own sake, but this writer makes the point of opening up about the unique feelings of inadequacy that come along with being the first person in their family to attend such a school, and how these feelings were—like their initial aimlessness—mobilized in service of their goal and the well-being of others. Their statement balances discussion of achievement with humility, which is a difficult but impactful tactic when done well. 

Law School Personal Statement Example #8

What’s great about this eighth law school personal statement .

• Shows commitment to the community: Commitment to one’s community is a prized value in both law students and law professionals. This writer successfully describes not only how they navigated the challenges in their group environments, such as their internship, the debate team, etc., but how these challenges strengthened their commitment to being a positive part of their communities. They don’t simply describe the skills and lessons they learned from these challenging environments, but also how these challenges ultimately made them even more committed to and appreciative of these kinds of dynamic, evolutionary settings.  
• Avoids negative description: They also avoid placing blame or negatively describing the people in these situations, instead choosing to characterize inherent difficulties in terms neutral to the people around them. In this way, you can describe extremely challenging environments without coming off as resentful, and identify difficulties without being accusatory or, worse yet, accidentally or indirectly seeming like part of the problem. This writer manages to convey the difficulty and complexity of these experiences while continually returning to their positive long-term impact, and though you shouldn’t seek to “bright-side” the troubles in your life you should absolutely point out how these experiences have made you a more capable and mature student. 

Watch this for more law school personal statement examples!

Law School Personal Statement Example #9

What’s great about this ninth law school personal statement  .

• The writer effectively describes how their background shaped their decision to pursue law: Expressing privilege as adversity is something that very few students should even attempt, and fewer still can actually pull it off. But the writer of this personal statement does just that in their second paragraph, describing how the ease and comfort of their upbringing could have been a source of laziness or detachment, and often is for particularly well-off students, but instead served as a basis for their ongoing commitment to addressing the inequalities and difficulties of those less comfortable. Describing how you’ve developed into an empathic and engaged person, worked selflessly in any volunteer experiences, and generally aimed your academic life at a career in law for the aid of others—all this is incredibly moving for an admissions board, and can help you discuss your determination and understanding of exactly why you desire a career in law.  
• The student shows adaptability, flexibility, and commitment: Additionally, this writer is able to show adaptability while describing their more prestigious appointments in a way that’s neither self-aggrandizing nor unappreciative. One of the big takeaways from this statement is the student’s commitment and flexibility, and these are both vitally important qualities to convey in your law school personal statement.  

Law School Personal Statement Example #10

What’s great about this tenth law school personal statement .

Shows passion: If you’re one of the rare students for whom service to others has always been a core belief, by all means find a novel and engaging way of making this the guiding principle of your personal statement. Don’t overdo it—don’t veer into poetry or lofty philosophizing—but by all means let your passion guide your pen (well…keyboard). Every step of the way, this student relates their highs and lows, their challenges and successes, to an extremely earnest and sincere set of altruistic values invoked at the very beginning of their statement. Law school admissions boards don’t exactly prize monomania, but they do value intense and sustained commitment.  

Shows maturity: This student also successfully elaborates this passion in relation to mature understanding. That is, they make repeated points about their developing understanding of law that sustains their hopefulness and emotional intensity while also incorporating knowledge of the sometimes troubling day-to-day challenges of the profession. Law schools aren’t looking for starry-eyed naivete, but they do value optimism and the ability to stay positive in a profession often defined by its difficulties and unpredictability. 

Every pre-law student blames their lack of success on the large number of applicants, the heartless admissions committee members, or the high GPA and LSAT score cut offs. Check out our blog on  law school acceptance rates  to find out more about the law school admission statistics for law schools in the US . Having taught more than a thousand students every year, I can tell you the REAL truth about why most students get rejected: 

Need tips on your law school resume?

8 Additional Law School Personal Statement Examples

Now that you have a better idea of what your law school personal statement should include, and how you can make it stand out, here are five additional law school personal statements for you to review and get some inspiration:

Law school personal statement example #11

According to the business wire, 51 percent of students are not confident in their career path when they enroll in college. I was one of those students for a long time. My parents had always stressed the importance of education and going to college, so I knew that I wanted to get a tertiary education, I just didn’t know in what field. So, like many other students, I matriculated undecided and started taking introductory courses in the subjects that interest me. I took classes from the department of literature, philosophy, science, statistics, business, and so many others but nothing really called out to me.

I figured that maybe if I got some practical experience, I might get more excited about different fields. I remembered that my high school counselor had told me that medicine would be a good fit for me, and I liked the idea of a career that involved constant learning. So, I applied for an observership at my local hospital. I had to cross “doctor” off my list of post-graduate career options when I fainted in the middle of a consultation in the ER.

I had to go back to the drawing board and reflect on my choices. I decided to stop trying to make an emotional decision and focus on the data. So, I looked at my transcript thus far, and it quickly became clear to me that I had both an interest and an aptitude for business and technology. I had taken more courses in those two fields than in any others, and I was doing very well in them. My decision was reaffirmed when I spent the summer interning at a digital marketing firm during my senior year in college and absolutely loved my experience. 

Since graduating, I have been working at that same firm and I am glad that I decided to major in business. I first started as a digital advertising assistant, and I quickly learned that the world of digital marketing is an incredibly fast-paced sink-or-swim environment. I didn’t mind it at all. I wanted to swim with the best of them and succeed. So far, my career in advertising has been challenging and rewarding in ways that I never could have imagined. 

I remember the first potential client that I handled on my own. Everything had been going great until they changed their mind about an important detail a day before we were supposed to present our pitch. . I had a day to research and re-do a presentation that I’d been preparing for weeks. I was sure that I’d be next on the chopping block, but once again all I had to was take a step back and look at the information that I had. Focusing on the big picture helped me come up with a new pitch, and after a long night, lots of coffee, and laser-like focus, I delivered a presentation that I was not only proud of, but that landed us the client. 

Three years and numerous client emergencies later, I have learned how to work under pressure, how to push myself, and how to think critically. I also have a much better understanding of who I am and what skills I possess. One of the many things that I have learned about myself over the course of my career is that I am a fan of the law. Over the past three years, I have worked with many lawyers to navigate the muddy waters of user privacy and digital media. I often find myself looking forward to working with our legal team, whereas my coworkers actively avoid them. I have even become friends with my colleagues on the legal team who also enjoy comparing things like data protection laws in the US and the EU and speculating about the future of digital technology regulation. 

These experiences and conversations have led me to a point where I am interested in various aspects of the law. I now know that I have the skills required to pursue a legal education and that this time around, I am very sure about what I wish to study. Digital technology has evolved rapidly over the last decade, and it is just now starting to become regulated. I believe that this shift is going to open up a more prominent role for those who understand both digital technology and its laws, especially in the corporate world. My goal is to build a career at the intersection of these worlds.

Law school personal statement example #12

The first weekend I spent on my undergrad college campus was simultaneously one of the best and worst of my life. I was so excited to be away from home, on my own, making new friends and trying new things. One of those things was a party at a sorority house with my friend and roommate, where I thought we both had a great time. Both of us came from small towns, and we had decided to look out for one another. So, when it was time to go home, and I couldn't find her, I started to worry. I spent nearly an hour looking for her before I got her message saying she was already back in our dorm. 

It took her three months to tell me that she had been raped that night. Her rapist didn't hold a knife to her throat, jump out of a dark alleyway, or slip her a roofie. Her rapist was her long-term boyfriend, with whom she'd been in a long-distance relationship for just over a year. He assaulted her in a stranger's bedroom while her peers, myself included, danced the night away just a few feet away. 

I remember feeling overwhelmed when she first told me. I was sad for my friend, angry on her behalf, and disgusted by her rapist's actions. I also felt incredibly guilty because I had been there when it happened. I told myself that I should have stayed with her all night and that I should have seen the abuse - verbal and physical harassment- that he was inflicting on her before it turned sexual. But eventually, I realized that thinking about what could, should, or would've happened doesn't help anyone. 

I watched my friend go through counseling, attend support groups, and still, she seemed to be hanging on by a thread. I couldn't begin to imagine what she was going through, and unfortunately, there was very little I could do to help her. So, I decided to get involved with the Sexual Assault Responders Group on campus, where I would actually be able to help another survivor. 

My experience with the Sexual Assault Responders Group on campus was eye-opening. I mostly worked on the peer-to-peer hotline, where I spoke to survivors from all walks of life. I was confronted by the fact that rape is not a surreal unfortunate thing that happens to a certain type of person. I learned that it happens daily to mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, and friends. I also learned that most survivors try to manage this burden on their own, afraid of judgment and repercussions and fearful of a he-said-she-said court battle.

I am proud to say that I used my time in college to not only earn an education, but also to advocate for survivors of sexual assault. I protested the university's cover-up of a gang rape that took place in one of the fraternity houses on campus. I spearheaded a 'no means no' campaign to raise awareness about consent on campus. I also led several fundraising campaigns for the Sexual Assault Responders Group that allowed us to pay for legal and mental health counselors for the survivors who came to us for support. 

One of the things that this experience helped me realize is that sexual assault survivors often do not know where to turn when the system tries to tell them that it'd be best to just keep quiet and suffer in silence. My goal is to become one of those people that they can turn to for counsel and support. I believe that a law degree would give me the knowledge and tools that I need to advocate for survivors on a more significant scale. 

Need tips for your law school optional essays? Check out this infographic:

Law school personal statement example #13

I grew up in two different worlds. My world at home was full of people of various skin tones and accents. It was small, loud, and often chaotic in the best ways. I remember walking home and getting to experience music from across the world before I got to my apartment building. Loud reggaeton and afrobeat were always playing somewhere in the distance. Aunties and uncles usually stopped by unannounced and slipped money in your palm when they hugged you goodbye. And the smell of fried plantains was almost always present. 

My other world was in school. It was a much quieter, more organized world with white hallways, navy blazers, and plaid skirts. It was full of people who did not look or sound like me and teachers who thought my hair was "interesting." It was also full of great books and engaging debates about everything from foreign policy to the influence of Jazz on hip hop. 

I lived in these two worlds because I was born and raised in Xtown, but I went to a private school in a much richer neighborhood. I loved both of my worlds, but I hated that I had to act differently in both of them. When in school, I had to "code switch" to sound like I belonged there. When I was at home, all the people who shared the interests I was developing in school were either working or in college, so I had no one to talk to about them. 

My words never felt more divided until I started considering a career in law. I remember telling one of my uncles that I wanted to become a lawyer and his response was, "So you want to become the man, huh?" 

I wasn't surprised by his response, or at least I shouldn't have been. One of the things that I know for sure about the first world I lived in is that many of its inhabitants do not trust the law. I had believed this for so long simply because of the conversations that I would hear around me. However, in my second world, I was learning about all of these great freedoms and rights that the law was designed to give all Americans, and I wanted to bring those to my community. 

I started working on this during the summer before my final year of high school. I got an internship with the legal aid office in my neighborhood and spent three months learning from people who, like me, had grown up in Xtown and wanted to help people. During my time in the legal aid office, I understood that the people in my community did not trust the law for two main reasons: 1. They did not understand a lot of it, and 2. It had been used against people like us many times. 

I remember one particular case that Ms. Sharma - the lawyer I was learning from then and who still mentors me today - handled that summer. It was the case of a young mother who had received a notice of eviction from her landlord two days after refusing his advances. The man claimed that she violated her contract because she made homemade shea butter that she sold on Etsy. Ms. Sharma had me look through her rental agreement. After she confirmed that I was right in determining that the young mother had not violated her contract, she contacted the landlord to advise him that what he was doing was intimidation and sexual harassment. 

My experiences in the legal aid office with Ms. Sharma opened my eyes to the disgusting behavior of human beings, but it also gave me the opportunity to see that the law was my opportunity to use what I learned in my second world to help the community that I was raised in. I returned to school with a new motivation that followed me to college. In addition to completing my bachelor's degree in sociology and African American studies, I spent most of my college years participating in legal internships and community outreach programs. 

I believe that these experiences have given me the foundation I need to be a successful law student and, eventually, a lawyer who can truly be an advocate for members of his community. 

Law school personal statement example #14

One day, my parents noticed that the other children in my age group had been speaking and communicating, but I had not. At first, they thought that my lack of speech was just me being shy, but eventually, they realized that on the rare occasions that I did speak, my words were practically incomprehensible. It wasn't long before they took me to a specialist who diagnosed me with a severe phonological disorder that hindered my ability to verbalize the basic sounds that make up words.

I started going to speech therapy when I was three years old. I saw numerous speech therapists, many of whom believed that I would never be able to communicate effectively with others. Lucky for me, my parents did not give up on me. I went to speech therapy thrice a week until the 8th grade, and I gave every single session my all. I also spent a lot of time in my room practicing my speech by myself. My efforts paid off, and even though I didn't become a chatterbox overnight, I could at least communicate effectively. 

This was a short-lived victory, though. A year later, my speech impediment was back, and my ability to articulate words was once again severely limited. This complicated matters because it was my freshman year of high school, and I was in a brand-new school where I did not know anyone. Having been bullied in middle school, I knew first-hand how vicious kids can be, and I didn't want to be the butt of any more jokes, so I didn't try to speak at school. I knew that this was preventing me from making new friends or participating in class and that it was probably not helping my impediment, but I was not ready to face the fact that I needed to go back to speech therapy. 

Eventually, I stopped resisting and went back to speech therapy. At the time, I saw it as accepting defeat, and even though my speech improved significantly, my self-confidence was lower than it had ever been. If you ask any of my high school classmates about me, they will likely tell you that I am very quiet or timid – both of which are not true, but they have no way of knowing otherwise. I barely spoke or interacted with my peers for most of high school. Instead, I focused on my studies and extracurricular activities that didn't involve much collaboration, like yearbook club and photography. 

It was only when I was getting ready for college that I realized that I was only hurting myself with my behavior. I knew I needed to become more confident about my speech to make friends and be the student I wanted to be in college. So, I used the summer after my high school graduation to get some help. I started seeing a new speech therapist who was also trained as a counselor, and she helped me understand my impediment better. For example, I now know that I tend to stutter when stressed, but I also know that taking a few deep breaths helps me get back on track. 

Using the confidence that I built in therapy that summer, I went to college with a new pep in my step. I pushed myself to meet new people, try new things, and join extracurricular organizations when I entered college. I applied to and was accepted into a competitive freshman leadership program called XYZ. Most of XYZ's other members were outgoing and highly involved in their high school communities. In other words, they were the complete opposite of me. I didn't let that intimidate me. Instead, I made a concerted effort to learn from them. If you ask any of my teammates or other classmates in college, they will tell you that I was an active participant in discussions during meetings and that I utilized my unique background to share a different perspective.

My experience with XYZ made it clear to me that my speech disorder wouldn't hold me back as long as I did not stand in my own way. Once I understood this, I kept pushing past the boundaries I had set for myself. I began taking on leadership roles in the program and looking for ways to contribute to my campus community outside of XYZ. For example, I started a community outreach initiative that connected school alumni willing to provide pro bono services to different members of the community who were in need. 

Now, when I look back at my decision to go back to speech therapy, I see it as a victory. I understand that my speech impediment has shaped me in many ways, many of which are positive. My struggles have made me more compassionate. My inability to speak has made me a better listener. Not being able to ask questions or ask for help has made me a more independent critical thinker. I believe these skills will help me succeed in law school, and they are part of what motivates me to apply in the first place. Having struggled for so long to speak up for myself, I am ready and eager for the day when I can speak up for others who are temporarily unable to. 

“ You talk too much; you should be a lawyer.” 

I heard that sentence often while growing up because Congolese people always tell children who talk a lot that they should be lawyers. Sometimes I wonder if those comments did not subconsciously trigger my interest in politics and then the law. If they did, I am grateful for it. I am thankful for all the experiences that have brought me to this point where I am seeking an education that will allow me to speak for those who don’t always know how to, and, more importantly, those who are unable to. 

For context, I am the child of Congolese immigrants, and my parents have a fascinating story that I will summarize for you: 

A 14-year-old girl watches in confusion as a swarm of parents rush through the classroom, grabbing their children, and other students start running from the class. Soon she realizes that she and one other student are the only ones left, but when they both hear the first round of gunshots, no one has to tell them that it is time to run home. On the way home, she hears more gunshots and bombs. She fears for her survival and that of her family, and she starts to wonder what this war means for her and her family. Within a few months, her mother and father are selling everything they own so that they can board a plane to the US.

On the other side of the town, a 17-year-old boy is being forced to board a plane to the US because his mother, a member of parliament and the person who taught him about the importance of integrity, has been executed by the same group of soldiers who are taking over the region. 

They met a year later, outside the principal’s office at a high school in XXY. They bonded over the many things they have in common and laughed at the fact that their paths probably never would have crossed in Bukavu. Fast forward to today, they have been married for almost two decades and have raised three children, including me. 

Growing up in a Congolese household in the US presented was very interesting. On the one hand, I am very proud of the fact that I get to share my heritage with others. I speak French, Lingala, and Swahili – the main languages of Congo – fluently. I often dress in traditional clothing; I performed a traditional Congolese dance at my high school’s heritage night and even joined the Congolese Student Union at Almamatter University. 

On the other hand, being Congolese presented its challenges growing up. At a young age, I looked, dressed, and sounded different from my classmates. Even though I was born in the US, I had picked up a lot of my parents’ accents, and kids loved to tease me about it. Ignorant comments and questions were not uncommon. “Do you speak African?” “You’re not American! How did you get here?” “You don’t look African” “My mom says I can’t play with you because your parents came here to steal our jobs”. These are some of the polite comments that I heard often, and they made me incredibly sad, especially when classmates I considered my friends made them. 

My parents did not make assimilating any easier. My mother especially always feared I would lose my Congolese identity if they did not make it a point to remind me of it. She often said, “Just because you were born in America doesn’t mean that you are not Congolese anymore.” On one occasion, I argued that she always let me experience my Congolese side, but not my American side. That was the first time she told me I should be a lawyer. 

Having few friends and getting teased in school helped me learn to be comfortable on my own. I Often found refuge and excitement in books. I even started blogging about the books I read and interacting with other readers online. As my following grew, I started to use my platform to raise awareness about issues that I am passionate about, like climate change, the war in Congo, and the homeless crisis here in XXY. I was able to start a fundraising campaign through my blog that raised just under $5000 for the United Way – a local charity that helps the homeless in my city. 

This experience helped me understand that I could use my skills and the few tools at my disposal to help people, both here in America and one day, maybe even in Congo. I realized that I am lucky enough to have the option of expanding that skillset through education in order to do more for the community that welcomed my grandparents, uncles, aunties, and parents when they had nowhere else to go. 

The journey was not easy because while I received immense support and love from my family for continuing my education, I had to teach myself how to prepare and apply to college. Once there I had to learn on my own what my professors expected of me, how to study, how to network, and so much more. I am grateful for those experiences too, because they taught me how to be resourceful, research thoroughly, listen carefully, and seek help when I need it. 

All of these experiences have crafted me into who I am today, and I believe that with the right training, they will help me become a great attorney.

Law School Personal Statement Example #16

During my undergraduate studies, in the first two years, I wasn’t entirely sure what I wanted to do with my career. I enjoyed doing research, but I found that I became more interested in presenting the research than the process of contributing to it. I spoke to most of my science professors to ask if I could participate in their research. I worked in biology labs, chemistry labs, and in psychology classrooms working on a variety of projects that seemed meaningful and interesting. I gained new perspectives on study habits and mental health; the influence of music on the human mind; and applications of surface tension. I noticed that I was always taking the lead when we were presenting our findings to peers and research groups. I enjoyed yielding questions and addressing the captivating the audience with engaging gestures and speech. This was what led me to consider a career in law.

I always thought that I would become a scientist, so when I discovered that there were aspects of law that could be considered “scientific”, I was all ears. Still during my second year of undergraduate studies, I wanted to join an environmental awareness group, but noticed there weren’t any active. So, I took it upon myself to create my own. I wanted to do cleanup projects across the city, so I mapped out parks and areas that we could walk or drive to. I advertised my project to other students and eventually gained approximately fifteen students eager to help out. I was struck by the pollution in the water, the negligence of park maintenance. I drafted a letter to the municipal government and petitioned for a stricter environmental compliance approach. I wanted to advertise fines to hold polluters accountable, as there were hardly any to enforce the rules. A letter was returned to me stating that the government would consider my request. I felt a sense of gratification, of purpose; I discovered that I had the ability to enact change through policy. This drew me closer to the prospect of building a future in law, so I looked at other avenues to learn more.

I still wanted to find a way to bring together my love of science and discourse/communication. As a science student, I had the privilege of learning from professors who emphasized critical thinking; and they gave me a chance to learn that on my own. I took an internship as an environmental planner. There, I helped present project ideas to various groups, updating demographic/development information, and managing planning processes. I engaged in analytical thinking by looking at maps and demographic information to develop potential plans for land use. It was also the experience I was looking for in terms of a balance between science and oral communication. Using data analysis, I spoke to other planners and review boards to bring ideas together and execute a plan.

Through science, I learned how to channel my curiosity and logical thinking; as an advocate, I learned how to be creative and resourceful. Presenting research findings and being questioned in front of a group of qualified researchers, having to be sharp and ready for anything, taught me how to be more concise in speech. Developing an advocacy group dedicated to improving my community showed me what it lacked; it opened my eyes to the impact of initiative and focused collaboration. I was eager to begin another science project, this time with the environment in mind. It was titled “determining and defining the role of sociodemographic factors in air pollution health disparities”. I compiled and summarized relevant research and sent it over to a representative of the municipal government. In a couple of weeks, my request to increase advertising of fines in public areas was agreed to.

This Juris Doctor/Master in Environmental Studies program will allow me to continue deepening my knowledge of environmental law. With my goal of developing a career in environmental affairs, overseeing policies that influence land protection/use, I know that this program will give me the tools I need to succeed. With my experience working with large groups, I also believe I will fit into the larger class sizes at your institution. I understand the value of working together and how to engage in healthy discourse. With your Global Sustainability Certification, I will equip myself the expertise I need to produce meaningful change in environmental policy.

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Law School Personal Statement #17

Growing up in a poor neighborhood, what my friends used to call “the ghetto”, I was always looking for my way out. I tried running away, but I always ended up back home in that tiny complex, barely enough room to fit all my brothers and sisters with my parents. My dad was disabled and couldn’t work, and my mother was doing her best working full-time as a personal-support worker. There was nothing we could do to get out of our situation, or so it seemed. It wasn’t until years later when I started my undergraduate degree that ironically, after I found my way out, that I began looking for a way to come back. I wanted to be a voice for people living in those bleak conditions; hungry, without work. Helpless.

Getting my degree in social work was one of the best decisions of my life. It gave me the tools to lobby for solutions to problems in poor communities. I knew my neighborhood better than anyone because I grew up there. I had the lived experience. I started working with the local government to develop programs for my clients; the people living in those same neighborhoods. We worked to provide financial assistance, legal aid, housing, and medical treatment—all things sorely lacking. My proudest moment was securing the funds and arranging surgery for my father’s bad hip and knees. I’m currently working on a large project with one of the community legislators to lobby for a harm reduction model addressing addiction in our communities.

With five years of experience as a social worker, I knew it was time for a career change when I learned that I could have more influence on public opinion and legislative decisions as a social-security disability lawyer. I knew firsthand that people victimized from racism, poverty, and injury needed more help than they were currently allotted. I knew that, from becoming and advocate and communicating with influential members of the local government, that I could do more with a law degree helping people attain basic needs like disability benefits, which are often denied outright.

This desire to help people get the help they need from local programs and government resources brought me to Scarborough, a small town outside of Toronto. I was aware of some of the issues afflicting this community, since I’d handled a few clients from there as a children’s disability social worker. Addiction and homelessness were the two main ones. I worked with children with ADHD or other physical/mental disabilities impairing their ability to attend school and function normally. I helped many of them get an IEP with the details of the special services they require, long overdue. I made sure each child got the care they needed, including special attention in school. Also noticing that so many of these families lacked proper nutrition, I organized a report detailing this finding. In it, I argued that the community needed more funds targeting lowest income families. I spoke directly with a legislator, which eventually got the city on board with developing a program more specifically for the lowest income families with residents under 18.

My goal has always been to be a voice for the inaudible, the ignored, who’ve been victimized by inadequate oversight from the ground up. Many of these groups, as I’ve witnessed firsthand, don’t have the luxury of being their own advocates. They are too busy trying to support their families, to put food on the table for their children. I’ve realized that it isn’t quite enough to work directly with these families to connect them with resources and ensure they get the support they need. Sometimes the support simply doesn’t exist, or it isn’t good enough. This is why I’m motivated to add a law degree to my credentials so I can better serve these people and communities. As a future social-security disability lawyer, I want to work with local governments to assist clients in navigating an assistance system and improving it as much as possible. This program will give me the access to a learning environment in which I can thrive and develop as an advocate.

Law School Personal Statement #18

“You’re worthy and loved”, I said to a twelve-year-old boy, Connor, whom I was supervising and spending time with during the Big Brother program at which we met. A few tears touched my shoulder as I pulled him into me, comforting him. He was a foster child. He didn’t know his parents and never stayed in one place longer than a few months; a year if he was lucky. I joined the program not expecting much. I was doing it for extra credit, because I wanted to give back to the community somehow and I thought it would be interesting to meet people. He confided in me; he told me that his foster parents often yelled at each other, and him. He told me he needed to escape. I called Child Protective Services and after a thorough investigation, they determined that Connor’s foster parents weren’t fit for fostering. He was moved, yet again, to a different home.

I wrote an op-ed detailing my experience as a Big Brother. I kept names anonymous. I wanted people to know how hard it was for children in the welfare system. Many of them, like Connor, were trapped in a perpetual cycle of re-homing, neglect, and even abuse. He and other children deserve stability and unconditional love. That should go without saying. I sent the op-ed to a local magazine and had it published. In it, I described not only the experience of one unfortunate kid, but many others as well who saw their own stories being told through Connor. I joined a non-profit organization dedicated to improving access to quality education for young people. I started learning about disparities in access; students excluded by racial or financial barriers. I was learning, one step at a time, how powerful words can be.

With the non-profit organization, I reached out to a few public schools in the area to represent some of our main concerns with quality of education disparities. Our goal was to bring resources together and promote the rights of children in education. We emphasized that collaboration between welfare agencies and schools was critical for education stability. Together, we created a report of recommendations to facilitate this collaboration. We outlined a variety of provisions, including more mechanisms for child participation, better recruitment of social service workers in schools, risk management and identification strategies, and better support for students with child protection concerns.

The highlight of that experience was talking to an assembly of parents and school faculty to present our findings and recommendations. The title of the presentation was “The Power of Words”. I opened with the story I wrote about in the op-ed. I wanted to emphasize that children are individuals; those trapped in the welfare system are not a monolith. They each have unique experiences, needs, and desires they want to fulfill in life. But our tools to help them can be improved, more individualized. I spoke about improving the quality of residential care for children and the need to promote their long-term development into further education and employment. Finally, I presented a list of tools we created to help support a more financially sustainable and effective child welfare system. The talk was received with applause and a tenuous commitment from a few influential members of the crowd. It was a start.

Although I lost contact with Connor, I think about him almost every day. I can only hope that the programs we worked on to improve were helping him, wherever he was. I want to continue to work on the ground level of child welfare amelioration, but I realize I will need an education in law to become a more effective advocate for this cause. There are still many problems in the child welfare system that will need to be addressed: limited privacy/anonymity for children, service frameworks that don’t address racism adequately, limited transportation in remote communities, and many more. I’ve gained valuable experience working with the community and learning about what the welfare system lacks and does well. I’m ready to take the next step for myself, my community, and those beyond it.

Assuredly, but this length varies from school to school. As with all important details of your law school application, thoroughly research your specific schools’ requirements and guidelines before both writing and editing your personal statement to ensure it fits their specifics. The average length is about 2 pages, but don’t bother drafting your statement until you have specific numbers from your schools of choice. It’s also a good idea to avoid hitting the maximum length unless absolutely necessary. Be concise, keep economy of language in mind, and remain direct, without rambling or exhaustive over-explanation of your ideas or experiences.

You should keep any words that aren’t your own to a minimum. Admissions committees don’t want to read a citation-heavy academic paper, nor do they respond well to overused famous quotes as themes in personal statements. If you absolutely must include a quote from elsewhere, be sure to clearly indicate your quote’s source. But in general, it’s best to keep the personal statement restricted to your own words and thoughts. They’re evaluating you, not Plato! It’s a personal statement. Give them an engaging narrative in your own voice. 

Admissions committees will already have a strong sense of your academic performance through your transcripts and test scores, so discussing these in your personal statement is generally best avoided. You can contextualize these things, though—if you have an illuminating or meaningful story about how you came to receive an award, or how you enjoyed or learned from the work that won you the award, then consider discussing it. Overall though, it’s best to let admissions committees evaluate your academic qualifications and accomplishments from your transcripts and official documents, and give them something new in the personal statement. 

When you first sit down to begin, cast a wide net. Consider all the many influences and experiences that have led you to where you are. You’ll eventually (through editing and rewriting) explain how these shape your relationship to a career in law, but one of the best things you can give yourself during the initial drafting phase is a vast collection of observations and potential points for development. As the New England School of Law points out in their, “just write!” Let the initial draft be as messy as it needs to be, and refine it from there. It’s a lot easier to condense and sharpen a big draft than it is to try to tensely craft a perfect personal statement from nothing.  

Incredibly important, as should be clear by now! Unlike other specialties, law schools don’t usually conduct interviews with applicants, so your personal statement is in effect your one opportunity to speak with the admissions committee directly. Don’t let that gravity overwhelm you when you write, but keep it in mind as you edit and dedicate time to improving your initial drafts. Be mindful of your audience as you speak with them, and treat writing your personal statement as a kind of initial address in what, hopefully, will eventually turn into an ongoing dialogue.  

There are a variety of factors that can make or break a law school personal statement. You should aim to achieve at least a few of the following: a strong opening hook; a compelling personal narrative; your skills and competencies related to law; meaningful experiences; why you’re the right fit for the school and program.

Often, they do. It’s best for you to go to the schools you’re interesting in applying to so you can find out if they have any specific formatting or content requirements. For example, if you wanted to look at NYU law or Osgoode Hall Law School , you would find their admissions requirements pages and look for information on the personal statement.

There are lots of reasons why a personal statement might not work. Usually, applicants who don’t get accepted didn’t come up with a good strategy for this essay. Remember, you need to target the specific school and program. Other reasons are that the applicant doesn’t plan or proofread their essay. Both are essential for submitting materials that convince the admissions committee that you’re a strong candidate. You can always use law school admissions consulting application review to help you develop your strategy and make your essay stand out.

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How long should a Personal Statement be? Is there any rule on that?

BeMo Academic Consulting

Hello V! Thanks for your question. Some schools will gave very specific word limits, while some will not. If you do not have a limit indicated, try to stick to no more than a page, 600-800 words. 

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Personal Statement for EB2 NIW

What is a Personal Statement 

A personal statement is a document drafted by the petitioner explaining the professional plans to pursue in the United States. It may seem redundant considering that part of the  cover letter  discusses the “proposed endeavor”. However, this plan can bring additional clarity to the USCIS officer. It can define the type of activity, beyond the endeavor, that one plans to undertake. In addition, the highlights of it can be quoted in the  cover letter  itself.

When is a good idea to include a Personal Statement for EB2 NIW?

A personal statement is a good idea for petitioners who are working professionals and not businesspeople or entrepreneurs. In other words, a personal statement or professional plan makes sense for a person who has been and/or plans to be an employee in an organization. For example, a scientist or researcher who has worked in academia or in a company. Or an engineer who works for companies developing products.

On the other hand, businesspeople or entrepreneurs may choose to write and attach a business plan instead, which can be more relevant to their occupations and provide more details to the USCIS officer. We will cover business plans in a separate blog post.

How to make a Personal Statement for EB-2 NIW

When writing a Personal Statement, the petitioner should be intentional since some excerpts from this document will be quoted in the petition’s cover letter. The structure of the personal statement can be the following:

• Salutation . Similar to the  recommendation letters , it is courteous to include some sort of salutation to the USCIS officer that will review the document. “Dear Sir/Madam”, “Dear USCIS Officer”, “To Whom It May Concern”, are a few options.
• Subject line . For example: “Personal Statement – Name and Last Name”
• Petitioner´s background . This is just a summary of the profile of qualifications. It can be half or less than half of the document and it can serve as a reminder of how the person is well positioned in the field of endeavor.
• Petitioner’s professional plans . In this part of the letter, the petitioner explains what the plans are for work in the United States, should a green card be granted. This should be at least half of the document. In the next section, I cover this part more in detail.
• Name and signature . Don’t forget to sign in ink – it looks so much more professional!

How long should the Personal Statement be?

In my opinion, this document should be approximately 2 to 4 pages. Of course, each case is different and may require shorter or longer explanations. In general, you do not want to write too much that is completely boring to read. Too short personal statements could leave the USCIS officer thinking that there are no solid plans for a future in the US.

Want to see a real EB2 NIW petition?

You can download my sucessful I-140 petition package, which includes 20+ pages of cover letter, the filled out forms, and all the Exhibits with supporting evidence. You can use this as a reference for your own DIY petition!

What to include in a Professional Plan for EB2 NIW

The petitioner’s professional plans can be broken down into sub-headers or paragraphs. A first paragraph can provide just an overview of the plans in the US, and then subsequent paragraphs can explain in detail different aspects. For example, a scientist or researcher can dedicate one paragraph to introducing the overall topic of investigation – let’s say process development for bioproducts. Then, there can be different sub-sections describing specific projects, such as “Production of biofuels from biomass residues”, and “Production of RNA for biopesticide uses”.

It is important to briefly link each project to its National (or international) Importance, to reinforce the idea that the endeavor is indeed linked to the United States’ interests.

Additionally, I suggest explaining in detail what type of job the petitioner is seeking , to articulate the work in the US better. If already in the US, the petitioner can talk about their current position (its relevance) and what type of organization it is. If there were already other job offers made , or recruiters approaching the petitioner, it is also interesting to mention them and add those as evidence in a suitable Exhibit. This can be additional evidence of how the petitioner is well positioned as there is interest in their services. All of this can be included in a separate subsection.

Wrap everything up by reaffirming how convinced you are that you will be able to easily find (or retain) the targeted job once you obtain the residency.

The value of the Personal Statement for EB2 NIW

The Personal Statement is useful to articulate the plans in the United States properly. This lets the USCIS officer know that the petitioner has a specific vision and plan to follow once in the US. This can help establish the second prong of  the Matter of Dhanasar  (the petitioner is well-positioned). In fact,  the USCIS Policy Manual specifically talks about this type of documen t  as one of the types of evidence that can be used for this prong: “A plan describing how the person intends to continue the proposed work in the United States”.

In conclusion: what should you do?

Like for other green card application matters, the decision is yours (and your lawyer’s if you use one) . You know your case and can decide if a Personal Statement containing your professional plans can add any value to your EB-2 NIW application. If you think it can make your case stronger and clearer, then I would include it. In my case, I decided not to include a Personal Statement because there was little information to add through this document. You can  download my real successful I-140 package here.  

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1 thought on “Personal Statement for EB2 NIW”

Hello Oscar,

I’m lost during the preparation of my cover letter, I bought your self-petition files and saw how you divided your petition into 3 sections each one for the Dhanasar prongs. Can I merge all the 3 prongs into one chapter? will the USCIS officer determine all the 3 prongs based on this chapter? or should I have 3 separate sections for each prong?

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Your personal statement

The purpose of a personal statement is to showcase your relevant skills and experience against the job requirements.  The statement is your opportunity to give examples of how you fit the requirements of the job.  When writing a personal statement it is important that you:

• Read the job specification so you are clear about the job requirements.
• Outline the skills and experience that you have that are relevant to the job and use examples to help demonstrate this.   Wherever possible include specific facts and figures that demonstrate the tangible results of your work.
• Keep to the word limit. If your statement is too brief it will not provide the required depth of detail and evidence to be assessed fully. 
• Proofread your statement before submitting it to make sure it is clear, easy to read and relevant.

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Excellent Law School Personal Statement Examples By David Busis Published May 5, 2019 Updated Feb 10, 2021

We’ve rounded up five spectacular personal statements that helped students with borderline numbers get into T-14 schools. You’ll find these examples to be as various as a typical JD class. Some essays are about a challenge, some about the evolution of the author’s intellectual or professional journey, and some about the author’s identity. The only common thread is sincerity. The authors did not write toward an imagined idea of what an admissions officer might be looking for: they reckoned honestly with formative experiences.

Personal Statement about a Career Journey

The writer of this personal statement matriculated at Georgetown. Her GPA was below the school’s 25th percentile and her LSAT score was above the 75th percentile. She was not a URM.

* Note that we’ve used female pronouns throughout, though some of the authors are male.

I don’t remember anything being out of the ordinary before I fainted—just the familiar, heady feeling and then nothing. When I came to, they were wheeling me away to the ER. That was the last time I went to the hospital for my neurology observership. Not long after, I crossed “doctor” off my list of post-graduate career options. It would be best, I figured, if I did something for which the day-to-day responsibilities didn’t make me pass out.

Back at the drawing board, I reflected on my choices. The first time around, my primary concern was how I could stay in school for the longest amount of time possible. Key factors were left out of my decision: I had no interest in medicine, no aptitude for the natural sciences, and, as it quickly became apparent, no stomach for sick patients. The second time around, I was honest with myself: I had no idea what I wanted to do.

My college graduation speaker told us that the word “job” comes from the French word “gober,” meaning “to devour.” When I fell into digital advertising, I was expecting a slow and toothless nibbling, a consumption whose impact I could ignore while I figured out what I actually wanted to do. I’d barely started before I realized that my interviewers had been serious when they told me the position was sink or swim. At six months, I was one toothbrush short of living at our office. It was an unapologetic aquatic boot camp—and I liked it. I wanted to swim. The job was bringing out the best in me and pushing me to do things I didn’t think I could do.

I remember my first client emergency. I had a day to re-do a presentation that I’d been researching and putting together for weeks. I was panicked and sure that I’d be next on the chopping block. My only cogent thought was, “Oh my god. What am I going to do?” The answer was a three-part solution I know well now: a long night, lots of coffee, and laser-like focus on exactly and only what was needed.

Five years and numerous emergencies later, I’ve learned how to work: work under pressure, work when I’m tired, and work when I no longer want to. I have enough confidence to set my aims high and know I can execute on them. I’ve learned something about myself that I didn’t know when I graduated: I am capable.

The word “career” comes from the French word “carrière,” denoting a circular racecourse. Perhaps it shouldn’t surprise me then, that I’ve come full circle with regards to law school. For two college summers, I interned as a legal associate and wondered, “Is this for me?” I didn’t know if I was truly interested, and I was worried that even if I was, I wouldn’t be able to see it through. Today, I don’t have those fears.

In the course of my advertising career, I have worked with many lawyers to navigate the murky waters of digital media and user privacy. Whereas most of my co-workers went to great lengths to avoid our legal team, I sought them out. The legal conversations about our daily work intrigued me. How far could we go in negotiating our contracts to reflect changing definitions of an impression? What would happen if the US followed the EU and implemented wide-reaching data-protection laws?

Working on the ad tech side of the industry, I had the data to target even the most niche audiences: politically-active Mormon Democrats for a political client; young, low-income pregnant women for a state government; millennials with mental health concerns in a campaign for suicide prevention. The extent to which digital technology has evolved is astonishing. So is the fact that it has gone largely unregulated. That’s finally changing, and I believe the shift is going to open up a more prominent role for those who understand both digital technology and its laws. I hope to begin my next career at the intersection of those two worlds.

Personal Statement about Legal Internships

The writer of this essay was admitted to every T14 law school from Columbia on down and matriculated at a top JD program with a large merit scholarship. Her LSAT score was below the median and her GPA was above the median of each school that accepted her. She was not a URM.

About six weeks into my first legal internship, my office-mate gestured at the window—we were seventy stories high in the Chrysler Building—and said, with a sad smile, doesn’t this office just make you want to jump? The firm appeared to be falling apart. The managing partners were suing each other, morale was low, and my boss, in an effort to maintain his client base, had instructed me neither to give any information to nor take any orders from other attorneys. On my first day of work, coworkers warned me that the firm could be “competitive,” which seemed to me like a good thing. I considered myself a competitive person and enjoyed the feeling of victory. This, though, was the kind of competition in which everyone lost.

Although I felt discouraged about the legal field after this experience, I chose not to give up on the profession, and after reading a book that featured the U.S. attorney’s office for the Southern District of New York, I sent in an internship application. Shortly after, I received an offer to work at the office. For my first assignment, I attended a hearing in the federal courthouse. As I entered the magnificent twenty-third-floor courtroom, I felt the gravitas of the issue at hand: the sentencing of a terrorist.

That sense of gravitas never left me, and visiting the courtroom became my favorite part of the job. Sitting in hearings amidst the polished brass fixtures and mahogany walls, watching attorneys in refined suits prosecute terror, cybercrime, and corruption, I felt part of a grand endeavor. The spectacle enthralled me: a trial was like a combination of a theatrical performance and an athletic event. If I’d seen the dark side of competition at my first job, now I was seeing the bright side. I sat on the edge of my seat and watched to see if good—my side—triumphed over evil—the defense. Every conviction seemed like an unambiguous achievement. I told my friends that one day I wanted to help “lock up the bad guys.”

It wasn’t until I interned at the public defender’s office that I realized how much I’d oversimplified the world. In my very first week, I took the statement of a former high school classmate who had been charged with heroin possession. I did not know him well in high school, but we both recognized one another and made small talk before starting the formal interview. He had fallen into drug abuse and had been convicted of petty theft several months earlier. After finishing the interview, I wished him well.

The following week, in a courtroom that felt more like a macabre DMV than the hallowed halls I’d seen with the USAO, I watched my classmate submit his guilty plea, which would allow him to do community service in lieu of jail time. The judge accepted his plea and my classmate mumbled a quiet “thank you.” I felt none of the achievement I’d come to associate with guilty pleas. In that court, where hundreds of people trudged through endless paperwork and long lines before they could even see a judge, there were no good guys and bad guys—just people trying to put their lives back together.

A year after my internship at the public defender’s office, I read a profile of Preet Bharara, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, and my former boss. In the profile, he says, “You don’t want a justice system in which prosecutors are cowboys.” The more I saw at the public defender’s office, the more I rethought my experience at the USAO. When I had excitedly called my parents after an insider trading conviction, I had not thought of the defendant’s family. When I had cheered the conviction of a terrorist, I hadn’t thought about the fact that a conviction could not undo his actions. As I now plan on entering the legal profession—either as a prosecutor or public defender—I realize that my enthusiasm momentarily overwrote my empathy. I’d been playing cowboy. A lawyer’s job isn’t to lock up bad guys or help good guys in order to quench a competitive thirst—it’s to subsume his or her ego in the work and, by presenting one side of a case, create a necessary condition for justice.

Personal Statement about Cultural Identity

The writer of this essay was offered significant merit aid packages from Cornell, Michigan, and Northwestern, and matriculated at NYU Law. Her LSAT score was below the 25th percentile LSAT score and her GPA matched the median GPA of NYU.

By the age of five, I’d attended seven kindergartens and collected more frequent flier miles than most adults. I resided in two worlds – one with fast motorcycles, heavy pollution, and the smell of street food lingering in the air; the other with trimmed grass, faint traces of perfume mingling with coffee in the mall, and my mom pressing her hand against my window as she left for work. She was the only constant between these two worlds – flying me between Taiwan and America as she struggled to obtain a U.S. citizenship.

My family reunited for good around my sixth birthday, when we flew back to Taiwan to join my dad. I forgot about the West, acquired a taste for Tangyuan, and became fast friends with the kids in my neighborhood. In the evenings, I’d sit with my grandmother as she watched soap operas in Taiwanese, the dialect of the older generation, which I picked up in unharmonious bits and pieces. Other nights, she would turn off the TV, and speak to me about tradition and history – recounting my ancestors, life during the Japanese regime, raising my dad under martial law. “You are the last of the Li’s,” she would say, patting my back, and I’d feel a quick rush of pride, as though a lineage as deep as that of the English monarchy rested on my shoulders.

When I turned seven, my parents enrolled me in an American school, explaining that it was time for me, a Tai Wan Ren (Taiwanese), to learn English – “a language that could open doors to better opportunities.” Although I learned slowly, with a handful of the most remedial in ESL (English as a Second Language), books like The Secret Garden and The Wind in the Willows opened up new worlds of captivating images and beautiful stories that I longed to take part in.

Along with the new language, I adopted a different way to dress, new mannerisms, and new tastes, including American pop culture. I stopped seeing the neighborhood kids, and sought a set of friends who shared my affinity for HBO movies and  Claire’s Jewelry . Whenever taxi drivers or waitresses asked where I was from, noting that I spoke Chinese with too much of an accent to be native, I told them I was American.

At home, I asked my mom to stop packing Taiwanese food for my lunch. The cheap food stalls I once enjoyed now embarrassed me. Instead, I wanted instant mashed potatoes and Kraft mac and cheese.

When it came time for college, I enrolled in a liberal arts school on the East Coast to pursue my love of literature, and was surprised to find that my return to America did not feel like the full homecoming I’d expected. America was as familiar as it was foreign, and while I had mastered being “American” in Taiwan, being an American in America baffled me. The open atmosphere of my university, where ideas and feelings were exchanged freely, felt familiar and welcoming, but cultural references often escaped me. Unlike my friends who’d grown up in the States, I had never heard of Wonder Bread, or experienced the joy of Chipotle’s burrito bowls. Unlike them, I missed the sound of motorcycles whizzing by my window on quiet nights.

It was during this time of uncertainty that I found my place through literature, discovering Taiye Selasi, Edward Said, and Primo Levi, whose works about origin and personhood reshaped my conception of my own identity. Their usage of the language of otherness provided me with the vocabulary I had long sought, and revealed that I had too simplistic an understanding of who I was. In trying to discover my role in each cultural context, I’d confined myself within an easy dichotomy, where the East represented exotic foods and experiences, and the West, development and consumerism. By idealizing the latter and rejecting the former, I had reduced the richness of my worlds to caricatures. Where I am from, and who I am, is an amalgamation of my experiences and heritage: I am simultaneously a Mei Guo Ren and Taiwanese.

Just as I once reconciled my Eastern and Western identities, I now seek to reconcile my love of literature with my desire to effect tangible change. I first became interested in law on my study abroad program, when I visited the English courts as a tourist. As I watched the barristers deliver their statements, it occurred to me that law and literature have some similarities: both are a form of criticism that depends on close reading, the synthesis of disparate intellectual frameworks, and careful argumentation. Through my subsequent internships and my current job, I discovered that legal work possessed a tangibility I found lacking in literature. The lawyers I collaborate with work tirelessly to address the same problems and ideas I’ve explored only theoretically in my classes – those related to human rights, social contracts, and moral order. Though I understand that lawyers often work long hours, and that the work can be, at times, tedious, I’m drawn to the kind of research, analysis, and careful reading that the profession requires. I hope to harness my critical abilities to reach beyond the pages of the books I love and make meaningful change in the real world.

Personal Statement about Weightlifting

The writer of this essay was admitted to her top choice—a T14 school—with a handwritten note from the dean that praised her personal statement. Her LSAT score was below the school’s median and her GPA was above the school’s median.

As I knelt to tie balloons around the base of the white, wooden cross, I thought about the morning of my best friend’s accident: the initial numbness that overwhelmed my entire body; the hideous sound of my own small laugh when I called the other member of our trio and repeated the words “Mark died”; the panic attack I’d had driving home, resulting in enough tears that I had to pull off to the side of the road. Above all, I remembered the feeling of reality crashing into my previously sheltered life, the feeling that nothing was as safe or certain as I’d believed.

I had been with Mark the day before he passed, exactly one week before we were both set to move down to Tennessee to start our freshman year of college. It would have been difficult to feel so alone with my grief in any circumstance, but Mark’s crash seemed to ignite a chain reaction of loss. I had to leave Nashville abruptly in order to attend the funeral of my grandmother, who helped raise me, and at the end of the school year, a close friend who had helped me adjust to college was killed by an oncoming car on the day that he’d graduated. Just weeks before visiting Mark’s grave on his birthday, a childhood friend shot and killed himself in an abandoned parking lot on Christmas Eve. I spent Christmas Day trying to act as normally as possible, hiding the news in order not to ruin the holiday for the rest of my family.

This pattern of loss compounding loss affected me more than I ever thought it would. First, I just avoided social media out of fear that I’d see condolences for yet another friend who had passed too early. Eventually, I shut down emotionally and lost interest in the world—stopped attending social gatherings, stopped talking to anyone, and stopped going to many of my classes, as every day was a struggle to get out of bed. I hated the act that I had to put on in public, where I was always getting asked the same question —“I haven’t seen you in forever, where have you been?”—and always responding with the same lie: “I’ve just been really busy.”

I had been interested in bodybuilding since high school, but during this time, the lowest period of my life, it changed from a simple hobby to a necessity and, quite possibly, a lifesaver. The gym was the one place I could escape my own mind, where I could replace feelings of emptiness with the feeling of my heart pounding, lungs exploding, and blood flooding my muscles, where—with sweat pouring off my forehead and calloused palms clenched around cold steel—I could see clearly again.

Not only did my workouts provide me with an outlet for all of my suppressed emotion, but they also became the one aspect of my life where I felt I was still in control. I knew that if it was Monday, no matter what else was going on, I was going to be working out my legs, and I knew exactly what exercises I was going to do, and how many repetitions I was going to perform, and how much weight I was going to use for each repetition. I knew exactly when I would be eating and exactly how many grams of each food source I would ingest. I knew how many calories I would get from each of proteins, carbohydrates, and fats. My routine was one thing I could count on.

As I loaded more plates onto the barbell, I grew stronger mentally as well. The gym became a place, paradoxically, of both exertion and tranquility, a sanctuary where I felt capable of thinking about the people I’d lost. It was the healing I did there that let me tie the balloons to the cross on Mark’s third birthday after the crash, and that let me spend the rest of the afternoon sharing stories about Mark with friends on the side of the rural road. It was the healing I did there that left me ready to move on.

One of the fundamental principles of weightlifting involves progressively overloading the muscles by taking them to complete failure, coming back, and performing past the point where you last failed, consistently making small increases over time. The same principle helped me overcome my grief, and in the past few years, I’ve applied it to everything from learning Spanish to studying for the LSAT. As I prepare for the next stage of my life, I know I’ll encounter more challenges for which I’m unprepared, but I feel strong enough now to acknowledge my weaknesses, and—by making incremental gains—to overcome them.

Personal Statement about Sexual Assault

The writer of this essay was accepted to many top law schools and matriculated at Columbia. Her LSAT score matched Columbia’s median while her GPA was below Columbia’s 25th percentile.

My rapist didn’t hold a knife to my throat. My rapist didn’t jump out of a dark alleyway. My rapist didn’t slip me a roofie. My rapist was my eighth-grade boyfriend, who was already practicing with the high school football team. He assaulted me in his suburban house in New Jersey, while his mom cooked us dinner in the next room, in the back of an empty movie theatre, on the couch in my basement.

It started when I was thirteen and so excited to have my first real boyfriend. He was a football player from a different school who had a pierced ear and played the guitar. I, a shy, slightly chubby girl with a bad haircut and very few friends, felt wanted, needed, and possibly loved. The abuse—the verbal and physical harassment that eventually turned sexual—was just something that happened in grown-up relationships. This is what good girlfriends do, I thought. They say yes.

Never having had a sex-ed class in my life, it took me several months after my eighth-grade graduation and my entry into high school to realize the full extent of what he did to me. My overall experience of first “love” seemed surreal. This was something that happened in a Lifetime movie, not in a small town in New Jersey in his childhood twin bed. I didn’t tell anyone about what happened. I had a different life in a different school by then, and I wasn’t going to let my trauma define my existence.

As I grew older, I was confronted by the fact that rape is not a surreal misfortune or a Lifetime movie. It’s something that too many of my close friends have experienced. It’s when my sorority sister tells me about the upstairs of a frat house when she’s too drunk to say no. It’s when the boy in the room next door tells me about his uncle during freshman orientation. It’s a high school peer whose summer internship boss became too handsy. Rape is real. It’s happening every day, to mothers, brothers, sisters, and fathers—a silent majority that want to manage the burden on their own, afraid of judgement, afraid of repercussions, afraid of a he-said she-said court battle.

I am beyond tired of the silence. It took me three years to talk about what happened to me, to come clean to my peers and become a model of what it means to speak about something that society tells you not to speak about. Motivated by my own experience and my friends’ stories, I joined three groups that help educate my college community about sexual health and assault: New Feminists, Speak for Change, and Sexual Assault Responders. I trained to staff a peer-to-peer emergency hotline for survivors of sexual assault. I protested the university’s cover-up of a gang-rape in the basement of a fraternity house two doors from where I live now. As a member of my sorority’s executive board, I have talked extensively about safety and sexual assault, and have orchestrated a speaker on the subject to come to campus and talk to the exceptional young women I consider family. I’ve proposed a DOE policy change to make sexual violence education mandatory to my city councilman. This past summer, I traveled to a country notorious for sexual violence and helped lay the groundwork for a health center that will allow women to receive maternal care, mental health counseling, and career counseling.

Law school is going to help me take my advocacy to the next level. Survivors of sexual assault, especially young survivors, often don’t know where to turn. They don’t know their Title IX rights, they don’t know about the Clery Act, and they don’t know how to demand help when every other part of the system is shouting at them to be quiet and give up. Being a lawyer, first and foremost, is being an advocate. With a JD, I can work with groups like SurvJustice and the Rape Survivors Law Project to change the lives of people who were silenced for too long.

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