2012 NLC Fellow: Tammy Lin

Tammy Lin
Immigration Attorney, Prins Asylum Attorney, Jewish Family Service of San Diego

Tammy Lin is the immigration attorney for Jewish Family Service of San Diego’s Prins Asylum Program providing pro bono representation to scientists, musicians, artists, scholars, and professionals seeking asylum with the ultimate goal of rebuilding their careers free from persecution. Envisioned in 2008 as a west coast affiliate to HIAS’s Prins Program (NYC), Tammy was JFSSD’s lone attorney in a sea of social workers creating the organization’s first legal program. In its fifth year, Prins holds a high asylum grant rate with clients from around the world (e.g. Africa, Russia, Cuba, Asia, Middle East) in a range of professions (e.g. professors, doctors, musicians, journalists) and of all denominations.

Tammy previously worked as an associate in a business immigration firm and clerked with the ACLU San Diego, Texas Civil Rights Project, Elder Law & Advocacy, Center for Public Interest Law, and California Senate Public Safety Committee as an Associate Consultant. She earned a B.A. from the University of Notre Dame (Pol.Sci/I.R. with Minor, Peace Studies) and a J.D. from the University of San Diego School of Law. Tammy, a Texas native, is a daughter of immigrants that spent her childhood in the family’s Chinese restaurant. Her dog’s name is Homer.