as a guide in helping understand how an individual’s inability to access a nationality creates unique challenges and potential eligibilities in the immigration context. First, a client must be screened to determine if they are stateless, which is detailed in Chapter 1. There are numerous forms of legal relief available to a stateless client: asylum, withholding of removal, cancellation of removal, and deferred action (explained in Chapter 2 of this manual). Chapter 3 discusses ways to improve the lives of stateless clients, including release from detention, reducing reporting requirements, and securing multi-year work. “Before UNHCR and my attorney recognized me as a stateless person, I felt hopeless and misunderstood. Now, I have someone who understands my situation. I am less fearful of being detained again and I am able to travel more freely within the United States than I could before they worked with the government officials. With their help, I hope to see my son Danil someday.” -- Tatianna, stateless woman living in the United States and separated from her son in Russia for more than two decades. Across the globe, the legal community is a key partner to UNHCR in our efforts to end statelessness and protect the rights of stateless people. UNHCR appreciates the efforts of the legal community in the United States in improving protections for stateless people and hopes that the first edition of this manual serves as an effective resource to that end. Law, policy, and practice are certain to develop in this area in the years to come. We look forward to working together as this body of knowledge and law continues to grow. UNHCR Regional Office for the United States of America and the Caribbean August 2017, Washington, DC While gaps exist in U.S. law that make it possible for a former United States citizen who has formally renounced her citizenship to be outside of the United States and stateless, this version of the manual does not address this situation, but rather, focuses on representing stateless individuals within the United States. 7 2