Terms of Use

Last updated: June 12, 2020

Pro Bono Net, Inc. (PBN, for short) is a New York non-profit corporation that provides the website, www.citizenshipworks.org, and related mobile applications (each, a “Site”) as a free service to individuals seeking to apply for U.S. citizenship or learn about the naturalization process. PBN also offers certain features of our Sites as a service to organizations giving not-for-profit or reduce fee legal assistance to individuals seeking to be naturalized.

These terms of use apply to all users who visit the site, subject to the requirements of Section 2 (“Who May Use This Site”), but not to LSOs and Advocates. LSOs refers to organizations giving not-for-profit or reduced legal fee assistance, and Advocates refers to Lawyers or DOJ accredited representatives and their staff in an LSO. For terms of use applicable to LSOs and Advocates, please click here.

When you use this Site you agree to all of the terms listed below. Please read them carefully. Also check these Terms of Use periodically because PBN updates them from time to time. All updates become effective when posted.

Using this Site means you agree to review and follow these:

  • Terms of Use,
  • All updates, and
  • Other policies and rules posted at this Site.

Together, these terms, updates, and other policies and rules form the complete agreement between you and PBN. The most recent version always supersedes any previous version, whether oral or written.

Click on any section:

General

  1. Use of this Site does not make you PBN’s client
  2. Who May Use This Site
  3. Not for Commercial Use
  4. User information
  5. No Illegal Activity
  6. PBN’s Ownership Rights
  7. Follow PBN's Rules
  8. Communications with PBN
  9. Privacy
  10. Confidentiality
  11. Closing Your Account
  12. Links
  13. Disclaimer

Legal Claims and Procedures

  1. Limited Liability
  2. Indemnification
  3. Arbitration
  4. Jurisdiction
  5. Enforcing PBN's Rights
  6. Third Party Rights
  7. Severability
  8. Notification of Alleged Copyright Infringement
  9. Integration
  10. Modification to Terms of Use

    General

    Use of this Site does not make you PBN’s client

    You do not become PBN’s client merely by using this Site. This Site provides information, not legal advice. The purpose of this Site is to provide general information about your eligibility to apply for U.S. citizenship and to help you complete your Form N-400 if you are eligible. You cannot use this site to electronically file your Form N-400 with the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). You must print your application and follow the USCIS instructions to file your application by mail.

    We do not warrant or guarantee that the information on this Site or provided by PBN’s support staff is accurate or up-to-date. We do not warrant or guarantee any results based on your use of this Site. When you use this Site, you do so at your own risk.

    Because this Site and PBN’s support staff are not lawyers, they cannot:

    • Give you advice, opinions, or recommendations about your rights or your case,
    • Apply the law to the facts of your case,
    • Make conclusions about your case,
    • Tell you if your answers are legally sufficient,
    • Tell you about possible defenses, choices, or outcomes,
    • Review your Form N-400 or supporting documentation, or
    • Represent or protect you or your interests.

    By using this Site, you agree that:

    • If you decide to rely on information received from this Site, you do so at your own risk,
    • You do not have the right to make a claim that you were harmed because you used this Site,
    • Your use of this Site does not create any attorney-client relationship or any other fiduciary relationship between you and PBN, and
    • You will use this Site in accordance with the laws of the jurisdiction where you are located.

    For legal advice about your case, you should see a lawyer or a Department of Justice (DOJ) accredited representative. The Form N-400 you generate through this Site may require consultation with a lawyer or DOJ accredited representative prior to signing or filing.

    The Site lists a number of non-profit legal service organizations (“LSOs”) that provide free or low-cost services. Some of the listed LSOs have partnered with PBN, allowing them to provide services through the Site (“CW Partners”), while others have not. Should you require legal services, you are free to choose any LSO listed on the Site or any non-listed organization of your choice. If you choose a CW Partner as your LSO, you agree that the CW Partner will be able to access all information you provide to this Site and can contact you directly via email or text message. If the LSO you choose from the list is not a CW Partner, it will not be able to access your information through this Site, and you are responsible for providing your information directly to the LSO.

    Our lists of LSOs are provided solely for your convenience. The LSOs on this list are not affiliated with or controlled by PBN, and PBN does not approve, endorse or recommend any particular LSO.

    Whether you enter into an attorney-client relationship with any lawyer is solely up to you and that lawyer. Any advice given to you by anyone from an LSO (an “Advocate”) through the Site (for example, through a videoconference through the Site) reflects solely the opinion and advice of that Advocate, and not PBN.

    We have also partnered with various legal and non-legal organizations to create Partner Portal Pages and Campaigns. If you choose to start your application through a Partner Portal Page or a Campaign, your information will be sent to that partner and they will be able to contact you via email and text message to help with your application process.

    Who May Use This Site

    To use any part of this Site, you must be:

    • 13 or older, and
    • Legally able to agree to the terms of using this Site or use this Site with a guardian or other representative who is able to legally agree to the terms of using this Site.

    You may use this Site if you:

    • Use it only for your and your family’s application for U.S. citizenship, or if you are an authorized Advocate, only for your clients’ applications*,
    • Do not let anyone else use your account,
    • Do not use it for any commercial purpose,
    • Credit PBN as the source of any information from this Site, either by copyright or attribution, and
    • Consent to having any data you provide to PBN, including personal data, transferred to and processed in the United States.

    Warning! PBN can cancel your account at any time if you do not follow these Terms of Use.

    * Additional Terms of Use for Advocates appear below.

    Not for Commercial Use

    This Site was created for:

    • Individuals seeking to be naturalized,
    • Individuals seeking to learn about the naturalization process, and
    • Lawyers, DOJ accredited representatives and their staff who offer services to low-income people pro bono or at non-profits or reduced fee legal aid agencies.

    You may not use this Site for any commercial purpose.

    Unless PBN gives you its written permission, you may not reproduce, copy, change, publish, display, distribute any part of this Site, except as allowed by the terms of this agreement.

    Warning! Do not use this Site to practice law if you are not a lawyer or a DOJ accredited representative. If you do, you may face criminal and civil charges for practicing law without a license.

    User information

    To use certain parts of this Site, you must provide your registration information, including a username and password. The information you provide must be correct and complete, and you must update it if any of that information changes.

    To use this Site, you must agree to:

    • Use your chosen username and password when you access the Site,
    • Not let anyone else use your username or password to access this Site,
    • Be liable for anyone who accesses the Site with your user information, and
    • Protect your user information so that others cannot use it.

    Protect Your Password

    To protect your information, you should not use your name, birthday, address, street name, Social Security number, alien registration number, driver’s license number, a single word, or other information that is easy to guess. A strong password should include a combination of capital and lowercase letters, numbers, and symbols and should be at least 8 characters long.

    If you suspect someone is using your login information, contact us right away at: support@citizenshipworks.org.

    No Illegal Activity

    PBN may investigate complaints and reported violations. If we suspect illegal or inappropriate activity, we may report it to law enforcement officials, regulators, or other parties. We may disclose user information of anyone or any entity involved in that activity to the extent necessary, including: user profiles, e-mail addresses, usage history, submitted or uploaded materials, IP addresses, and traffic information. If possible, we will take reasonable steps to minimize the disclosure of confidential information of users who are not the target of the investigations, such as by redacting confidential information.

    You must not use this Site in any way that would be considered as illegal under New York law, U.S. law, or the laws of your state.

    Do not use this Site to:

    • Upload content that is illegal, harmful, threatening, abusive, harassing, defamatory, vulgar, obscene, invasive of someone’s privacy, hateful, or racially, ethnically objectionable, or wrongful in some other way,
    • Harm a child in any way,
    • Misrepresent your affiliation with a person or agency or impersonate a person or agency, including PBN or its staff,
    • Upload content that you do not have a right to transmit, including information from fiduciary relationships, such as inside information, proprietary and confidential information learned or disclosed as part of employment relationships or under nondisclosure agreements,
    • Upload content that infringes, misappropriates, or in any way violates a party’s patent, trademark, trade secret, copyright or other proprietary rights,
    • Stalk or harass someone, or
    • Use any function of this Site to collect or store personal data about other users unless PBN and the user(s) have authorized you to do so.

    PBN’s Ownership Rights

    This Site is protected by copyrights, trademarks, trade dress, service marks, patents and other proprietary rights and laws. PBN alone owns its copyrights to this Site’s layout, graphics, navigation design, source code, the collective and compiled copyrights in its databases, and all other content created by PBN employees, contractors, consultants, and contributors to this Site.

    You may not use or alter any of the information or content on this Site in any way, except that you may use the Site and print copies of it for personal, non-commercial use. Any print-outs from this Site must retain all copyright, trademark and other proprietary notices.

    You may not use PBN’s trademarks, service marks, or trade dress in any way, including in:

    • Services or products not owned by PBN,
    • A way that causes confusion or implies that PBN sponsors, endorses, or is connected to your own activities, products, or services,
    • Hidden or embedded text in web pages, or
    • A way that is critical of PBN or this Site.

    Follow PBN's Rules

    To use this Site you must follow these Terms unless you get PBN’s express written permission to do otherwise.

    Do not:

    • Upload unsolicited or unauthorized advertising, promotional materials, junk mail, spam, chain letters, pyramid schemes, or other form of solicitation, except in areas designated for that purpose,
    • Upload material that contains software viruses or any other computer code, files or programs designed to interrupt, destroy or limit the functionality of any computer software, hardware, or telecommunications equipment,
    • Interfere with this Site or the servers and networks connected to this Site, or
    • Disobey any requirement, procedure, policy or regulation of a network connected to this Site.

    You must not use any part of this Site, its content, or its underlying programs to:

    • Decompile, extract or disassemble our source code,
    • Copy, change, reproduce, republish, distribute, display, or transmit for commercial, non-profit or public purposes any part of this Site, its content or its software, except as allowed by other terms of this agreement,
    • Rent, lease, loan, sell, sublicense, or create derivative works from this Site, except as allowed by the terms of this agreement,
    • Use software or other methods to monitor or copy our Site or software,
    • Determine the Site architecture or extract information about usage, users, or their identities, or
    • Use, export, or re-export any part of this Site or its content in violation of U.S. export control laws.

    You must not use any material owned by PBN or licensed to PBN by a third party for any use, especially not for any commercial use. This includes:

    • Text, forms, documents, images, graphics, logos, or button icons,
    • Any other material or information you get from a PBN’s contributors,
    • Other content or copyright material owned by PBN or a PBN contributor, and
    • Any PBN trademark, service mark, or logo.

    Communications with PBN

    You may communicate with PBN by e-mail, our support form, or through the live chat feature for questions about PBN’s service or for limited technical support.

    If you send us an e-mail or a message through the live chat system, please be advised that the Internet is not a secure method of transmitting information. We shall have no liability for any loss or damage that results from interception and/or unauthorized use by third parties of any information you send by e-mail or live chat. For information regarding our use of your e-mail address and other personal information, please review our privacy policy.

    Privacy

    To use this Site you must agree to PBN’s privacy policy. Not for Commercial Use

    Confidentiality

    PBN takes reasonable steps to keep your information confidential. Please be aware: If you are working with a CW Partner through the Site, your Advocate from the CW Partner may be able to access the information you provide at this Site.

    Closing Your Account

    You may:

    • Delete any information you have entered that was saved to this Site, and
    • Close your account at this Site.

    You may also have your registration information deleted from our database by contacting: support@citizenshipworks.org. Send your request from the email address you used to register.

    PBN may terminate or suspend your license to this Site at any time for any reason, without notice to you. If you do not access your account for 180 days, your account and any information you have entered may be deleted.

    PBN may also close this Site at any time for any reason, without notice to you.

    Links

    Links to other websites

    This Site may list links to other websites. We do this for your convenience only. When you click on a link to other websites, you leave this Site. Those links are not a recommendation or approval of those sites or their owners and those websites are not under PBN’s control. We are not responsible for those websites, the information, services or products they may offer, or any loss or damage you may have at those sites.

    Links to this Site

    You may not link to this Site from another website for commercial purposes. Any links to this Site from other sites do not imply any affiliation between PBN and those other sites.

    Disclaimer

    When you use this Site, you do so at your own risk. PBN does not provide support to users of this Site. This Site is provided to you “as is, and as available.”

    PBN does not guarantee or warrant this Site or its content to be always available, correct, up-to-date, reliable, free of viruses or other defects, or that any problems or inaccuracies will be corrected.

    PBN is not responsible for any loss, injury, claim, liability, or damage related to:

    • The hardware or software you use to access this Site,
    • Your use of this Site or its content for any purpose, including related to legal advice,
    • Any errors or omissions in the content at this Site or other websites you are directed to from this Site, or
    • The unavailability of this Site or its content.

    PBN makes no guarantee that any material on this Site is

    • Suitable for any special purpose, or
    • Free of any claim of ownership by a third party.

    PBN DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, TITLE, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, AND NON-INFRINGEMENT.

    Legal Claims and Procedures

    Limited Liability

    BY YOUR USE OF THIS SITE, YOU AGREE TO WAIVE ANY AND ALL CLAIMS RELATING TO THE USE OF THE SITE OR ITS CONTENT, WHETHER SUCH CLAIMS ARE AGAINST PBN OR ANY OTHER PERSON WHO HAS SUPPLIED CONTENT TO THE SITE. UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES AND UNDER NO LEGAL THEORY SHALL PBN OR ANY OTHER PARTY INVOLVED IN CREATING, PRODUCING, OR DELIVERING THE SITE BE LIABLE TO YOU OR ANY OTHER PERSON FOR ANY SPECIAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, PUNITIVE OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES OF ANY KIND WHATSOEVER (INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, ATTORNEYS' FEES) IN ANY WAY DUE TO, RESULTING FROM, OR ARISING IN CONNECTION FROM, YOUR ACCESS TO, USE OF, OR INABILITY TO USE, THIS SITE. TO THE EXTENT THE FOREGOING LIMITATION OF LIABILITY IS PROHIBITED OR FAILS OF ITS ESSENTIAL PURPOSE, THE SOLE OBLIGATION OF PBN OR ANY OTHER PERSON WHO HAS SUPPLIED CONTENT TO THE SITE TO YOU FOR DAMAGES SHALL BE LIMITED TO $100.00.

    Indemnification

    You agree to indemnify and hold harmless PBN and any third party providing content to this Site, other than LSOs and Advocates, from any and all claims, losses, expenses, damages and costs, including but not limited to reasonable attorneys' fees, arising as a result of your use of this Site.

    Arbitration

    Any claims made related to this Site must be settled in New York by binding arbitration. The arbitration will be conducted in accordance with the then applicable Commercial Arbitration Rules of the American Arbitration Association. Each side will pay for its own costs, including attorney fees and costs.

    If you go to arbitration, your claim will be decided by one arbitrator who is knowledgeable about computer and Internet law.

    The arbitrator’s award will be binding and conclusive, and a judgment on any award may be entered in any court having jurisdiction. The arbitrator may not award punitive damages.

    Any claim made related to this Site will be arbitrated (or litigated, as the case may be) on an individual basis and shall not be consolidated with any claim of any other party whether through class action proceedings, class arbitration proceedings or otherwise.

    Jurisdiction

    These Terms of Use shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of New York, without giving any effect to any principles of conflicts of law. You agree that any action at law or in equity arising out of or relating to these terms shall be filed only in the state or federal courts located in New York and you hereby consent to the personal jurisdiction of such courts for the purpose of litigating any action.

    Enforcing PBN's Rights

    When you use this Site, you agree that any use that violates these Terms of Use may cause irreparable injury to PBN. If you do not follow these terms, you agree that PBN will:

    • Have the right to non-monetary relief, including a court order requiring you to stop or to perform any relief a court may impose, and
    • Not have to post any bond or other security.

    Third Party Rights

    PBN and any contributor or other third party submitting materials to this Site have the right to enforce this agreement’s provisions for Disclaimer (13), Liability (14), Arbitration (16), and Indemnification (15) against you on its own behalf.

    Severability

    If any part of these Terms of Use is found invalid or unenforceable, PBN and you agree that:

    • All other parts of this agreement are valid,
    • The intended meaning of the invalidated part will be replaced with language that closely matches PBN’s original intent, and
    • This agreement remains valid.

    Even if a term of this agreement goes unenforced, PBN does not waive any part of this agreement, unless it does so in writing.

    Notification of Alleged Copyright Infringement

    PBN reserves the rights to remove any content that allegedly infringes a third party's copyright or otherwise violates the rights of any third party, or for any reason whatsoever, and to prohibit further use of this Site by the individuals responsible for said infringement or violation. PBN also reserves the rights to pursue any party that submits an erroneous declaration. If you believe that any content appears on this Site in violation of your copyright or other proprietary rights, you should send a notice to PBN by first-class mail, return receipt requested, at the following address: Citizenshipworks, c/o Pro Bono Net, Inc., 151 West 30th Street, 6th Floor, New York, NY 10001. Such notice should include the following:

    • Identification of the copyrighted work claimed to have been infringed.
    • Identification of the material that is claimed to be infringing or to be the subject of infringing activity. Include information reasonably sufficient to permit PBN to locate the material.
    • Information reasonably sufficient to permit PBN to contact you, such as an address, telephone number, and, if available, an e-mail address.
    • The signature of the complaining party.
    • Include the following statement: "I have a good faith belief that use of the copyrighted materials described above as allegedly infringing is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law."
    • Include the following statement: "I swear, under penalty of perjury, that the information in the notification is accurate and that I am the copyright owner or am authorized to act on behalf of the owner of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed."

    Integration

    The version of these Terms of Use currently available at this Site, incorporating by reference any supplemental rules or terms posted on this Site, constitutes the complete statement of the agreement between you and PBN. That version supersedes and merges all prior proposals, understandings, and all other agreements, oral and written, between the parties relating to the subject matter of the agreement.

    Modification to Terms of Use

    Updated versions of the Terms of Use will appear on this Site and are effective immediately. Your continued use of this Site after any update constitutes your agreement to be bound by the updated Terms of Use. You are responsible for regularly reviewing the Terms of Use.