General Submissions

The Georgetown Immigration Law Journal (GILJ) publishes scholarly articles and student notes that contribute to the advancement of the theory and practice of domestic and international immigration law. The journal welcomes submissions from scholars, practitioners, and doctoral degree candidates in various disciplines.

GILJ publishes articles on a broad range of subjects related to the legal aspects of immigration, both domestically and internationally. The journal will consider articles related to domestic immigration and/or international migration on subjects including but not limited to: US or comparative immigration law and policy, forced migration, refugee law, internal displacement, and nationality law. As GILJ is dedicated to publishing work falling under a broad conception of immigration law, articles might also touch upon related legal fields such as administrative law, constitutional law, criminal law, international law, human rights, and labor law.

Student Submissions

Manuscripts submitted by authors who have already obtained their J.D. and are currently studying for their L.L.M or are enrolled in a PhD program will generally be considered as a submission for an Article. Manuscripts written by candidates for J.D. or developed during law school will be considered as a submission for a Note.

Submission Criteria and Review

Submissions should adhere to the following technical criteria: Microsoft Word format; double-spaced text (twelve-point Times New Roman font); single-spaced footnotes (ten-point Times New Roman font); oneinch margins all around; and Bluebook (Twentieth Edition) citation format. It is the strong preference of the journal to publish articles between 10,000 and 25,000 words in length. The journal will not publish articles exceeding 35,000 words.

In addition to the manuscript, authors are asked to provide:

(1) an abstract (250 words or less),

(2) a diversity statement (250 words or less),

(3) a current resume or CV, which includes a list of current publications if applicable.

Submissions are reviewed on a rolling basis throughout the year by Article Selection Editors and the Editor-in-Chief of the GILJ. The review process can take several weeks as we make every effort to carefully consider articles that meet our selection criteria. We appreciate your patience during exam periods and the summer months when the review process is likely to be protracted.

Expedited Review

GILJ will make every effort to respond to requests to expedite the review of an article that has been formally accepted for publication by another journal. Please include the following information in your request for an expedited review:
Author name, phone number, and email address;
Article title;
Journal(s) that have accepted the article;
Deadlines those journals have given the author; and
The latest possible date that the author can be given a decision.

Selection

Authors will be notified via email if their article is selected and will be required to complete publication and licensing agreements. Authors should expect to work closely with journal staff on both substantive and technical revisions prior to publication.