Immigration Lawyer

Immigration covers two areas: legal and illegal immigration. Legal immigration requires that you obtain the proper paperwork to allow you to live, temporarily or permanently, in the United States. This means applying for a permanent residence card or "green card," or applying for temporary entry under a non-immigrant visa. You can then go on to seek naturalization and citizenship. Illegal immigrants enter the country without this paperwork and approval, and work illegally.

Many qualified lawyers choose to specialize in a particular area of law. Immigration is one of these areas. Lawyers who specialize become experts in their fields and are able to help their clients with specific issues in that area. So if you need help with immigration issues, an immigration lawyer is your best choice. Immigration law also includes applications fro asylum, appeals against immigration department rulings, naturalization and citizenship applications, denaturalization (removal of citizenship) and deportation. It is a crime to enter and work in the US without first getting the proper documentation.

There are nearly 8000 immigration lawyers in practice in the United States.

Any person, who is trying to establish their right to live permanently or visit the United States, or to work in that country, should consult an immigration lawyer. Immigration lawyers represent people trying to get a permanent residence or green card, people applying for visas to visit or live and work temporarily in the United States, people seeking asylum and refugee status to allow them to remain in the USA.

Immigration lawyers also represent people who are seeking to become naturalized citizens, as well as those facing deportation or denaturalization (having their US citizenship revoked).

There are a number of ways to find an immigration lawyer, but it is important that you find someone who understands your problem and whom you feel comfortable with. You can find listings of immigration lawyers in the yellow pages, and through searches of law offices on the Internet.

Local immigrants' associations, community groups and legal aid offices may also be able to supply lists of lawyers who have worked with immigration issues, and a phone call to the Bar Association for your state will produce more names of immigration lawyers.

Another useful source is to ask for recommendations on immigrant lawyers from friends, family, and members of your community, church groups, ethnic clubs, and other organizations. People who have gone through the immigration system and used the services of an immigration lawyer are among the best sources of information about how skilled and knowledgeable a particular lawyer is. Word of mouth recommendations are sometimes the most valuable, because some of the best lawyers get most of their clients by referral from other satisfied clients and so don’t need to advertise in the yellow pages and other directories.

Try to work up a short list – maybe only three or four names – of immigration lawyers who seem promising from all the sources you are able to access. Once you have this, telephone or write to each one and ask for a free consultation. The consultation is like an interview. Many lawyers agree to free consultations with potential new clients because this allows them to understand what your problem is and if they can be of help, and allow you to decide whether you feel comfortable with the lawyer and can trust and work with him or her.

If the lawyer refuses to give you a free consultation, or is rude or impatient on the telephone, it's probably a good idea to cross off that name and move on to the next person on your list!

At the consultation with the immigration lawyer, lay out your problem in as much detail as you can. Be precise about what you need, and listen carefully to what the lawyer tells you. Bear in mind that he or she is not actually acting for you at that time, so what is said should not be taken as advice. Listen to the questions the lawyer asks, and answer as precisely and accurately as you can. You might also want to take any documents you have that will help your case.

What you are trying to find out is whether you would be comfortable with this person as your lawyer, and whether he seems to be well-versed in the area of immigration law that you need help with. At the end of your consultation, thank the lawyer and say you will get back to him. Take some time to think about what you have seen and heard, and how you feel about the person before making a decision as to who you will hire as your immigration lawyer. You may well want to have consultations with three or four lawyers before you are ready to choose the one you think will give you the best representation. Remember that just because a lawyer has given you a free consultation doesn't mean that you have to hire him!

The immigration lawyer you are looking for is one who is knowledgeable about the immigration laws, obviously believes in you to the extent that he will work for your best interests, while at the same time charging reasonable fees.

You probably have lots of questions you will want to ask the lawyer. To save time and make sure you get all the answers you are looking for, write your questions down neatly and in as logical an order as you can. Remember, you are paying for your lawyer's services so feel free to ask questions about anything that puzzles you or is troubling you. When dealing with legal issues, there are no stupid questions!

Many of your questions would be specific to the issue you want the lawyer to deal with, but there are general questions as well. These include queries about how many other cases like yours the lawyer has dealt with, and what was the result? How much of his work is in the immigration law field? How much paperwork and documentation will there be? What actions will the lawyer take on your behalf? What processes are involved, for example, will you have to go to court, or appear before a tribunal hearing? Ask if the lawyer can give you a time scale as to when he will have all your paperwork finalized, and how long he thinks it will take to get a decision on your problem.

If you are dealing with a lawyer in a large legal firm, ask if he will be personally working on your case. Many lawyers have legal assistants that do a lot of their work. If your case is to be assigned to a legal assistant, ask how much supervision the lawyer will give so that you can be sure that your matters will receive the benefit of his experience and knowledge. After all, that's what you are hiring him for!

It is a good idea to ask the lawyer about his fees when you go for your free consultation. When you decide which immigration lawyer you wish to hire, and the lawyer accepts you as a client, make sure you ask again about fees so that you will know exactly what you may expect to pay when the invoice arrives. If money is a problem, talk to the lawyer and see if you can arrange to pay in several installments rather than in one large payment. Be aware that lawyers will often ask for a retainer – this is a specific amount of money, usually enough to cover several hours' of your lawyers' time, which you may be expected to pay before the lawyer begins work. The amount of the retainer will be deducted from the final invoice.

Be prepared to shop around and get fee quotes from all the lawyers on your list. This will give you an idea of what the going rate is approximately. Be wary of a lawyer whose fees seem very low. It may be that he will give your case to an assistant or junior member of the firm who may not have enough experience to serve your best interests.

Lawyers fees can be high, and if your case needs expert advice from consultants, takes a long time to finalize, or has to go to court or before a tribunal hearing, those fees could really mount and you might be facing an alarmingly high bill for your lawyer's services. Once you know what the fees are and have asked your lawyer for an estimate of the final cost, it is worth sitting down and taking a good look at your own financial situation to see if you can afford this legal help.

See if your lawyer will accept small, regular payments rather than billing you with one large invoice.

If you come to the conclusion that you can't afford the fees for an immigration lawyer, there may still be ways to go ahead with your case. Many lawyers work with community organizations and do what is called pro bono legal work. Pro-bono means for the good and means that the lawyer does the work for free, or donates his services to deserving clients for a reduced fee. Clients who are accepted, as pro-bono clients will usually have to provide documentation about their income and agree to have their bank accounts and credit checked. Usually the community organization making the referral to a pro bono lawyer will screen applicants to make sure that the case is one they want to refer and that the applicant honestly does not have the finances to pay the legal fees.

Once you have chosen the immigration lawyer you want to hire and you have been accepted as a client, your lawyer will want to know as much as possible about you, your background, and your problem. Some lawyers send out a questionnaire to new clients before they meet to discuss strategy. This lets the lawyer get a record of all the basics, such as your name, age, address, employment or business interests, and the nature of the problem, ahead of time. Fill out this questionnaire and return it to your lawyer's office before your scheduled meeting.

Your lawyer will also want to see any documents you may have that will back up your case. Bring whatever documents you have along to your appointment. Your lawyer will probably take photocopies, but if he asks to keep the originals, ask him to supply you with photocopies for your own records.

The lawyer will then discuss all aspects of the case with you and suggest a strategy for solving the problems based on his knowledge of the law and his experience in working with immigration. Expect that your lawyer or one of his legal assistants will be in touch with you from time to time to update you on progress. If you don’t hear from them after a reasonable length of time, telephone the office and ask for an update. Lawyers, like everyone else, can get behind in their work and may need a little push every once in a while!

Once a plan has been worked out and you are both in agreement about how the case will be handled – and you should probably leave much of that decision to your lawyer unless he asks for your opinion! – The work will be started and, once set in motion, your immigration problems should soon be hopefully rolling towards a satisfactory conclusion.