How to Find a Good Immigration Attorney

A good immigration attorney will create all the distinction to your case. Many of them are hardworking, honest professionals who sincerely want to help you.

But, a bad immigration attorney can overcharge you, fail to deliver the promised services, and/or damage your case in a way you could never recover from. Whether you are pursuing to file a petition for a visa or green card, trying to avoid expatriation, or applying for some other migration benefit, make sure you get the right type of lawyer on your side.

Here are some tips to avoid the shadier types of practitioners:

Avoid Lawyers who Approach You at USCIS or different Immigration Offices

A few “high-volume, low value” immigration attorneys prowl the hallways of immigration offices attempting to seek for business. This is not considered as a decent behaviour by the legal bar. Moreover, any good immigration attorney is undoubtedly going to be busy practising immigration law and working for their clients to spend their time rounding up new clients this way.

Make Sure you are dealing with a true lawyer, not a “Visa Consultant”

Only an actual practising lawyer should be trusted to handle your immigration matters. Unfortunately, many non-lawyers even some well-intentioned ones, who don’t know how complex this part of law really is, claim to be capable of helping immigrants who need help with the immigration process. In several cases, they offer little value other than a typing service. In the worst cases, they may actually take your money and run, or fill out your forms in wrong and dangerous ways without telling you the meaning of what they’re doing.

Research the Lawyer

You can perhaps find out a lot about your lawyer online: whether he or she is listed as a member of the state bar association (a necessity) and of the American Immigration Lawyers’ Association or AILA (an organisation that the majority of the most effective attorneys join).