If you are trying to get a green card or a visa, having the right person by your side can make all of the difference in the world. As with other kinds of legal issues, working with the right immigration lawyers is a really important part of the process. The problem is that not everyone knows where to find the best immigration lawyers for their case.
- For the most part, most attorneys want to help people. Whether you are talking about immigration attorneys or criminal lawyers, most are diligent and legitimate. The problem is that not all people working in this field are the best immigration lawyers. When you want to find a good immigration lawyer, you need to be careful and do your homework.
- Make sure you understand what kind of professional you need. Like medical professionals, people in the legal field specialize. When you are talking to people about finding the best immigration lawyers, you should make sure that is their real specialty. A number of lawyers work in multiple legal areas and may only spend a small fraction of their time dealing with immigration law. By the same token, you need to hire an actual lawyer or law firm. There are other professionals such as people who call themselves visa consultants, petition preparers, or notarios.
- Try to avoid lawyers who come up to you at an immigration office. Typically, the best immigration lawyers are not hanging around at the immigration office. The way these immigration lawyers are able to stay in business is because they take on a large volume of clients. When they load themselves up on clients, they lose the ability to spend as much time as needs to be spent on each case. That means yours may be lost in the shuffle. Find a lawyer that you meet in their office when you go in for your free consultation.
- Take the time to look up the lawyers. Take their name and do some research online. Check and make sure they are a member of the State Bar Association. All practicing lawyers have to be members. You should also only talk to lawyers who are members of the American Immigration Lawyers’ Association. The best immigration lawyers are members of professional associations such as the American Immigration Lawyers’ Association or AILA.
- Do not stop lawyer shopping after your first meeting. When you are looking to hire any kind of lawyer, you will do yourself a disservice by hiring the first one you talk to. The best thing to do is to make appointments with at least three lawyers. This can give you a much better idea of what services are out there, what it will cost, and how successful you will be. This can also help you weed out the sktchy lawyers from the legitimate ones.
- Steer clear of anyone who offers services that may seem “too good to be true.” Most people have heard of this saying in the context of a host of things but many do not easily equate it with legal offices or representation. If someone promises to get what you need within a short amount of time or if they say you may want to “fudge” answers on official documents or applications, red flags should go way up in your mind. Run, do not walk, from any fishy sounding promises or suggestions. Remember, this is a hard enough process, you need to make sure all of your paperwork is on the up and up. Even the best immigration lawyers cannot promise the moon and actually deliver it.
According to immigration experts, there are about 43.3 million people living and working in the United States who were born in another country. Moreover, this number has gone up by more than four times since 1965. It has been estimated that this figure is on the rise and will reach nearly 78 million bt the year 2065. As more and more people come to the United States from other countries, the process to get green cards, visas, and permanent residency or citizenship has become more and more complicated. This is why it is important to talk to the best immigration lawyers for you and your case.