10 Tips On How To Find A Good Immigration Lawyer
The immigration process is overwhelming and daunting when handled without a lawyer. However, with an Immigration Lawyer guiding you, it can be a much happier experience with far better results. Having a good immigration attorney can ensure that you start on the right foot and that the entire process is error-free.
To decide on the best immigration attorney for your needs, you might wonder what you should look for in your search. You will find in this article ten tips for how to find a good immigration lawyer that will guide you through the process of choosing the best immigration attorneys.
What To Look For When Choosing A Good Immigration Lawyer
1. Get A Trusted Referral
The easiest way to get a good immigration lawyer is by asking around to get a referral. Check with your relatives, your friends, your workmates, and those with whom you worship. If you find a person who has gone through this process, they’ll be able to quickly direct you to the immigration attorney who helped them.
Another option is to search On Google to get a trusted lawyer referred by somebody else online.
2. Avoid Hiring A General Practitioner Lawyer
General practitioners may lack deep knowledge about immigration. Since they rarely deal with immigration cases, they may not be highly skilled and up-to-date on matters relating to immigration. Therefore, they may not be the best type of attorney to represent you.
Immigration Law has ever-changing procedures, practices, and policies, and when a general practitioner represents you, the lawyer may not know about the latest updates. As a result, you can suffer a significant disadvantage.
On the other hand, specialized immigration lawyers from a general practice law firm have all the advantages of a specialist while being able to readily enlist help if other areas of law come into play in your case.
It is best to select immigration lawyers who have dealt with many immigration cases, such as those dealing with green cards, family immigration, business immigration, naturalization, asylum, visas, Deportation Defense, and appeals.
3. Be Skeptical Of Unrealistic Promises
Immigration cases can be very complicated. If you find an immigration attorney promising that your case will be easy and that you have nothing to worry about, you need to be cautious. A lawyer with such an outlook may be naïve and inexperienced.
Immigration attorneys with knowledge will be able to predict problems that may arise and develop case strategies to overcome these potential problems.
4. Inquire About Their Availability During Regular Office Hours
If you email the immigration attorney or make a phone call, note the length of time it takes to respond. This is the first way to determine their availability and whether they’ll have enough time for your case.
Qualified immigration attorneys are often very busy and have heavy caseloads, but you do not want your case to be neglected.
It would be a good idea to call a licensed attorney and ask them if they can give you the timeline in which they expect to process and complete your case. Inquire when the attorney is planning to start your case.
If you can see that the attorney doesn’t have enough time for you, it’s probably best to move on to the next immigration attorney.
5. Cost Hourly Rate Or A Flat Fee
Before signing any contract, it’s good to determine how much the immigration attorney’s services will cost you and if they are affordable. There are several costs involved in immigration cases, such as immigration document filing fees.
Determine how much you will have to pay upfront to retain the lawyer and the lawyer’s overall fee. Find out how long you will have to pay the lawyer and how often the lawyer will bill you. Determine if the immigration attorney’s legal fee is firm or negotiable. If the cost is negotiable, consider negotiating the price.
6. Experience In The Immigration System
You need a guarantee of the greatest likelihood that your case will be successful, and it may only be possible if you hire an experienced lawyer who has handled many cases successfully. Question them about how many cases similar to yours they’ve handled and the outcome of the cases.
Asking about their track record is a reasonable request. They should describe their legal experience and the strategies they used in the past to achieve favorable results.
Even though it may be hard to predict the outcome because immigration cases can be very complicated, an experienced immigration attorney will represent you with competence and confidence. This could significantly increase the probability that you will win your immigration case too.
It would help if you also questioned them about how long they have practiced immigration law. Working for a long time in this area helps the lawyer work effectively with immigration officials before the Immigration Court.
Lawyers familiar with Court policies and procedures can easily navigate the system, placing your case in the most favorable position possible.
7. Written Contract
A written contract provides you with necessary guarantees, and thus you should have a written agreement signed by both parties. This legal agreement will protect you from hiring immigration attorneys that over-promise and under-deliver.
The written contract is an essential document, as it indicates the legal services you’ve been promised and the cost of these immigration services to you.
8. Question Their Work Ethics
Trust is crucial to a successful attorney-client relationship. Even though it may seem uncomfortable, it is good to ask the Immigration Lawyer during an interview or consultation if they’ve been disciplined for any unaccepted behavior. Go ahead and research further online to find out if the lawyer you’re dealing with has ever been found to have engaged in any misconduct and if they have ever been punished for any unethical behavior.
A splendid thing about social media is that people provide comments about immigration attorneys in their client reviews. If a lawyer records unethical conduct or negative client reviews, you should consider avoiding that lawyer. This is because you don’t want the same bad thing to happen to you again. Also, if the lawyer gets caught with another disciplinary violation while representing you, it could negatively affect his ability to represent you effectively in your case.
9. Check Their Professional Memberships And Affiliations
A lawyer with professional bar association memberships and affiliations, such as membership in the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA), should be committed to abiding by the professional standards set by that organization. This membership shows the lawyer’s commitment to stay abreast of new legal developments and best practices. Immigration policies and practices can change quickly, and being a member of a professional association ensures the lawyer is continually receiving updated information.
10. Look For An Online Presence And Reviews
When hiring an excellent immigration lawyer, look for their online presence. If a lawyer has been practicing immigration law for several years, they should have a website with multiple reviews from previous clients. If this is not the case, you should be very careful and should proceed with caution.
Things good immigration attorneys can do in order to assist you:
- Coaching you and helping you prepare for your immigration interview.
- Help you collect the required documents and present them in a manner acceptable to the Immigration officials.
- Explain to you and help you understand the nature of the benefits you’re seeking.
- Assess the risks involved in your case and identify any issues that you might have missed.
Consider the above tips. It might seem like a lot of work to find a good immigration lawyer.
However, this process is worth every bit of your effort, and you shouldn’t give up. Consider starting with a large number of immigration attorneys, choosing the best few, and having interviews with them. During the interviews, evaluate the ones that will meet the above criteria, which may help you select the best immigration lawyer for you.