ALEXANDRA MARCOUX
ARTICLES
We invite you to read our articles on immigration law:
Frequently Asked Questions About Immigration
WHY HIRE AN IMMIGRATION LAWYER?
With the economic recession, the field of employment-based immigration has suffered a major hit. Many employees are told by their attorneys that they can no longer get a "green card" or that their chances of approval for a work visa petition have decreased due to the rising unemployment. It is a fact that the U.S. government has, and continues, to get tougher on foreign workers, whether they are documented or not. The Obama Administration is cracking down on employers who hire unauthorized workers and the number of deportations keeps rising. Bills are introduced in Congress to make E-Verify mandatory for all employers. Small businesses are getting a lot of scrutiny from USCIS, and many are getting audited by the government, who fears that foreign workers and business owners are taking jobs that should go to American workers.
For these reasons, it is more important than ever to have an attorney by your side who will make the best case possible for you and who can overcome the relentless requests for evidence, notices of intent to deny, and denials that come with nearly every petition filed with USCIS nowadays. The stakes are high for small businesses and for employees, who often depend on their immigration attorney to avoid harsh immigration consequences and potential criminal prosecution. Don't lose your job or your business because you were not properly advised on immigration laws.
HOW DO I HIRE AN IMMIGRATION LAWYER?
When you are facing an immigration issue, there are a few things you want to know before you hire an attorney. You want to know if you have any options to get a visa, you want to know how long it will take and of course, how much it will cost you.
But you also need to consider other factors before making your choice. It is not uncommon for an immigration case to last many years, so you could be working with your attorney for a long time to come. Choose carefully. The attorney's honesty, legal skills, experience, personality, working style and general "fit" with you are just as important as the legal fees he or she will charge to work for you.
Communication is often a major issue between client and attorney. Make sure that your expectations on the amount of communication with your attorney are realistic and are in line with your attorney's. If you expect your attorney to be available by phone 24/7, and your attorney does not take phone calls after 5pm, then you are setting yourself up for frustration. The initial consultation is the time to ask all your questions so that you know what to expect during the representation.
Above all, your immigration attorney is not your friend or your therapist. Your attorney's role is to advise you on the laws and how they apply to your situation, to protect your rights, and to be an advocate for you. He or she is not there to tell you what you want to hear. Immigration can be a highly emotional field of the law. In order to do a good job for you, your attorney must keep an emotional distance from your case and must stay objective. Emotional arguments can sometimes help bolster an immigration case, but they can never be the foundation for the case. Government officials rely on the law to decide cases.
You also must consider how seriously your attorney takes immigration law. Does immigration make up only a small part of your attorney's practice? Has your attorney decided to take immigration cases only because a few clients needed it, and the attorney thought it could add to the bottom line? Does your attorney give you a sense, over the phone and during the consultation, that he or she understands immigration laws well? Do you feel like your attorney really cares about your case and how it will affect your life? Pay attention to your gut feeling when you meet with an attorney. Immigration law is huge, extremely complicated, and changes constantly. An attorney who lists immigration as one of his multiple areas of "expertise" will not do you justice.
Of course, the best way to find an immigration attorney is to ask family and friends around you for a referral. You want to ask that person whether the attorney was honest, returned phone calls and e-mails promptly, charged a fee that was proportionate with the size and difficulty of the case, and whether the attorney took the time to explain things in terms your friend could understand. You can also ask about results, but be aware that each case is unique and the fact that your friend was successful with his or her immigration does not mean that you will be, even if you have the same attorney. Attorneys are not ethically allowed to promise results, and you should run away from any attorney who makes guarantees regarding the outcome of your case.
In any case, picking an attorney out of the yellow pages or the Internet is a terrible way to go about making one of the most important choices in your life. Your family and livelihood depends on how your immigration case turns out, so it is important that you choose an attorney that you can trust.