Finding a Damn Good Immigration Lawyer in the United States

Another incident involved a young married couple applying for student visas. In order to obtain a student visa, a person needs to prove to the USCIS (formerly INS) that they do not intend to immigrate, i.e. move here permanently. The USCIS wants to know that the individual has no such intention. To prove this, the aspiring student is asked to prove family ties and stability at home, in addition to having the financial means to support him or herself during the entire duration of their stay in the states.

Well, this couple mentioned to us in passing that their immigration lawyer suggested they might want to live in the US permanently at a later date, applying for a green card based on extraordinary ability. To prepare for this goal, she advised them point blank to go ahead - while still in their home country - and gather some 60 letters of recommendation from teachers, employers and outstanding members of the community. This was before they had even signed the papers for their student visas. Did she tell them to post date the letters, I asked? (I don't condone trying to trick the system, which is what post dating would attempt to do; I was just baffled.) By later presenting the USCIS with these 60 letters that were dated prior to applying for their student visas, these two would virtually be providing the USCIS with absolute proof that they had every intention of immigrating to the USA before they even became students. The immigration lawyer had not only failed to advise them about the laws, but had even set them up to unwittingly break those laws and then get caught.

In another incident, a woman was married to an American citizen and the marriage fell apart before she received her green card. She had already established a life here and wanted to remain, but the only way for her to do so was through an H-1B working visa. While still in the US, she proceeded to find a job, hire an immigration lawyer and apply for the visa. Now, although she was not illegal, she was no longer in a status that allowed her to apply for the visa from within the US. Had her attorney explained this, she would gladly have returned home to wait. Unfortunately, he did not, and she was denied precisely on those grounds, rendering $4,000 down the drain, not to mention the upsetting consequences of becoming an illegal alien.

In all of these cases, had the applicants been well informed, they would have been in a better position to interview for a savvy immigration lawyer and also would have been more likely to catch any errors or omissions.

There are two ways to protect yourself:

1) Stay well informed and up-to-date by keeping up with the best available information on the Web.

2) When seeking an immigration lawyer, make sure the one you hire is damn good.

Easier said than done you say? Well, we can't make any guarantees, but here are some guidelines for becoming a savvy shopper and greatly reducing your chances of unnecessary problems.