There are various reasons a person might want to immigrate to the United States. It could be for joining, launching a business, or starting a new life. However, the process can be complex and challenging to navigate, irrespective of the immigration reason.
You might even have gotten the correct application paperwork, but you may still lack the confidence to perform the application or face a unique immigration-related situation.
When such cases occur, you should hire an immigration attorney to get an expert legal counsel to help you.
The big question is, how do you find the right attorney? This is important because you need an attorney to help avoid unethical and unreliable solutions that might waste your money and time and potentially affect your chances of your application being approved.
Let’s find out where you can find the right immigration attorney for your case. Let’s begin.
1. Search online for immigration attorneys
The internet is one of the best places to find reputable immigration attorneys. As the world is digital, most law firms own a website where they display their works.
So, it is an easy tool to get the right immigration attorney for your case. For instance, if you live in Bakersfield, an online search on immigration attorneys in Bakersfield can help you get top immigration lawyers to help you with your case.
In addition, you can look at their profile to know if they offer services in your type of case. If you need help with an asylum case, for example, but the lawyer deals with a work visa, he might not be the best option for you.
You can also check an attorney’s license online to verify if they are valid and to ensure they don’t have any history of being disciplined for professional misconduct. The supreme court in every state usually makes this information available on their public website.
2. Search for an attorney bar association
Most attorneys tend to be part of a bar association within their country. They do this to network with others in their field, gain access to practice resources, continuing education, and get new clients.
There are different levels of bar associations. They are available at the national, state, and local level.
State and local bar associations are voluntary or mandatory for attorneys practicing in that area. Most national bar associations usually place their focus on specific practice areas.
For immigration, the most popular is the American Immigration Lawyers Association, also known as the AILA.
Most bar associations have referral services to help you get an attorney for your case. Though local and state referral services may only have immigration as their matching category, specialized associations like AILA usually have subcategories to help narrow your search.
For instance, you might need help to get political asylum, employment sponsorship for a job visa, international adoption, or other areas. The more specific a bar association’s referral is, the more time it saves you in getting the precise expertise you need.
3. Contact friends or other contacts for referrals
An excellent place to start searching for the right immigration for your case is to ask for referrals from people you trust and know. Also, if you have an attorney who deals with other issues, they might likely have a network of fellow attorneys.
Thus they can help you get one for your case.
If you don’t have an attorney or if your attorney can’t help you find one with expertise in immigration matters, then ask coworkers, family, or friends if they know an attorney that can be of help.
A referral is quite helpful since it can give you additional information about the person’s experience with the attorney and what to expect if you hire them. You should also ensure they don’t have a history of being disciplined for professional misconduct.
4. Peer’s and client’s recognition
Some specific organizations take it as a responsibility to rate lawyers based on their competence and specialty. Sometimes, these rating services are based on assessing a lawyer’s reputation among his peers.
On the other hand, some rely heavily on client reviews.
So, if you need help, you can focus on these types of ratings since they are valuable. Below is a list of some top lawyer rating services and a description of how they can help you narrow down your search for the right immigration for you.
Martindale-Hubbel: Martindale might be the world’s top legal rating service, with over a million firms and lawyers’ profiles. The top rating is ”AV.” This rating is based on the ethics and competence assessed by clients and peers.
Super Lawyers: The super lawyers’ rating is based on the organization’s independent research and peer reviews. This rating is based on some selected layers and provides rated attorneys based on your location.
They are also focused on every legal issue.
Best Lawyers in America: This company bases its rating purely on an extensive peer review guide. When lawyers get positive reviews to be recognized, the lawyer has to maintain that vote in the next polls to remain in each edition.
However, the lawyers do not pay to be recognized by Best Lawyers.
Avvo: Avvo provides each attorney with a numerical score. This is usually based on a scale of one to ten, depending on the information on the attorney’s profile. It also shows the disciplinary records, reviews, and ratings.
Taking note of fake attorneys
When finding the right immigration attorney for your case, you may come across people who pose as a notary or consultant and offer help getting US immigration. You have to be careful of such persons since they don’t have the license to practice the law.
In some countries, a notary (or notario) is a person licensed to practice law and is esteemed. However, in the United States, a notary’s function is to act as a witness to a person who signs a legal document.
Sometimes, an unscrupulous actor can prey on your misunderstanding of the difference between a notary and a notario in the United States and other countries. So what you should do is avoid them.
Wrap up
Finding the right immigration attorney usually takes effort and time. However, when you find a good lawyer, he will be able to take care of your case and help you make strategies to help you obtain your hoped-for immigration dream.
They will also help keep you informed of the immigration progress. Qualified and professional attorneys can help you with the application process and solve problems you might have with the application.
Also, they would be able to legally represent you when you are asked to show up in court. Finally, hiring a lawyer who can help you navigate the complicated immigration system would make your process easier.