Finding the right immigration lawyer can be daunting. From the varying specialties to the wide range of price points, it’s no wonder many first-time applicants give up or get burnt out. Luckily, finding a great immigration lawyer doesn’t have to be difficult. However, if you want to find an exceptional one, it helps to know what you should look for and some key factors that can help narrow your search.
Talk to Former Clients
While it’s important to find a lawyer with experience in immigration law, you also want to ensure that lawyer has diverse clients. A good immigration lawyer should have clients who aren’t just immigrants but also those with green cards and who became U.S. citizens. One way to do this is to talk to previous clients. While you don’t want to choose a lawyer based on one client, you want to talk to previous clients to ensure you’re hiring a lawyer with diverse experience. Talk to your immigration lawyer’s secretary or receptionist to get the contact information for the law firm’s receptionist or attorney. From there, you can ask to speak to the person who handled your case.
Research lawyers’ experience and ratings
Before you walk into your first meeting with a potential immigration lawyer, do your research. Find their experience, track down reviews, and ensure you’re hiring a lawyer with diverse experience in immigration law. You can find a lot of this information on the lawyer’s website, but if they don’t have a detailed section about the experience, ask for it. If a lawyer has a lot of positive reviews but no negative ones, ask for the negative reviews.
Hire a Firm With an Impressive Website
Before you walk into your first meeting with a potential immigration lawyer, do your research. Find their experience, track down reviews, and ensure you’re hiring a lawyer with diverse experience in immigration law. While you want to ensure the lawyer’s firm has diverse experience and an impressive website, you also want to make sure the law firm has an immigration practice. You can find a lot of this information on the lawyer’s website, but if they don’t have a detailed section about the experience, ask for it. If a lawyer has a lot of positive reviews but no negative ones, ask for the negative reviews.
Always Ask if the Lawyer Will Meet With You In-Person
While most of your communication with your immigration lawyer will be via email or over the phone, you want to make sure you communicate with the lawyer in person when hiring them. If the lawyer offers to meet in person to discuss your case details, ask the lawyer to meet with you in person at your home instead of at a law firm. From there, you can discuss your case in person and get more personalized advice. While you may have an idea as to what you want your immigration lawyer to do and what you want in your new immigration status, you may not have a clear picture of what your options are or what you want.
Finding the right immigration lawyer can be challenging, particularly if you’re just starting the process. However, these tips can help you to narrow down your list of lawyers and identify potential candidates. It can be helpful to talk to current and former clients, research lawyers’ experience and ratings, and hire a firm with an impressive website. These factors can help you to find a great immigration lawyer that’s right for your situation.