Immigration attorney NYC can trust shares a few tips on how to choose an attorney to represent you and your immigration case in the United States immigration system. Whether you don’t know where to start or you aren’t sure that the immigration attorney you have selected is right for you, immigration attorney NYC has some great tips to follow.
Immigration Attorney NYC Shares Tips on Choosing an Immigration Attorney
Immigration Attorney NYC Recommends Looking for a Private Attorney
If you can afford to hire a private attorney to represent you, do it. As opposed to a non-profit attorney, a private attorney is going to be more experienced with diverse cases whereas a non-profit attorney is more likely to have a limited scope of practice.
You will also find that by hiring an immigration attorney, your attorney is more available to you and more willing to answer questions that you might have or walk you through the options available to you in more detail. That isn’t to say that a non-profit attorney will not do what is in your best interest, it’s simply that a non-profit attorney often has their plate full of cases that need their attention and they just can’t afford to give you the individual time with so many other clients cases on their agenda as well.
Where to Look For Your Immigration Attorney
There are various ways of tracking down an immigration attorney who will work hard on your case, but the best place to begin is to look over the www.ailalawyer.org directory. The AILA Lawyer directory is a directory that lists attorneys that have current memberships in the American Immigration Lawyers Association. This is particularly helpful because it doesn’t just tell you which attorneys specialize in immigration law, but it also lets you know that the attorney in question is dedicated to immigration law and takes a genuine interest in it.
Immigration attorney NYC states that this is the best type of attorney to have for your case – one who has a personal interest in immigration law – because it means that they are going to fight harder for your rights and are likely to be more familiar with the procedures and protocol.
Immigration Attorney NYC Says “Research Your Attorney”
You don’t have to be a law expert to know that an attorney who has been practicing immigration law for twenty years is going to be much more experienced than one who has been practicing for five minutes. Fortunately, this is just one piece of data that you can find easily and that will tell you quite a lot about your attorney. For example, if your attorney has been working at the same practice, in the same field, for a long while, you can take away from that that they are both hardworking and relied upon by the community to provide legal services. If they were simply not very talented at their job they would not have remained in their practice field (because eventually, word would get out in the community) and they would not have been able to afford to maintain a practice in the area.
Immigration Attorney NYC Says “Always Check Licensing”
Another piece of information that you can research quite easily on your own is whether or not an attorney that you are considering has a valid license to practice law in your state. Visit your State Bar Association‘s website. Every attorney who is legally permitted to practice law in your state must be registered with the State Bar Association and if they are not, that means that they do not have a valid license to practice law and that you should run a mile as well as report them to the State Bar Association!
Stay Away From “Ambulance Chasers”
You may be familiar with the term “ambulance chaser” as a personal injury attorney who “chases ambulances” and pops up on the scene of accidents so that they can offer legal services to individuals who may need them. These attorneys are often starved for business and willing to take on questionable cases or push their services on you because they are after the almighty dollar. Of course, your attorney deserves to get paid, but if an attorney appears to be an “ambulance chaser” then the chances are that they are not a very reputable attorney and that they are not going to do you any favors in representing you.
How do you know if an immigration attorney is an “ambulance chaser”? As yourself a few questions:
- Did you find them or did they track you down first? An attorney who tracks you down first is likely not an attorney who you should be considering because it means that they are desperate to make a profit or to get work. You want an attorney who is in demand, an attorney who is busy because it means that they are a good attorney and that they are taking your case because they can help, not because they want to get paid.
- Was the attorney hanging around USCIS or another immigration service building? If so, the chances are very good that they are an ambulance chasing attorney – remember, you are looking for an attorney who is busy because it means that they are good at their job and that plenty of other immigration clients depend on them too!
Have Questions?
If you have questions immigration attorney NYC didn’t cover, feel free to give us a call here at Nelson and Associates. Call us today at 626-683-3451 or you can even submit your questions online through our online contact form!
