Three Questions You Should Ask Your Immigration Attorney
Remember these questions you should ask your immigration attorney during your first meeting if you want clarity and confidence when proceeding with your case.
Immigration attorneys assist in cases dealing with issues such as naturalization and fiancé(e) visas. These cases deal with sensitive issues and require careful planning and knowledge. But how do you differentiate a suitable lawyer from the rest? These are the top three questions you should ask your immigration attorneyduring your first meeting.
How Much Experience Do You Have?
This is a standard question you should ask when partnering with any professional, and an immigration attorney is no exception. Specifically, relevant experience comes down to how many years the professional has worked with these types of cases as well as how many cases they have under their belt. That way, you can find an experienced expert who knows the titular topic front to back.
Another clear sign of expert experience in immigration law is being a member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA); this membership showcases a dedication to professionalism and ethical practices. When you’re browsing online for an immigration law firm, you’ll find many details on its website, and one of them should be its AILA membership.
How Long Will the Process Take?
When you’re discussing the steps of any immigration case, they can understandably seem daunting to some newcomers. An experienced immigration law firm is helpful for various reasons, and one of the reasons is the clarity it can provide. Knowing how long your case will take is an easy way to set your expectations accurately.
For instance, when you’re researching how long obtaining a K1 visa takes, you may find a large swathe of time frames. The reason for this is that details such as correctly filing the necessary forms will affect how long the case takes. So after your attorney looks over your case details, ask how long they think the process will take so that you can plan accordingly.
Will You Help Me Win My Case?
Another effective way to set proper expectations is knowing how your case objectively looks to a professional. Therefore, one of the top questions you should ask your immigration attorney is: What are my chances of success in this case? Of course, lawyers are not fortune-tellers. But a reliable immigration lawyer should know your chances of success after you provide them with the proper information regarding your case.
Beyond providing clarity on the topic, asking this question also offers you a way to test your lawyer’s knowledge and integrity. Whether they see success or failure in your case, the attorney should provide you with a reason why.
Thanks to these questions, you can gain a clearer picture of how your case will proceed and whether you’re talking to the right professional.
It was helpful when you said to ask them how long your case will be. My sister was telling me last night while at my house for dinner about how she wants to help her friend find a good immigration attorney. I’ll have to let her know these tips when searching for one for her friend.
My friend wants to immigrate to another country, but he’s not sure how to do that. It makes sense that working with an immigration attorney would be important for him. That seems like a good way to ensure that things work properly.
My favorite part of this article is when you said that asking questions is a great way to test knowledge. A friend of mine mentioned to me last night that he was hoping to find a reliable attorney that could help him and his wife with migrating to settle a family, and he asked if I had any idea what would be the best option to do. Thanks to this helpful article, I’ll be sure to tell him that it will be much better if he consults a trusted immigration attorney as they can help with the legal process.
You make a great point about making sure you research how long k1 visas take if you are seeking an immigration case. I need to get a lawyer for my cousin Beto. He is trying to immigrate to the US.
You made an interesting point when you mentioned that it is a good idea to figure out how your case objectively looks to a professional. As far as I know, people can hire lawyers when they are facing deportation. It seems like a lawyer would do everything they can to help their clients avoid deportation.