You need an immigration lawyer, but how do you find the right one?
Watch this video and find out.
Hello everybody.
My name is Jacob Sapochnick and I'm an Immigration Attorney based in San Diego, California.
In this video, I wanted to answer one of the most common questions that I get asked how
to find the right immigration lawyer for you.
Again, there's not a specific answer for that, but I'll share my perspective is how we see
it and maybe kind of share with you some guidelines that will help you find the right innovation
lawyer for you.
So first of all, it's really important to start with a referral if you have a close
network of friends or family that worked already before or you know right now, we are…we
all use Facebook and then when he groups in different cities, I've just recently saw a
post in a…in a local group here in San Diego and people will post recommendations of a
few attorneys.
And some of them get more and more repeat mentions and just kind of make a release of
those attorneys and set up an appointment.
Most immigration attorneys are offering free consultations.
And so it's important to choose some of those that are offering free consultations and you
can actually go and see them and see whether you have connection and you like to work with
them.
So that's one way is through referrals, either online or through trusted network of friends
and family.
The second thing is find out if this attorney is somebody who charges a flat rate or an
hourly rate.
Most immigration attorneys are working on a flat…flat rate basis so they know that
they charge X amount of money for a marriage case or for investor visa, fora removal defense
and some are working on an hourly basis.
It really depends on how you feel comfortable.
Most attorneys are working on an hourly basis, but a lot of immigration attorneys are shifting
to the flat fee model, which basically allows you to know upfront how much are going to
cost you to pay for the case, how much you're going to take time on, on their side to…to
prepare the file.
And so, a flat fee consideration should be a good way for you to determine if that attorney
is the right one for you.
Another way is too at the time of the consultation, whether it's free or paid, is to come prepared.
So if you're going to file for a marriage petition, I would research online which what
YouTube videos, go on website.
Just understand what is involved in the process.
So when you come to the consultation, you are informed to ask the right questions from
your attorney.
You can see if the person is familiar with this, with the area of law, if he is giving
you the right answers, if he is able to structure the plan.
You always want to ask, tell me the plan, what is it going to take for you to file the
case?
And what are the steps in the process?
What are the hurdles?
What's going to happen if it's not going to go the right way?
So you want to be able to, to meet with somebody who can give you a full picture of what the
process is going to look like.
So you feel more comfortable and informed to enter the process with that attorney.
Another important factor is to find out if this attorney is a member of AILA, the American
Immigration Lawyers Association, which controls most of the immigration bar.
Now, not all immigration attorneys are part of the eight or part of alien.
It's not required to be part of AILA, you know, only to practice immigration law, but
it is important to find out if they are because the attorneys that are member of Aila, they
are investing time and money in education.
So they are familiar with the recent changes in the law and so, if they are a member of
the American Immigration Lawyers Association, there's a higher chance that they are up to
speed with the current changes.
And trust me, immigration law changes on a daily, daily…on a daily basis.
Another factor is to inquire about -- and check their reviews online.
Most attorneys that are practicing immigration law should have a public profile on Google
reviews, on yelp and on AVO, which are the three main sites that you should definitely
check your attorneys and Google, Yelp and AVO and see if they have any good or bad views.
And even they have bad reviews is important to see like what is the reason behind it.
But attorneys that have some reviews, it clearly states that they're open in the public and
then they're doing something right and they're at least out there and people know about them.
If they have no reviews, it's a little bit of alarming and should be a concern to you.
The other thing you want to check is to see where they are licensed and if there are any
disciplinary actions with their, with their bar association.
Some attorneys are licensed in one state and they can practice immigration law in another
state because the federal law, so it doesn't matter where they are, they can practice immigration
law.
But we should able to find out if they have any disciplinary actions with their current
Bar Association.
And finally, I think the most important advice is that it's important to meet with a few
attorneys before you make a decision because everybody has a different style.
Everybody has a different way of how they're doing things and you ultimately will be the
one working with them.
So you want to know if you're comfortable with their attorney, if, if they are a good
partner for you to spend the next six months or so of the process.
That's…we need a bottom line.
Once you cover all these other factors and you feel confident that they can do the job,
at least see if you can be, if you're able to work with them as a partner because it's
really a kind of partnership in a way where you have to provide your information, they
have to do their job, and if you're not really clicking together, that is not going to be
good relationship.
Well, this is how my, you know, suggestions of how you should be able to select good immigration
attorney.
There are many, many good lawyers out there and it's up to you to find the right one for
you.
Thank you for watching.
If you have any questions, post them in the comments below and hopefully you enjoy our
videos and we promise to make more for you and I'll see you the next video.