Do I Need An Immigration Lawyer?
There are many compelling reasons to hire an immigration lawyer to meet your immigration needs. My fifteen years of immigration practice continue to emphasize three:
- Significance of the process
- Ease in which mistakes can be made
- Potential consequences of such mistakes
Significance of the Process
First and foremost in the minds of my clients is the recognition that the result of the immigration process can literally be life-changing and that it can impact their families for generations.
- Will husbands, wives, and children be separated from one another or unified?
- Can a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for an education or employment be secured?
- Will long-time residents in the U.S. have to suddenly uproot their lives and leave?
- Will personal goals that rely on living in the U.S. be achieved?
Ease in Which Mistakes Are Made
The U.S. immigration system is commonly known to be extremely complicated–the Tennessee Bar Association has noted that it is second only to the federal tax code in complexity.* The complexity of the law is further compounded by:
- Frequent changes in law. Almost every year brings some significant change to the immigration law.
- Frequent changes in procedure. The immigration service is constantly revising its own procedures, as seen with new forms, new fees, new filing instructions, etc.
- The government’s own inability to keep up with the changes, such as providing forms with outdated instructions or employees of the immigration service providing inaccurate or incomplete legal advice.
- Forms that contain confusing questions and require legal conclusions.
Potentially Devastating Consequences
Every year I see people who are looking for solutions to consequences that resulted from a mistake they made in the immigration process. Most of the time the solution–if there is a solution–costs them more time, money, and anxiety than if they had hired an immigration lawyer in the first place. Common examples are:
- Falling out of status because an application was mailed to the wrong address or included the wrong fee;
- Wasting hundreds of dollars on application fees for immigration statuses/visas for which they are not eligible;
- Deportation proceedings inadvertently resulting from applications for immigration benefits that should never have been filed;
- Long delays in processing for applications with errors or incomplete documentation;
Questions To Ask Before Choosing Your Immigration Lawyer
- How long have you practiced immigration law?
- How long have you been a member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association?
- Do you limit your practice of law to immigration? If not, what percentage of your practice is immigration?
- Will you provide a written fee agreement?
- Will you explain to me exactly what my immigration status is and the process you will be undertaking on my behalf?
- Will you respond to my communications promptly?
- Will I have access to the immigration attorney or just to his/her staff?
Why Hire a Jennings Immigration Lawyer
Jennings Immigration Law Office understands the significance of the immigration process and treats its clients accordingly. I have limited my practice to immigration law for thirteen years. Because I limit my practice to immigration law, I am able to devote my full attention to the constantly evolving immigration system. No immigration lawyer can guarantee ultimate success when the government is the decision-maker. My goal, however, is to maximize each individual client’s opportunity for success by presenting the best case possible in the right manner. If your future depends on your immigration status, I encourage you to entrust it to an immigration professional. Entrust it to Jennings Immigration Law Office.
