Immigration attorneys don’t make it easy for you to determine if they are the right attorney for your particular facts and your type of case. As a result, many consumers are forced to decide to hire a lawyer just based on price. This can be a major mistake. As the old adage, you usually get what you pay for. Attorneys fees are usually based on the number of hours that an attorney will need to put in to your case and the amount of experience that attorney has with your particular type of case. You should look for an Atty. who has experience in your kind of case and stay away from general practitioners (attorneys who dabble in immigration cases but handle everything else – divorce, criminal law, civil law, wills and trusts, etc.). It’s impossible to be an expert in immigration law if you’re constantly engaged in other types of law. Immigration law is constantly changing, with new court decisions, regulations, policy changes, and procedures being introduced every day.
Even immigration attorneys some specialize in certain areas because it’s just impossible to keep up with everything. Many immigration attorneys only do employment-related immigration or simple family cases or removal defense only. At our firm, we focus exclusively on complex family based immigration cases including:
- Unlawful presence waivers (for those who are separated from a loved one because of illegal entries and over stays)
- Non-traditional and modern marriage & fiancé cases
- Abused spouse green cards and crime victim cases
- Conditional green card waivers (for immigrants who are separated from or can no longer trust your spouse)
- Criminal and misrepresentation waivers (for immigrants who have lied, used fake documents, or had missteps with the law but are risking future now with their loved ones).
- And other complicated family-based removal cases.
That’s all we do. Heather’s publications and trainings of other attorneys throughout each year point to her ongoing expertise in this area. We refer out cases to other immigration attorneys who take simpler family-based cases and employment cases.