Immigration Attorneys - Getting your Money's Worth
by: Carl
Shusterman, Attorney-At-Law
Your First
Consultation
This may be the
first time that you have ever visited an attorney's office. You are nervous.
You don't know what to expect.
Is this going to
cost a lot of money? If you tell the lawyer that you are illegal, will he use
this information against you? Should
you bring your
passport? Should you go alone or with your spouse? Should you bring any
paperwork along with you?
A lot of people
come to my office on their first visit totally unprepared. "May I see your
passport?", I ask. "I didn't bring
any
paperwork", they answer, "I thought that this was only a
consultation."
What is a
consultation? In my office, it is a 30-minute appointment where I meet with a
client, ask him questions, examine
his immigration
paperwork, and make some tentative recommendations about how I propose to
obtain a temporary visa,
permanent
residence or citizenship on his behalf. I make sure that I give my clients
plenty of time to ask questions, make
comments, and to
fully understand their alternatives, including their option to do nothing if
they so choose.
Each of our
clients completes a six-page "intake sheet" in our waiting room
before meeting with me in my office. It is
important that
the person arrive 15-20 minutes before their scheduled appointment time in
order to complete this sheet fully
and accurately.
All too often,
persons leave important parts of the intake sheet blank, forcing me to waste
their valuable time asking
questions that
should have been answered on the form: "When did you enter the US? When to
did your visa expire? Where
are you working?
Where are your spouse and children?" Too often, people have been taken
advantage of in the past by
consultants or
even by attorneys, and they are afraid to tell the truth to me.
Trust is
all-important at the consultation. As I frequently tell potential clients,
"All of my consultations are confidential. Lying
to me is like
cheating at solitaire - you are only hurting your own chances of obtaining
immigration benefits if you are less
than fully
honest with me. If you have committed some type of fraud, you may be eligible
for a waiver. If you were secretly
married in your
country, please tell me about it."
I can only help
those who tell me the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth!
The Right Way
Bring your
passport, your work permit, and all of your other immigration papers to your
consultation. If you plan to obtain
permanent
residence through your spouse or your fiancee, make sure that they accompany
you to your interview.
Why? Because,
lawyers are not mind readers. If you entered the U.S. using another name, the
lawyer needs to see if you
are eligible for
a fraud waiver. The new law has changed the rules regarding fraud waivers
dramatically. If you asylum or
late amnesty
application was less than honest, you do not want to go to an INS interview and
perjure yourself. The results
could lead to
your deportation. Better to withdraw the application, and to obtain a green
card through a relative or a job.
Don't hand me a
jumble of paperwork. Try to be organized. Show all of your papers. Tell the
truth. And bring a list of
questions.
Time is growing
short. Don't be caught short-handed.
Note: The information provided herein is of general
nature, and should not be construed as legal advice.