Underground Journal

Is An Immigration Attorney Necessary?

The question of whether or not an immigration attorney is necessary or not relies on the person and their current immigration situation.  There are so many ways an immigrant could need an attorney; deportation, employment visa, asylum, refugee, permanent residence for a family member, or to get a green card.  Of course we have simplified the categories for the purpose of this article, but the point is there can be many difficulties along the way.

A good example is when a couple is recently married and they are applying for a k3 marriage visa.  More to the point they are also trying to bring two kids of the foreign spouse into the U.S. as part of the family. There are some stipulations surrounding children that need to be considered.  Are they under the age of 21? Are they single?  Have they been previously barred from entering the U.S. in the past?

These seem like simple questions to answer, but there are times that the couple started the immigration process as a natural progression in their relationship, and their 20 year old son suddenly turned 21.  Had they not talked to an immigration attorney, they may not have even learned of this as one of the criterion in getting a permanent residence card through the k4 visa.  It doesn’t mean they can’t be part of the green card process another way, but the priority of their case may change significantly.

It is this type of situation that you don’t want to get yourself in to.  Some immigration attorneys offer a free consultation as part of their practice.  Take them up on this offer. The worst that can happen is it took an hour of your life that you will never get back. But, with the right immigration attorney asking the right questions, you might learn about those special criteria of the spouse, kids, etc. that could be the deciding factor to a smooth immigration process or one that can have several bumps.

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