Immigrating to a new country is nervewracking, and you should try to prepare for the journey before you ever set off on it. To prepare for your new life in the U.S., you should speak to someone who has worked with immigrants and has expertise handling their cases. Before setting off a new adventure — speak to an immigration lawyer.
Yet, it can be hard to find an immigration lawyer in most areas, much less one that’s trustworthy. You might have an easier time scouring for an immigration lawyer online. Yet, finding a person to walk you through the complex immigration system on the internet can be challenging.
Not everyone is who they say they are in the digital world. It can be a game to figure out whether or not someone is trustworthy, and if they actually have the expertise they claim to. Before you find an expert in immigration law online, you should become an expert in finding the people you need on the internet.
And to do that, you need to do research. So keep reading below to learn how to find an immigration lawyer online, and how to tell if you should work with them!
Finding an Immigration Lawyer Online is Easy, but Also Challenging
In theory, finding an immigration lawyer online should be as easy as finding anything else. All you should need to do is do a Google search for one, and you’ll have thousands of options to choose from. Yet, you can’t trust everything you find with a Google search.
Just because somebody’s website claims that they practice immigration doesn’t mean they’re good at it. They could actually be posing as an immigration lawyer, stealing money from unwitting victims just looking for help. It can seem impossible to tell who the real lawyers are and if they even offer online services.
Yet, there are ways to tell when someone’s legitimately a lawyer. You just need to learn how to tell, and to do that, just keep reading below!
Be Wary of Scams — Don’t Give Them Money Yet
Scammers are people who devise clever ways to convince people to give them money. People who pretend to be lawyers on the internet aren’t actually interested in your case; they’re more interested in your wallet. Yet, they can never actually take your money unless you send it to them.
To make sure that someone is the real deal, ask to see samples of their work before you send them a payment. Ask for basic advice on your case, and ask them some questions about the law that only a real lawyer would know. If they’re able to answer your question, then you should talk with them about scheduling a consultation.
Just don’t give them the money until your appointment, though!
Learn How to Tell When Someone is the Real Deal
You should never believe anything you read on the internet unless you have a specific reason to believe it. For example, you can believe something like Google reviews on a lawyer because Google takes steps to make sure the opinions posted about a business are from actual people. Always read reviews from third-parties before going with an immigration lawyer online.
Lawyers can also handle high profile cases which frequently end up in the news. If you find a lawyer that you think you can trust, try searching for news stories they’re mentioned in. If you can’t find anyway, you may want to think twice about paying them for an online consultation.
Consultations Can Usually be Done Online
Finding a lawyer to handle your case from the beginning to the end online can be tough. Most lawyers require you to be present while working with you. You may have sensitive conversations with them that shouldn’t be done digitally, for security reasons. The law may also require you to be present at certain points during your immigration proceedings.
Yet, nothing requires you to be physically present for a simple consultation. When you schedule a consultation with an immigration lawyer, you schedule a time for them to instruct you on your case. Consultations are just meant to give you advice on what you should do; just because someone gives you a consultation doesn’t make them your lawyer.
Consultations can also help guide you through the immigration system. After talking with an immigration lawyer, you may have a clearer idea of where your case stands and what you should do next. Online or telephone consultations are perfect for when you can’t find someone to speak with in-person and aren’t sure what to do next.
Know What to Ask Them Before Scheduling an Appointment
Lawyers’ time is a valuable resource, and they will charge you just to sit down and talk with them. That means you should try to maximize the time you have and make every second count. Before starting your online consultation, you should already know exactly what to ask and why.
That means doing your research on immigration law beforehand. Nobody expects you to become an expert in immigration law overnight, but you also shouldn’t be totally unfamiliar with it. You don’t want to spend a few hundred dollars on a lesson in immigration law. Instead, your meeting should focus on your case, specifically.
By knowing fundamental immigration laws, you can also impress the lawyer. That may make the difference between them accepting you as a client or leaving you to find someone else. Lawyers want clients they know they can work with, and when you ask specific questions during a consultation, that’s exactly the impression you make.
Sometimes, the Internet is the Only Place to Go
Finding an immigration lawyer around where you live can take too much work for any single person. There’s always a chance that you may never find anybody to take on your case, and you’ll be left to face the legal system alone. Yet, you can almost always find an immigration lawyer online.
You just need to make sure you can trust them before officially hiring them on. And once you do find the person that you think can help you, then your chances of successfully arguing your case will skyrocket. Lawyers help you navigate subtleties in the legal framework that you may not even know exist, and can be invaluable tools to getting into the country.
And to learn more about how speaking with a lawyer online can help you get into the country, just contact us here. We’ll work with you to make sure you have the strongest case possible for starting your journey into the country!