Meeting with an immigration attorney is a valuable opportunity that you need to take full advantage of to improve your chances of being granted resident or citizen status if possible.
It can be stressful to meet with an immigration attorney, but remember that your attorney is there to represent you and assist you. You should do the following four things when you meet with an immigration lawyer for the first time to get the most out of the experience:
Be sure to set aside enough time for the meeting
You do not want to have to leave early from your meeting or be distracted while it is going on, because the meeting is an important opportunity to learn about your situation.
Therefore, it's important to take time off of work and have any childcare responsibilities taken care of in advance so that you can give the attorney your full attention and stay until the end of your allotted meeting time.
Make sure you have all the information available that the lawyer is likely to ask for
There are numerous documents that the attorney might want to look at during your meeting. There are also some important dates the lawyer is probably going to ask you like the exact date you entered into the country.
Necessary information and documentation the lawyer will ask for will include any correspondence you've had from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and copies of any visa application you've filed. If you have a criminal record, you will also need to bring any information you have on court rulings and police documents.
Be honest and detailed when answering the lawyer's questions
In order to recommend the best course of action, the lawyer is going to need to ask you about important details.
Some of the questions that you'll be asked include your country of origin, your status when you entered the country, the location where you entered the country, and the amount of time you've been in the country. You're also going to be asked if you have any criminal record in the country.
The lawyer needs to know all of these details to give you informed legal advice and to avoid obstacles in your immigration proceedings down the road.
Discuss what the costs of legal services will be
It's important to find out how much legal services are going to cost you for your immigration issues during your initial meeting. This way, you can work legal costs into your budget as time goes on so that you'll be able to pay legal fees you need to pay to move ahead with your immigration proceedings.
For more information, contact a company like The Ortiz Law Firm today.
