Choosing a suitable immigration law firm or immigration lawyer to represent you can be difficult, but as the old adage goes, anything worth doing is worth doing right. So where do you start? What factors should you consider? How can you recognize a firm of high quality?
We suggest that you consider applying the following seven objective factors to help you decide which law firm you should retain. Although we are confident that you will find that the American Visa Law Group will stand out as an excellent choice under the criteria presented, whatever decision you make, you owe it to yourself to be sure that you make a well-informed decision.
1) Check the Reviews
Firstly, check for quality, and not quantity of reviews. This means you should read to see if the reviews are mostly from people who simply had a consultation or very simple casework taken care of. You can certainly find reviews where the reviewer says things like they are “the best immigration lawyer in California,” but if the application was something like an uncomplicated sibling petition, that review isn’t really saying much. You should look for reviews from individuals who can explain that the firm took on a case rejected or abandoned by other firms due to complexity. If you see such reviews, that’s a good sign for obvious reasons. Five high quality positive reviews are more valuable and say more than fifty low quality positive reviews. We encourage you to peruse the reviews we have garnered on a variety of platforms, from Yelp, Google, and Avvo. Our ratings on these platforms gives us the distinction of having the highest average rating of any firm in Northern California with at least 40 reviews on each platform (click here to read 10 of our best reviews and find links to dozens of additional client reviews).
2) Amount of Experience
After about a decade of experience, an attorney reaches a level of proficiency where they may be considered an authority in their field. If the lead attorney at the firm has less than a decade of experience, you may want to question whether they the firm will be setup to avoid mistakes which could prove to be harmful to your case. With over a dozen years of experience, and over a decade of leadership experience in the field of immigration law, the founder of the American Visa Law Group has the legal as well as executive experience to ensure that cases are handled effectively.
3) Type of Experience
Immigration law practice can be broken down into the following sub-specialties: deportation defense/appellate work, employment-based immigration, “crimmigration,” and miscellaneous immigration work. As you can see, immigration law is a vast field, and it is rare and difficult to be at a high level of proficiency in all sub-specialties. Our firm focuses on miscellaneous immigration work (such as family sponsorship, inadmissibility waivers, affirmative asylum, VAWA, U visa, etc.) and employment-based immigration. We generally refer clients out for deportation defense, circuit court appeals, and crimmigration (where complex criminal law issues need to be addressed to avoid removal or inadmissibility). Beware of immigration firms which take on all types of immigration cases, because it it’s a sign of being a jack of all trades and a lack of any core competency where you may put yourself at risk of ineffective assistance of counsel.
4) Fees
Understand that quality comes at a price, and although anytime you get a quote, if you look hard enough you will find a lower price. However, as long as you are not getting charged an unconscionable rate, you should understand that you should be seeking the best legal services you can afford. The attorney fees at the American Visa Law Group are listed prominently on our website for your reference. The rates are not amongst the lowest you will find, but they are relatively low compared to reputable firms consisting of experienced attorneys. Furthermore, beware that there are firms that charge far higher rates than usual to unsuspecting clients. We arrive at our rates based on market research and based on the overhead costs we reasonably incur. We can only assure you that our rates are fair, but of course, you are encouraged to seek quotes from other firms that appear to be reputable on the criteria listed here to see for yourself. Do not let yourself get taken advantage by not being a well-informed prospective client (click here for our fee schedule).
5) Language and Culture
The biggest mistake that immigration clients make is to choose an attorney primarily because the firm they work with has an attorney or attorneys who speak the language they are most comfortable with besides English. In some cases, if you do not have an interpreter and the firm you work with does not have anyone who speaks your language, and you are not conversant in English, this is understandably an obstacle. In most cases, this is not the case, however. It is certainly understandable that there is a degree of comfort in being able to communicate in your native language as opposed to English, and perhaps this can be a tie-breaking factor when choosing between firms, but by no means should this factor be weighted so heavily that the other factors on this list are overlooked.
6) Firm Morale
This may be the most overlooked factor, but you should also ask what do former employees have to say about the firm? Sometimes this information is unavailable, but if it is, it can give you a good idea about how your case will be handled. A firm that has high turnover, mistreated staff and a toxic work environment will invariably be reflected in the quality of work. You can generally check employee reviews on Glassdoor (click here for the American Visa Law Group’s Glassdoor profile). Beware if positive reviews are mostly of “current” employees, as opposed to former employees, as those reviews are far more prone to be given by coercion and may not necessarily portray the situation accurately.
7) Firm Structure
Is the firm a solo practice firm with one attorney or a huge firm with dozens of attorneys or something in between. The sweet spot is going to be something in between. With firms consisting with only one attorney running the show, you know that the knowledge and perspective on your case may be limited. Even where an attorney is highly experienced, that attorney can always benefit by having at least one other attorney within the firm to bounce ideas off of. Also, a firm with just one attorney and the rest being paralegals/legal assistances, you will find that the attorney may be much more likely to be overwhelmed by too many competing responsibilities. On the other side is the large firm with dozens of attorneys. The disadvantage of these firms is the lack of personal touch that you get from a smaller firm, and there is a high likelihood that you’ll immediately sense that you’re just another number. The goldilocks zone would be a boutique immigration firm with an established group of attorneys and legal professionals working as a team to ensure the highest quality of service for their clients. With such a firm, you have the best chance at experiencing personal attention along with low risk of error or improper case strategy.