The initial immigration consultation is a clinical examination that allows the lawyer and potential client to exchange information. It is an opportunity to get acquainted, trust your instincts, and find a lawyer whose personality is compatible with yours. There is no time limit, but most consultations take about an hour.
I will be upfront, candid and detailed. You should be too. It benefits you when your lawyer knows at least as much as the government about your immigration history. And about any complicating problem, criminal or otherwise.
The attorney-client privilege protects potential clients who consult a lawyer for legal work, even if the lawyer is not hired. Your secrets are safe at the consultation.
I will outline a plan to get the immigration benefits you deserve, and quote you a flat fee for services.
If you are determined to represent yourself, do not expect a paperwork review for accuracy or completeness at an immigration consultation. That kind of lawyer is stepping into a legal and ethical minefield by giving specific instruction and advice.
Doing-It-Yourself vs Hiring An Immigration Law Specialist
DIY to the novice may appear financially appealing, but going it alone risks delay, denial and even deportation. Application answers have long-term consequences. Trying to repair an amateur’s mistake is perilous and more costly than doing it right the first time.
You have a lot at stake and deserve knowledgeable legal representation. People, plans and future opportunities depend on your immigration outcome. Your success and protection is paramount. With this perspective, attorney Lynn S. Olinger keeps the following in mind:
The U.S. government investigates applicants’ immigration and criminal history.
The smart move is to get out in front of any complicating immigration or criminal violation and neutralize it.
A law or regulation is behind every question on every application.
- Immigration applications are traps for the inexperienced.
- The government’s one-size-fits-all forms and instructions are unreliable and inadequate legal evidence.
- A careless mistake may lock an applicant into an erroneous immigration history with devastating future consequences.
We thoroughly discuss the questions and answers before anything is submitted to the immigration agency.
Changed circumstances may have immigration consequences.
Marriage, divorce, a job change, international travel, or a criminal arrest may affect and jeopardize U.S. entry, a benefit application or renewal, or immigration status. We minimize or eliminate all unnecessary immigration risk.
The burden of proof.
An applicant must affirmatively prove each legal requirement of the benefit sought. The immigration agencies may dismiss evidence and deny work permits, green cards, visas and U.S. citizenship. Sometimes they are correct, often they are wrong. Through experience and advocacy clients are insulated from these hardships.
Work Together
Immigration representation is not just preparing forms, but preparing clients.