First, an easy answer: an immigration lawyer cannot speed up the green card process beyond what’s allowed by law or regulation. However, an experienced immigration attorney can do a lot to make sure your interests and rights are defended in your legal proceedings.
Why A Charlotte Immigration Attorney is Key
Immigration law is second only to U.S. tax law in its complexity. It can also be unforgiving. Any mistakes in an application for a visa or green card or in the evidence you provide as part of your application can lead to years-long delays or even outright denials and deportation.
Immigration lawyers represent individual and business clients before the USCIS, the Board of Immigration Appeals, and in Immigration Courts and the federal circuit courts on issues dealing with immigration, emigration, visas, green cards, adjustment of status, political asylum, and other important immigration and naturalization issues. All that—and all kinds of other issues—make it critical for you to hire an experienced immigration attorney.
Immigration Appeals, and in Immigration Courts and the federal circuit courts on issues dealing with immigration, emigration, visas, green cards, adjustment of status, political asylum, and other important immigration and naturalization issues. All that—and all kinds of other issues—make it critical for you to hire an experienced immigration attorney.
So although an immigration attorney can’t speed up the green card process, they can help you with a range of issues.
An experienced immigration attorney interprets the law for you and on your behalf, helping you understand your rights, possibilities, and strategies. Your attorney also guides you (or, if applicable, your sponsoring U.S. family member or employer) through every step of the U.S. immigration process.
Assessments and Documentation
Your immigration attorney is crucial to assessing whether you’re eligible for a visa, green card, or other immigration benefit based on your specific circumstances. They’ll be able to identify any potential risks or issues that may arise during your application process and provide you with any applicable exemptions.
As part of their service to you, your immigration lawyer will prepare virtually all of the paperwork that’s required of you or your employer, which can save you hours. They will also help you get organized about which items you must collect on your own, such as birth certificates, marriage certificates, and other relevant documents.
Furthermore, your attorney makes sure that the various forms, documents, statements, and testimony you submit are all clear, correct, and consistent. Many immigration applications depend on the U.S. government officer believing your story, so entering inconsistent information on different forms by mistake can create huge problems.
Anticipating Delays and Leveling Expectations
Also importantly, an experienced attorney can help set your expectations about how the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) responds to your application and other submissions. The process is full of delays and difficulties. Your lawyer should know how to minimize or deal with those delays and what issues you should prepare for to ensure your applications don’t get held up on legal technicalities.
Help With Both Employment- and Family-Based Immigration
Your immigration lawyer can help both employers and employees navigate the complex process of obtaining employment-based visas, green cards, and other immigration benefits.
An experienced Charlotte immigration lawyer can also assist with your family-based immigration case. Your immigration attorney can help you bring your family members to the United States through family-based visas and petitions. Providing evidence, filing forms, and diligent timeliness are all important factors in the process of family-sponsored immigration, and your lawyer will be able to help you with all those details.
Assistance with a Change of Immigration Status
Immigration law can get very complex when you’re in the United States with one type of visa or status and you wish to switch to another or have what’s legally called a “change of status.” Many people successfully pursue such changes, but things you might have taken for granted before, like the right to travel in and out of the U.S. on your existing visa, might put your current application in jeopardy. That’s when an immigration attorney’s advice is to avoid creating problems that could have easily been avoided.
Help If You’re Facing Removal Or Deportation
If you are in deportation or removal proceedings, your immigration attorney’s role will be clear. They will be able to research the law to find every way to defend you; help you and any witnesses prepare for your court appearance; deal with procedural requirements and deadlines; write briefs that argue the law on your behalf; and be there with you in hearings to represent you and help you present your case.
The fact is that the U.S. government will be represented by its attorney, whose main goal is likely to deport you. And if you don’t have a lawyer, you can’t depend on the judge deciding your case to steer you to answer in your best interest. Only your attorney will advise you on how best to answer questions and otherwise proceed in court.
Defending You in a Criminal Immigration Case
Nearly every USCIS form requires that the applicant divulge whether they have been convicted of a crime. The applicant must disclose their entire criminal record, including charges that were dropped or later expunged. If you’re facing criminal charges that could affect your immigration status, your immigration attorney can defend your rights and your ability to remain in the United States.
Contact The Fogle Law Firm, LLC
Need help with? Contact Charlotte Immigration Attorneys – The Fogle Law Firm, LLC today at (704) 405-9060 to learn more, or visit our website. We are happy to assist you with all your legal immigration needs.