If you are in applying for a visa or a green card in the United States, you may consider hiring an immigration attorney. But when should you hire an attorney? And can you manage the process without one?
There are some cases where you may be able to apply for a visa or green card without the help of an attorney. In these simple cases, the application process is easy, and you will be able to prepare all of the proper documentation yourself.
But in many cases, you may benefit from the experience of an immigration attorney. They can help you navigate the complicated immigration process and increase the chances that your application is accepted.
Here, we’ll discuss in what cases you should consider hiring an immigration attorney to help you with the visa process.
You Don’t Know What Kind Of Visa You Need
The U.S. immigration system is quite complicated, with a number of different visa categories depending on your location, age, job, and family status. Given so many different options, it can be difficult to know which application you should fill out. You may even qualify for multiple different visas.
An immigration attorney can help you or your employer sort through all of the different visa options available. This can save you time, and prevent you submitting the wrong type of visa application.
If you are applying for a family visa, you’ll find the system just as complicated. If you are married to a U.S. citizen, you can enter the U.S. with a visa, or apply for a K-3 visa, where you enter the country and later receive your green card. An immigration attorney can help you decide which visa type is right for your family.
You Want To Hire Foreign Employees
If you are an employer and you are interested in hiring from abroad, you may not know what type of visas your future employees will need.
If you want to sponsor a green card for a foreign worker, you’ll have to advertise the job. If you want to follow the law, you’ll have to use specific type of advertisements. This all takes a lot of time, and can cost you money if you get it wrong.
An immigration attorney can help you navigate the sponsorship process so that you get it right. You’ll need to fill out an application called Form 9089. It takes lawyers years to learn the ins and outs of this document. That’s why you should let an immigration attorney handle the paperwork for you.
If you make a mistake while filling out Form 9089, the visa application may be denied. This means you lose out on potential employees, and have to restart the application process. An experienced immigration attorney has filled out Form 9089 hundreds of times, and knows how to get the document ready without any errors that can slow down the application process.
You Are Currently In Immigration Court
If your immigration case is currently in court, you should strongly consider reaching out to an immigration attorney. Your visa application cannot proceed as long as you have a pending decision. You’ll need a skilled immigration attorney to help you navigate your legal options and move forward with your application.
If your case has been settled in immigration court, you should still contact an immigration attorney. They can tell you how the decision could affect your case. You may need to fill out additional paperwork or change your visa application.
Your Case Is Considered Inadmissible
USCIS will declare some immigrants inadmissible, meaning they will not be able to enter the country. This is quite common, and it prevents many immigrants from receiving visas.
There are a number of different reasons reasons USCIS may deem you inadmissible. If you have commited a crime or lied in any way to the U.S. government, USCIS can say that you are inadmissible, and you won’t be able to complete the visa application process.
An immigration attorney can help walk you through your legal options if you have been declared inadmissible. Although you may not always be able to get the decision changed, in some cases an appeal will be successful.
You’re Drowning In Paperwork
The visa application can be overwhelming even with simple cases. The number of documents that have to be prepared can take months of work. One small error can also put your application at risk. Some applications will be returned or delayed as the error is corrected. But some errors may lead to your application being rejected.
If you want to save time and frustration, reach out to an immigration attorney. You provide them documents, and they can take care of the forms for you. At Monument Immigration, we only focus on immigration law. We’ve dealt with all of the forms thousands of times, so we know how to quickly prepare your application without any errors.
Your Application Is Delayed
The immigration process involves a large bureaucracy, and sometimes your application gets lost or filed improperly. If you are encountering issues with delays, you should consider contacting an immigration attorney.
If you move as your application is being processed, USCIS may fail to properly transfer your application to the correct office. This means that no one will be reviewing your case, and your a decision can take months until someone finds your file.
An immigration attorney can reach out to USCIS and make sure that your case is currently under consideration. It’s hard to get answers from immigration officials, especially if you are in the middle of the application process.
Lawyers may not always be able to get answers, but they often have contact information that is unavailable to you, allowing them to check if your application has been delayed. They can also save you the trouble of having to reach out yourself, saving you time and frustration.
You Don’t Trust The Answers From USCIS
If you are having issues with your application, you may decide to reach out to USCIS. But always be careful when taking advice from USCIS officials. Representatives that you can reach by phone often can’t access your file, and will only be able to provide limited information. If you try to contact higher ups at USCIS, you often won’t get a response.
Rather than relying on advice from USCIS, you should contact an experienced immigration attorney. They are on your side, not the government’s, so you can trust their advice. They are also more likely to provide you with useful information and speed up your application.
Reach Out To A Skilled Immigration Attorney
The right immigration attorney can make the visa application process as simple as possible. At Monument Immigration, we have years of experience working on immigration cases, from green cards to citizenship applications.
We know how important it is to get your application ready as soon as possible. That’s why we prepare your application for submission within 2 business days of receiving your documents.
We offer free case evaluations, where we can walk you through your legal options and discuss the how you should approach the immigration process. Contact us today.