Every day, people call our office and end up asking us, “why should I pay for a consultation with an immigration lawyer? There are lawyers offering free consultations – I can just talk to one of them.”
We tell callers yes – that’s true – you can! So if other attorneys offer free consultations, why do we charge for our consultations? And why should you pay for a consultation with one of our attorneys? There are some good reasons to pay for a consultation with an experienced immigration lawyer.
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Why Should I Pay for a Consultation with an Immigration Lawyer?
- Time
Pay for a consultation with an immigration lawyer so you have time to explain your situation and be sure you understand the risks involved in your case.
For attorneys, time is money. If you get a free consultation with an attorney, it’s not likely to last very long. If you have previous immigration issues, any criminal history, a specific need to travel internationally, or any tricky or difficult aspects of your situation, you’ll need to be sure your consultation lasts long enough that you can go into your history and get an explanation from the attorney about the issues you may have in your case.
- Invest in winning your case!
Pay for a consultation with an experienced immigration lawyer to come away with valuable, information and legal advice. Get it right the first time!
If you’ve searched the internet and read about what to do for your case, you might feel like you know the basic information and requirements for your case. But after practicing immigration law for over 11 years, I can think of numerous examples of cases that could have been simple, but people who were not represented by an experienced immigration attorney had problems that cost them money and time and caused a lot of stress and worry.
In some cases, mistakes that could have been avoided ended up stopping them from getting legal status in the United States. Most of these people were unrepresented and felt that they understood what to do. They’d read instructions and websites, so they felt comfortable handling their cases on their own. They had no way of knowing what they didn’t know.
An experienced immigration attorney should be able to tell you about some of the problems people may have in their immigration processes and explain if these problems can be avoided or discuss ways to minimize risks in your case. Even for consultations on straightforward cases, I can often identify an issue that the person meeting with me didn’t know about, and that information and awareness alone may make paying a consultation fee a good investment.
- Make an informed decision
Pay for a consultation with an immigration lawyer so you can decide if the attorney is right for your case before you hire.
The decision about which attorney will represent you in your immigration case is important. You need to be sure you’re working with someone you trust, in whom you have confidence, and who has the level of experience needed to handle your case.
A consultation is a way for you to ask the attorney questions, determine what she can do for you, and get a feel for the attorney’s working style. If you don’t feel comfortable with the attorney, you may have trouble working with that attorney for months or even years as your case progresses.
A consultation is your opportunity to figure out if the attorney you’re considering for your case is the right attorney for you. It’s a lot cheaper to have a paid consultation and ask questions so you can make an informed decision about whether that lawyer is right for you than to hire an attorney and later decide you aren’t comfortable.
- Consultations are essential for complex cases
Pay for a consultation with a specialized and experienced immigration lawyer if you have specific needs or a particularly complex case.
If you have a complex case, make sure you’re having a consultation with a specialized and experienced immigration lawyer. If you are in immigration court, it’s important to be sure that your attorney is comfortable with the issues of your case. If you have a specific problem in your case (such as a criminal conviction or a prior denial of an immigration application), your attorney needs to be able to explain how she will address this in your case.
If you’ve been told that you have no way of getting the result you want, you need to be sure you’re talking to a specialized and creative immigration lawyer who will take time to go through the facts of your case to evaluate any possibilities.
An experienced immigration attorney needs time to consider your facts and think of the possible results if you decide to take action, so if you have a free consultation that only lasts a few minutes, the attorney is not likely to uncover facts that are important for complex or unusual cases and probably won’t have time to seriously consider how to handle your situation. I’ve had several consultations in which people tell me important information that gives us possibilities that were never discussed by other attorneys. If you pay for a consultation, the attorney’s office should tell you how long the consultation will last so you can be sure you have time during the consultation to ask questions and tell the attorney about your situation and the goals you want to achieve.
How do I find the best immigration lawyer for me?
Check their website.
Only pay for a consultation with an immigration lawyer after you check out the attorney’s experience and qualifications. For Example, when you’re searching for an immigration lawyer in houston, you can do a google search and check an attorney’s website for information about the attorney and her practice areas. Some attorneys practice in several areas of law, and some focus on only one area. Immigration law is a highly technical area of law with lots of particular requirements depending on the type of application a person submits and when it is submitted. It’s also an area of law that involves lots of procedural changes that can affect a case. Some attorneys who do not focus primarily on immigration may be comfortable handling immigration matters as they arise, but others may not be able to keep up with the changes and technicalities involved.
Read reviews!
You can also read an attorney’s reviews to get an idea of how her clients feel about her service. You can call the attorney’s office to ask if your situation sounds like one the attorney might be able to handle before you set up your consultation. However, be aware that sometimes the attorney won’t be able to confirm if there is something she can do to help until she knows all the facts, and that’s what consultations are for – sitting down with a prospective client to get the background information so the attorney can suggest solutions for your needs.
Unbiased reviews of immigration lawyers in Houston can be found on Google, yelp, and other websites like Avvo. Check out this recent review about Kathryn Karam and our immigration law firm in Houston, TX:
“My husband and I turned to Ms. Karam for advice regarding a complex matter. Every single lawyer I consulted prior to Ms. Karam, had the same disappointing news.
Ms. Karam provided a very unique way of obtaining status for my husband. She was very well prepared when we met with her and explained things thoroughly.
It was very obvious that she had read his file and information prior to meeting with us. In my experience, attorneys generally do not carefully review information until you are sitting in front of them; this was not the case with Ms. Karam.
Ms. Karam is very professional and her service exceeded and continues to exceed my expectations. It has been a few months since we met with her, yet she has reached out with options and ideas a few times since them. That is above and beyond!!
I definitely recommend Ms. Karam and her staff.”
Contact Us to Schedule a Consultation With an Immigration Lawyer
At Karam Immigration Law, we love helping people with their immigration cases. We spend time going through the details and figuring out the issues, and we want to be sure that people who hire us are comfortable with what we’re doing. If this sounds good to you, call our office to schedule a consultation with one of our attorneys to see how we can help you. Click this orange button below to send us a message:
