Seeking Immigration Lawyer In NYC ???
Q: Looking for a good [and relatively inexpensive] immigration lawyer for a friend who just married a US citizen and needs to file papers for Adjustment of Status in NYC. As she is currently not working, she'd prefer someone who is relatively inexpensive. Any leads contacts would be greatly appreciated.
A: -Not sure if you would call this a recommendation or not, but we just applied to a Law firm (who can do things electronically/via internet). Cant tell you how good they might be, but they are definitely cheaper.... American Immigration Network c/o Law Office of Earl S. David, Esq. 110 Wall Street, 21st Floor New York, NY 10005 Toll Free: 1.888.645.6272 Tel: 212.742.0328 Fax: 212.742.0438 - used this firm to file EAD/AOS. I was very happy with the speed at which the transaction was completed; the thoroughness. I don't think the original poster needs to restrict their search area to NYC. Immigration is national. He could use an attorney anywhere in the country to file the papers anywhere in the country. I think the only reason he'd need a local attorney is if he needs an attorney present at interviews. But, that wouldn't be inexpensive. -Most of the clients I have lift outside of driving distance from my office, and instead we communicate with each other via the phone. Since I pick up the phone myself in my office, clients can get right through, and since I usually work until around 8 to 9 PM pacific time, my clients anywhere in the U.S. can usually reach me during their "after work" hours. As far as getting materials to and from each other, most use priority mail with delivery confirmation which is fast, and the post office hasn't lost one yet. I seem to recall helping a "non-client" newsgroup friend who was having trouble finding out the date her husbands case was approved at the NYC INS office. I sent one letter to the NYC INS office, and she had her answer rather quickly (I think within the week of them receiving my letter). Now, if she had already been my client, the INS would have had a G-28 on file saying I was her and her husbands attorney of record, so if that had been the case I could have instead simply picked up the phone and called the NYC INS office to get the answer. However since I "was not" the attorney of record, I had to send the INS a signed (by the client) G-28 to make sure they would consider me as the attorney of record for the limited purpose of finding out this answer (in other words, the client had given permission for them to contact me with information about her case). Most problems that come up can be resolved by a phone call or two to the INS office. When it comes to the AOS interview, I would agree that it would be easier for a "local" attorney to attend the interview if the clients wanted the attorney to attend. I'm willing to travel for interviews (have driven and flown to San Francisco, driven to San Diego, and will soon drive to Santa Ana), however for most K-1'er AOS, most clients do not feel the need to have me travel. When the AOS interview appointment letter arrives, I call the client to make sure they too received the appointment letter (most have, but some don't receive it from the INS) and to make sure they know the time, date and place of the interview (I also contact them for this purpose when fingerprinting appointment, EAD & AP letters come in too). Then we have an "interview prep" conversation on the phone (myself, the U.S. spouse and international spouse on the line). Most of these "prep" calls take around an hour. We go over their file to review what was submitted. We review what has happened since filing and discuss other things that they should take in to their interivew. We discuss what a typical spousal AOS interview is like, what to expect, what they should do at the interview, and common mistakes people make at the interview (so they can avoid making these mistakes). After all that, most clients feel prepared and confident, so most don't elect to have me travel to be at the interview with them (of course, for offices that are closer, such as L.A., its easier for me to attend). Haven't had a client denied yet. I recently had clients go in for their interview in Boston (June 24th). She (the international spouse) was very concerned about a special situation/issue with her and her husband's living situation. I advised her how to approach this issue with INS, and when she did, the particular INS officer did not