When it comes to such vital and tricky processes as getting a visa or green card, etc., you will need to work through the hassle of a slow-moving bureaucracy, and having a good lawyer can make all the difference. Many immigration attorneys are dedicated, excellent professionals. But there are also plenty of untrustworthy immigration attorneys, or people who are only pretending to be attorneys. Their goal is to get as many people to hire them as possible, have their clients pay large fees up front, and then not deliver on legal services. This leaves their clients with incomplete, late, or worthless immigration applications. Your choice of immigration attorney is a crucial one. Here then is some advice, starting with the warning signs of a bad immigration attorney:

• The attorney came up to you and asked you to work with them. If a lawyer goes to you inside a USCIS office or somewhere else in public, and asks you to hire them, that is highly unprofessional, going against the ethics of true lawyers. This is not how a reliable attorney gets clients.
• The attorney gives you guarantees or huge promises. Whether it's saying they will certainly win your case for you, or that they have a way to jump ahead of other people on the waiting list, these are huge red flags. This indicates that the lawyer is deceiving you, or is a part of some shady business.
• The lawyer is decked out in expensive clothes and jewelry. If an attorney is making good money, this does not mean that they are good at their job. This could simply mean they are expensive to hire, and that they inspire confidence through appearances, not skill.
• The attorney says you should lie on your immigration application. There is a point when an excellent lawyer will tell you to not volunteer certain information if you don't need to, and who will help the application to look as good as possible. That is just smart. But that is far different from a bad lawyer advising you to say that you dropped your passport and visa somewhere, when you actually came into the U.S. without any such documents.

It is possible that someone like this is not even a lawyer! They could be posing, or you could be handed off to a paralegal, "immigration consultant", or notary public, none of whom are lawyers. How can you know if someone is a real attorney or not? For starters, you can ask them to give you their Bar Number. Then you can contact the state bar association. Beyond that, here are some questions to help you find a good immigration attorney for your case:

• How much will the attorney cost? Being cheap or expensive may have absolutely nothing to do with the attorney's quality of service. But you do need to find out if the first consultation is free or not, and then whether they will charge you a flat fee or hourly rate after that.
• Has the attorney handled cases like yours before? If you need to apply for asylum status, then a lawyer who has mainly handled H-1B visas before may not be the best fit for your case. Ask a lawyer how the long your process should take. Ask how many cases like yours they worked on in the previous year and how did those cases turn out.
• What is the attorney's personality? You need a legal advocate whom you feel comfortable talking with, but who also has the right amount of aggressiveness to represent you in court, but who does not annoy judges and other officials with their toughness.
• How accessible is the attorney? How quickly does the lawyer respond to your calls? If there is a receptionist, are they impolite or giving lame reasons for why the lawyer has failed to respond? While you cannot call your lawyer without a legitimate reason, you want to be able reach your attorney when truly necessary, especially when it concerns deadlines.
• How well does the attorney explain your case? An attorney may have a nice office and great brochures, but how much information are you actually getting? You want an attorney who can discuss your case, let you know about the laws at play, and explain how the process could look like.

Do not delay! Find out how you can report a sleazy lawyer and get the legal services you deserve. Call an immigration lawyer today! You can begin your search on our directory, where you can find a passionate and qualified attorney who has the experience you need.