The desire to immigrate to the United States is shared by millions of Brazilians. However, for this to happen legally, a complex and nuanced process is required, undoubtedly necessitating the assistance of a specialized lawyer. Whether your goal is to immigrate to the USA, live and work legally, or if you are already on American soil and want to continue staying without the risk of deportation, the support of an immigration lawyer is indispensable. They are the ones who understand the laws related to the field and deal with issues such as immigration visas, work visas, status adjustments, Green Cards, naturalization, citizenship, deportation, family petitions, among others. Immigration lawyers work with the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), the Immigration Appeals Board, and Immigration Courts, among other government departments.
Some companies provide assistance services to foreigners seeking information about immigrating to the United States. An assistant or consultant can provide certain information but can never determine a client’s eligibility. In other words, only a lawyer can provide accurate and personalized advice, taking into account the individual circumstances of each case. Consultants cannot provide legal advice. On the contrary, consultants are prohibited by law and various bar associations.
Every lawyer in the United States, to practice law and advise clients, must be a member of one of the bar associations within the United States. In the United States, there is not a single bar association but several in each state, the capital, and American territories. The lawyer must necessarily join one of these bar associations.
According to the account of an immigration lawyer with over 28 years of experience and a specialized legal team in her office, Ingrid Domingues McConville, she has assisted many clients who attempted the process on their own or through a consultant (“industry professional”) and, when things went wrong, desperately sought her to, in most cases, “fix” the mistakes made due to lack of experience and knowledge.
In addition to choosing a qualified professional, it is advisable to inquire about reputation and references and make sure you are hiring a lawyer, not a consultant or assistant. To do this, simply make an online inquiry by entering the name of the person who would be assisting you or the lawyer to confirm if this person is indeed a lawyer, how long they have been practicing as a lawyer, and what their area of expertise is. (Links available at the end of the article).
Immigration lawyers are not affiliated with U.S. immigration authorities, and as immigration law is federal, a lawyer can be hired from any state, with an office in any state in the USA.
Finally, an experienced immigration lawyer can help reduce the stress and anxiety commonly associated with an immigration process, which can be lengthy and exhausting. They are capable of providing personalized and accurate advice, helping to avoid problems with immigration law, and reducing the stress associated with the process.
Here is the complete list for checking each State Bar and its respective website. Make sure your lawyer is part of one of these associations. This way, you will be sure that you are being assisted by a capable and experienced professional. Remember that, in addition to determining if you are being assisted by a licensed lawyer, make sure you have actually spoken with this person and can ask all your questions to the lawyer – not the assistant or a consultant!
Alabama State Bar – www.alabar.org
Alaska State Bar – www.alaskabar.org
State Bar of Arizona – www.azbar.org
Arkansas Bar – www.arkbar.com
State Bar of California – www.calbar.org
Colorado Bar – www.cobar.org
Connecticut Bar – www.ctbar.org
Delaware State Bar – www.dsba.org
District of Columbia Bar – www.dcbar.org
Florida Bar – www.floridabar.org
Georgia State Bar – www.gabar.org
Hawaii State Bar – www.hsba.org
Idaho State Bar – http://isb.idaho.gov
Illinois State Bar – www.isba.org
Indiana State Bar – www.inbar.org
Iowa State Bar -www.iowabar.org
Kansas Bar – www.ksbar.org
Kentucky State Bar – www.kybar.org
Louisiana State Bar – www.lsba.org
Maine State Bar – www.mainebar.org
Maryland State Bar – www.msba.org
Massachusetts Bar – www.massbar.org
State Bar of Michigan – www.michbar.org
Minnesota State Bar – www.mnbar.org
Mississippi Bar – www.msbar.org
Missouri Bar – www.mobar.org
State Bar of Montana – www.montanabar.org
Nebraska State Bar – www.nebar.com
State Bar of Nevada – www.nvbar.org
New Hampshire Bar – www.nhbar.org
New Jersey State Bar – www.njsba.com
State Bar of New Mexico – www.nmbar.org
New York State Bar – www.nysba.org
North Carolina Bar – www.ncbar.org
State Bar Association of North Dakota – www.sband.org
Ohio State Bar – www.ohiobar.org
Oklahoma Bar – www.okbar.org
Oregon State Bar – www.osbar.org
Pennsylvania Bar – www.pabar.org
Rhode Island State Bar – www.ribar.com
State Bar of South Carolina – www.scbar.org
State Bar of South Dakota – www.sdbar.org
Tennessee Bar – www.tba.org
State Bar of Texas – www.texasbar.com
Utah State Bar – www.utahbar.org
Vermont Bar – www.vtbar.org
Virginia State Bar – www.vsb.org
Virgin Islands Bar – www.vibar.org
Washington State Bar – www.wsba.org
West Virginia State Bar – www.wvbar.org
Wisconsin Bar – www.wisbar.org
Wyoming State Bar – www.wyomingbar.org
Want to know more about the subject? Visit https://instagram.com/dmvisalaw?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=
Ingrid Domingues-McConville founded DM VISA LAW – Domingues McConville, P.A. in 1995. She has been a member of the Florida Bar since 1995 and a member of the United States District Court, Southern District of Florida. Ingrid earned her undergraduate degree in Psychology from the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Florida, and her Law degree from Cleveland-Marshall College of Law in Cleveland, Ohio. With 28 years of experience in Immigration Law, Ingrid has represented clients throughout the United States and worldwide, addressing both business and family immigration matters. She has assisted companies and individuals in obtaining