what are some immigration related services that i could provide without being a lawyer?

Examples of other agencies that allow paralegals to do things without a lawyer are the Immigration and Naturalization Service, Internal Revenue Service, and the US Patent Office. A paralegal can independently perform the following tasks in the federal agencies: prepare legal paperwork,

Full Answer

What services do immigration lawyers provide?

They provide: Legal services to help immigrants navigate the immigration system. Accredited representatives can assist clients in preparing forms and are also allowed to attend USCIS interviews with their clients.

Why do you want to be an immigration lawyer?

These lawyers can also defend the rights of immigrants to ensure they're treated fairly and assist people who want to come to the U.S. to work or study. As an immigration lawyer, your work could have a profound impact on many people, which can help you find fulfillment in this job. 2. Meeting people

Who will handle my immigration case?

All our cases are handled by competent and experienced immigration professionals who are affiliated with VisaPlace. These professionals consist of lawyers, licensed paralegals, and consultants who work for Niren and Associates an award-winning immigration firm that adheres to the highest standards of client service.

Who can help with immigration assistance?

But not every immigrant needs the same type of assistance. There are 3 different groups of individuals who can help: lawyers, accredited representatives and Immigration Forms Specialists. The following chart outlines what each group can and cannot do when providing immigration assistance:

How can I help legal immigrants?

The State Bar can connect you to services that will help you find a trustworthy lawyer or immigration consultant. We can also refer you to legal aid organizations that help immigrants. The State Bar can help you protect yourself against fraud.

How do I become a immigration document preparer?

An Immigration Specialist must have a Bachelor's degree, relevant work experience of 2 to 4 years, and complete the USCIS basic training program. You must also possess analytical, organization, and communication skills. An Immigration Specialist earns a median salary of about $62,674.

Who can help with immigration questions?

If you need help with an immigration issue, you can use the services of a licensed immigration attorney or accredited representative of a Board of Immigration Appeals recognized organization.

Can a notary also serve as an immigration forms specialist in Florida?

The Florida notary and the practice of law A Florida notary may also give oaths, make certificates of oaths and perform marriages. Notary publics cannot give legal advice; nor can they prepare immigration forms while holding themselves out as knowledgeable in immigration law and practice.

What is an immigration paralegal?

An immigration paralegal works with attorneys to help immigrants become citizens. While a paralegal can't provide legal advice, they work closely with an immigration attorney to assist people with citizenship, business immigration issues, political asylum, as well as work and student visas.

How do I start an immigration business?

Start a corporate immigration consulting business by following these 10 steps:Plan your Corporate Immigration Consulting Business.Form your Corporate Immigration Consulting Business into a Legal Entity.Register your Corporate Immigration Consulting Business for Taxes.Open a Business Bank Account & Credit Card.More items...•

What does an immigration assistant do?

Immigration Assistants report directly to a Team Leader. The duties of the Immigration Assistant positions are varied but can include data entry and management, mail handling, file creation and management, responding to client inquiries by email and phone, and visa evidencing.

Can paralegals provide immigration advice?

Paralegals can: Represent you at a refugee hearing, admissibility hearing, or appeal at the Immigration and Refugee Board. Fill out application forms and help you put together information and evidence to provide to Immigration, Refugee and Citizenship Canada.

What is immigration assistance?

Immigration assistance is when a person uses knowledge of, or experience in, migration procedure to assist with visa applications or other visa matters by: preparing, or helping to prepare a visa application or other document.

How much can you charge to fill out immigration forms?

Most Form I-90 applications require a USCIS filing fee of $455 plus a biometric screening fee of $85. In some limited cases, certain applications may require no fee. To determine your exact fee, choose the reason why you are filing: Choose the reason why you are filing Form I-90.

Can immigration documents be notarized?

Only a few immigration forms must be notarized, such as the Affidavit of Support (1-134, I-864). U.S. immigration regulations state that no one may prepare or file another person's immigration papers unless he or she is an attorney or a U.S. Department of Justice-approved “accredited representative.”

How much can you make filling out immigration forms?

While ZipRecruiter is seeing annual salaries as high as $104,000 and as low as $21,500, the majority of Immigration Forms Specialist salaries currently range between $36,000 (25th percentile) to $70,000 (75th percentile) with top earners (90th percentile) making $85,500 annually across the United States.

Services offered by Immigration Consultants

Some of the services offered by certified immigration consultants include:

Do You Want to Immigrate to Canada and Want the Help of an Immigration Consultant Toronto?

If so, Contact VisaPlace today. All our cases are handled by competent and experienced immigration professionals who are affiliated with VisaPlace. These professionals consist of lawyers, licensed paralegals, and consultants who work for Niren and Associates an award-winning immigration firm that adheres to the highest standards of client service.

Michael Niren

Michael is a graduate of Osgoode Hall Law School in Toronto. He is a member of the Law Society of Upper Canada, the Canadian Bar Association’s Citizenship and Immigration Section and the Associate Member of the American Bar Association.

Become an Authorized Provider

Anyone wishing to provide the public with immigration services must be authorized by the Department of Justice (DOJ)'s Office of Legal Access Programs (OLAP). Visit the OLAP’s Recognition and Accreditation Program page to learn how an organization can apply for recognition and accreditation (R&A).

USCIS Role in Review

OLAP offers USCIS the opportunity to review applications for applicants' qualifications.

Why Become Authorized?

DOJ-recognized organizations and accredited representatives provide essential support to USCIS and the public. They provide:

What are the services of an immigration service provider?

Immigration service providers often assist and handle issues such as: 1 Visa applications 2 Change or adjustment of immigration status 3 Removal (deportation) hearings 4 Petitions for family members 5 Naturalization and other citizenship issues 6 Employment and immigration matters 7 Many other different concerns and issues

What is immigration services?

What Are Immigration Services? The term "immigration services" refers to any form of assistance for immigration matters provided by various agencies and professionals. The main immigration services department is the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).

Who is Jose from LegalMatch?

Jose (Jay) is a Senior Staff writer and team Editor for LegalMatch. He has been with LegalMatch since March of 2010. He contributes to the law library section of the company website by writing on a wide range of legal topics.

Can you be charged for unauthorized practice of law?

A. No. You would be engaging in the "unauthorized practice of law" and you might face criminal charges. To the consternation of many lawyers, government officials rarely have the resources to enforce UPL laws. The exception is where a person runs a big operation and/or grossly abuses their "clients.".

Can I open an immigration law office in New Jersey?

Still, if you are a law abiding person, you won't open an immigration law consulting office. Each state has its own laws defining what is the unauthorized practice of law. In New Jersey, you would violate the law if you give legal advice or prepare, review or complete immigration forms. New York State has similar laws.

Can you get permanent residence if you commit fraud?

However, depending on your age at entry, if you later apply for permanent residence, USCIS may claim that you committed fraud at entry. Even if the USCIS finds that you committed fraud, you might still get permanent status, but you would need a fraud waiver. Most Read.

Do I need an affidavit from my parents?

However, you will want to submit an affidavit (a sworn statement) explaining why your school records show the earlier birth date. You may need an affidavit from your parents as well. You are an example of a person who should definitely get legal help before submitting your application.

Can a non-attorney practice immigration law?

Non-attorneys may practice immigration law for a fee only if they work for a not-for-profit agency. The agency must be recognized to provide immigration law services by the Board of Immigration Appeals. And, the BIA must accredit the person providing the legal advice. Q. I qualify for the Obama deferred action program.

Can an IPS tell you how to complete an immigration form?

But an IPS cannot tell a person how to complete an immigration form, or even tell a person which form to use.

Can I work while on an immigrant visa?

A. Yes. It can't hurt your immigrant visa case, and it may help. Depending on your visa category, it could be many years before you qualify for your immigrant visa interview. Meanwhile, with deferred action status, you can work and if you have an urgent need to travel, you might qualify for USCIS travel permission.

Who can help with immigration?

There are 3 different groups of individuals who can help: lawyers, accredited representatives and Immigration Forms Specialists . The following chart outlines what each group can and cannot do when providing immigration assistance: Immigration Service. Attorney. Fully-Accredited Representative.

What is the job of immigration lawyer?

government on behalf of individuals. Litigate with the U.S. government in all administrative and judicial proceedings.

What can a licensed attorney do?

Licensed attorneys can provide clients with all legal services necessary to complete and submit immigration documents and can attend, advocate, and litigate in all legal proceedings in the immigration process.

What is an immigration forms specialist?

An immigration forms specialist is a non-attorney person authorized to provide non-legal immigration services within the scope of his or her state’s laws which vary widely from state-to-state. In California, where I practice law, the general parameters for an immigration forms specialist are as follows:

How many undocumented immigrants are there in the US?

With approximately 11 million undocumented immigrants in the U.S. and millions more with temporary status, the need for immigration assistance is considerable. But not every immigrant needs the same type of assistance. There are 3 different groups of individuals who can help: lawyers, accredited representatives and Immigration Forms Specialists.

What is an accredited representative?

An Accredited Representative is a non-attorney legal representative accredited by the BIA to represent immigrants and provide immigration-related legal services to low-income or indigent individuals on behalf of a BIA-accredited recognized organization (RO) such as a nonprofit, religious, charitable, social service, or similar organization.

ABA Rule About Unauthorized Practice of Law

The American Br Association (ABA) states that paralegals should avoid unauthorized practice of law. Independently and without supervising, paralegals cannot consult and advise clients (public) on legal matters, on strategy and tactics in a legal case.

Can Paralegals Work Independently? Sometimes

Sometimes paralegals can work independently with significant restrictions. In this article, you will read further that paralegals can provide specific legal services alone or as freelancers without a lawyer. The tasks paralegal can perform without a lawyer mainly relate to document preparation.

Things Paralegals CAN Do Without a Lawyer

Below I go over legal services that paralegals can provide without a lawyer.

1. Paralegals Can Provide Legal Services to Attorneys on Independent Basis

Independent paralegals can offer their legal services to attorneys and law firms without any problem. A paralegal performs that service for an attorney. Therefore, it is implied that the attorney will review the paralegal’s work before using that work in providing legal services to the client.

2. Some Federal and State Agencies Allow Paralegals Instead of Lawyers

Some federal and state agencies allow paralegals to represent clients without a lawyer. This exception probably was enabled to make legal services more affordable.

3. Paralegals Can Be Independent Document Preparers

Paralegals can independently assist the public in preparing paperwork, filling out forms, and filing them with the agencies mentioned above. Paralegals should not put their signatures instead of clients, though.

4. Paralegals Sometimes Can Represent Clients in Administrative Courts and Agency Proceedings, Hearings

On the other hand, some administrative courts allow paralegals to represent clients in proceedings without a lawyer. And even more often, paralegals are permitted to represent clients in administrative proceedings or hearings in various government agencies. Often, those proceedings and hearings are essentially administrative courts.

What does an immigration lawyer do?

An immigration lawyer advises clients and businesses on legal matters related to immigration, which is the process of coming to the U.S. from another country to live or work. These lawyers represent their clients in court proceedings, assist them with legal documents and provide recommendations based on their understanding of immigration law.

Pros of being an immigration lawyer

If you're interested in a legal career, there are many reasons to consider becoming an immigration lawyer. Reviewing some advantages of this profession can help you decide whether to pursue a career in immigration law. Here are seven advantages of being an immigration lawyer:

Cons of being an immigration lawyer

While there are many benefits of a career in immigration law, it's also important to understand some challenges of working in this area. Comparing these drawbacks with the benefits of the profession can help you determine whether it's the right career for you. Here are seven cons of being an immigration lawyer: