Finding an Immigration Lawyer
The right help changes cases. The wrong "help" ends them. This page covers both: where real, often free, legal help lives, and how to spot the fraud that preys on immigrant families.
Free and low-cost help
- National Immigration Legal Services Directory (immigrationadvocates.org): searchable list of nonprofit legal providers by state and county.
- EOIR pro bono list: the immigration court system publishes free legal providers per court.
- Law school clinics take cases free, supervised by professors.
- Some cities and states fund free counsel for detained people. Ask any provider above whether your area has such a program.
- Your consulate often keeps lists of vetted local lawyers.
Paying for one
- Verify they are a real, licensed attorney (state bar lookup) or a DOJ-accredited representative at a recognized organization. Those are the only two kinds of people allowed to give immigration legal advice.
- AILA (the immigration lawyers' association) has a member search at ailalawyer.com.
- Get the fee agreement in writing, ask exactly who will work your case, and never hand over original documents for keeps: you get copies of everything filed.
Notario fraud: the warning
In much of Latin America a "notario" is a legal professional. In the United States a notary public is not a lawyer and cannot give legal advice. Fraudulent notarios, "immigration consultants" and travel agencies destroy cases every year: missed deadlines, wrong forms, invented relief, stolen fees.
Walk away from anyone who:
- Guarantees a result or "knows someone inside"
- Wants cash only, no receipts, no written contract
- Keeps your original documents
- Tells you to sign blank or unread forms
- Sells you a form that is free from the government
Report notario fraud to your state attorney general and at reportfraud.ftc.gov. Reporting protects the next family: fraud thrives on silence.
Questions worth asking any lawyer
How many cases like mine have you handled? What relief might I qualify for? What are the risks of applying? What will each stage cost? Who do I call with questions?