Do You Need an Immigration Lawyer in West Palm Beach?

When you have an immigration issue you want good legal advice about your options and the best possible outcome for your case. Before deciding if a West Palm Beach immigration lawyer is right for you, let us evaluate your options.

Do it Yourself

You could take the do-it-yourself (DIY) approach. This is the cheapest option available to you, in terms or monetary value. You will not have to pay any money out-of-pocket to exercise this option. The problem with this option is that you do not know what you are doing. You have no experience as an immigration law practitioner, and you are your first client. You will be practicing on yourself and making a lot of mistakes along the way. Even if you read some information on the internet or the instructions that come with immigration forms, you have no practical experience in how this applies.

It is not the government’s responsibility to teach you how to properly file your case and all the laws that apply to your situation. Immigration law assumes that you know what you are doing, and the immigration officer will make a decision on the documents that you filed. If you guessed right, you may win. If you guessed wrong, your case could be denied and you will be out the filing fee, you would have lost valuable time with the mistakes that you made, you will be frustrated throughout the process and you have no confidence in the progress of your case because you do not know what to expect. Sometimes, you will make a mistake that is so huge, not even the most skilled immigration lawyer can salvage your case.

Form Preparers

There are notarios and form preparers who pose as experts in immigration matters, to unsuspecting potential immigration clients. They promise cheap prices and guaranteed success; but nothing could be further from the truth. Only an attorney or BIA accredited representative can give you legal advice and represent you before USCIS and immigration court. When you see a business advertising immigration services, ask if it's providers are: 1) attorneys; 2) BIA accredited representatives; or 3) form preparers. The level of expertise that you will get from an experienced immigration attorney is unmatched by a form preparer.

Unfortunately, some immigration applicants are lured by cheap prices charged by form preparers and end up with costly mistakes, poorly prepared applications, unnecessary time delays, loss of filing fees, frustration and ultimately denial of the application. In the end, some of these applicants have to hire an experienced immigration attorney to help sort through the mess that was created by the form preparer and to get the case back on track.

Experienced Immigration Attorney

An experienced immigration attorney is the best option to assist you with your immigration case. Navigating immigration laws is a complex matter that should not be taken lightly. While United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) provides  immigration forms for free on its website, there is more to applying for an immigration benefit than filling out a form. There is a body of immigration law that underpins all immigration applications, including statutes, federal regulations, policy memorandum, executive actions, and some state law. These various pieces of law are not clearly explained on the government's immigration website; but it affects your application. Lawyers spend many years in school studying the law and learning how to apply it to the facts of your case. This level of expertise is necessary to apply for the correct immigration benefit and improve your chances of success.