What should I bring to the consultation?

What should I bring to my consultation with the immigration lawyer?

I often get calls from clients that schedule consultations and they will ask “what should I bring to the consultation”? In short, my response is bring any paperwork that you have related to immigration. The paperwork will really help your attorney understand your personal immigration story. The more paperwork that you have the better your story can be told.

I’ve noticed in my 10+ years of immigration practice that clients are sometimes not really sure what their immigration status is or what was filed on their behalf. Others are more savvy and know what is going on in their case but don’t know about particular nuances in their case. When clients bring copies of their documents to the consultation I can usually figure out what is going on by reviewing the papers and asking a few questions. Without the paperwork, I end up spending a lot of time asking questions and getting quizzical looks, head scratching and responses like “I’m not really sure”.

The paperwork is important for the attorney to accurately understand what is going on in your case. There is also an important lesson here for you the reader. Be sure to make copies of all documents that you send to or receive from the immigration service and keep it in a safe place for future reference. You will save yourself and your attorney a lot of time and headache by following this simple piece of advice.