An immigration lawyer or attorney handles specifically legal issues revolving around immigration—the act of leaving one country with the intent to live or stay in another country for a length of time. Immigration law in the United States is incredibly complicated, and even typical lawyers usually don’t know all the ins and outs of the U.S. immigration legal system.
Situations and people an immigration lawyer can help with include:
- Immigrating to the United States
- Helping your family to immigrate to the United States
- Getting a Green Card
- Becoming a United States citizen
- Obtaining asylum or refugee status
- Obtaining visas for workers and students
- Obtaining legal status for people who are having trouble renewing a visa, or who have overstayed their visa
- Obtaining legal status for people who are in the United States illegally
- Preventing deportation or removal from the United States
- People who are being tried for a crime that may affect their legal status
- People who may be deported for a criminal conviction or immigration violations in the past
- Helping people with a criminal record immigrate to the U.S.
- Helping people who have previously been deported return to the U.S.
- Obtaining legal status for people who are having immigration issues due to use of fraudulent documents, misrepresentation, marriage issues, medical issues, court history, or other circumstances
- Starting a business in the United States as a foreigner, or employing foreigners in your business
- As an employer, making sure you meet the requirements for hiring foreign workers and that you are following the appropriate procedures for confirming employment authorization
- As a foreign employee, making sure that your employer is following appropriate conduct
- Preserving your legal status when you have to leave the U.S. for a period of time, so that your status is not abandoned or expired