How to find a free U.S. immigration attorney: three proven ways

If you would like to hire a US immigration lawyer, make sure that the cost of their services varies greatly. Some ask tens of thousands of dollars per case. The prices of large immigration firms are usually in the $ 8-10 thousand range. The so-called low-paid lawyers ask for up to $ 5 thousand for one case, for example, for asylum, writes Politadvice.

But what if you do not have money for a lawyer, and even a small fee as an ordinary human rights defender is too high? You can do the case yourself (usually not a good idea) or go pro bono (community advocate).

Pro bono (short for “pro bono publico”) is a Latin phrase meaning “for the public good”. In a modern interpretation, this means that the lawyer will do the work for free, without requiring the client money.

There are three different types of public attorneys:

• Charity lawyers.
• Lawyers for law schools.
• Private lawyers who voluntarily help in their free time.

Each of them has its own advantages and disadvantages. The strategies for finding a lawyer for each category also differ slightly.

Charity organisations

An extensive list of such organizations can be found on the website. Immigration Office (EOIR). This agency actually operates the country's immigration courts. The list is filtered by state, which is quite convenient when searching. If you don't see your location, click on the nearest state and see charities active in your area. American Association of Immigration Lawyers (an association of private and nonprofit lawyers) has a similar and probably more comprehensive list. Many of the organizations on these lists are free. Some of them charge “nominal fees” (although some say that “nominal fees” of thousands of dollars were required, this is the exception rather than the norm). It is worth noting that most of these organizations will not take action if they are confident that you can pay for the services.

The main disadvantage of charitable organizations is that they can be busy and there simply will not be time to consider your case. In particular, this applies to cases when it is necessary to consider the matter as soon as possible. If you are lucky enough to receive help from a charitable organization, they will help you with their own resources or find volunteers who will work under their supervision. Non-profit organizations train and supervise volunteer lawyers very well, so in most cases you get a good representative as part of your business.

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How can you get support from one of these charities? This is often very difficult. You will need to call them, email them, visit a number of organizations in person until you find one that is ready to help you. Here you need to be persistent and check any options. If one of the organizations cannot take your case, find out if they can recommend someone else. Sometimes it can seem like finding a lawyer with a charity is like a full-time job. But those who put in the effort most often find a good representative for themselves.

Law schools

Law schools are another type of free submission. Many of them have programs in which law professors supervise law students based on real cases. Students do all the actual work on the case. This list (in Excel format) from the Law Professors Blog Network is a great place to start. In addition, if you try to enter the query Law School Immigration Clinic in the search engine and add the name of the city, then you will be able to find some result. Again, these schools receive a large number of requests for help, and resources, like charities, are also limited. Therefore, it is sometimes difficult to find someone who can take over your business.

If you are represented by a law school, you will work mainly with students, since the goal of the school is to provide students with experience through working with real cases. And here the obvious question arises: can law students adequately represent the applicant in the case? However, students fill the lack of experience with enthusiasm and energy. Observations also show that the work of such schools is positive. One of the main problems when looking for a human rights defender in such schools is that the time for consideration of a case must be in accordance with the educational institution's calendar. Sometimes this leads to delays, or, conversely, to expedited proceedings.

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Free software

Many law firms have programs in which they will help you for free. Most often, clients get to such programs through charitable organizations, but firms can communicate with people directly. If you have friends in the law firm (or acquaintances of acquaintances), then you can find out about the availability of such programs. If the lawyer is not familiar with the matters of affairs on your topic, most likely he will cooperate with one of the non-profit organizations that will monitor his work. Typically, charities happily collaborate with volunteer lawyers.

Finding a public human rights defender is often difficult. Free resources are limited, and there are a lot of people willing. But if you actively look for all kinds of options, you will be able to find a good lawyer.