New York courts define legal advice as the preparation of forms that include a judgment relating to a legal claim. Legal practice includes the preparation of legal instruments of all kinds, advice to clients and all measures taken for clients in matters related to the law. Similarly, USCIS defines legal advice as: 1) tips for answering questions about your immigration forms; and (2) Indication of immigration opportunities that a person may have. The U.S. immigrant population is growing steadily and many immigrants cannot afford the services of an immigration lawyer, especially during and after the COVID-19 era. According to THE USCIS, anyone can provide limited, non-legal assistance with immigration forms and charge a fee for those services. However, states determine the qualifications required, including whether or not you must be a lawyer. Federal regulations also allow law students and law graduates to appear before immigration on behalf of clients, as long as they do so under the supervision of a lawyer. In immigration, it is common to have lump sums for different forms and events. However, this should not prevent you from asking how the lawyer found the fee estimate. Do they charge more because they include different fees? Do they charge less because they charge you the cost? Do you need to help create evidence? Do you have to submit/submit the forms yourself? Are there any additional fees they recommend? BIA accredited representatives are employees or volunteers of non-profit organizations who charge little or no fee for legal services and who have undergone extensive training to provide legal representation only in the immigration context.

Their work can only be done through an BIA-recognized organization, which must go through an application process to demonstrate adequate resources and supervisory staff with immigration expertise. At your request, we can help you complete your immigration applications. We are not lawyers, so we cannot provide legal advice, select the form for you or represent you. We can only help you translate the forms you have selected* and fill them out based on the immigration status you are aiming for. An immigration officer`s assistant works with lawyers to help immigrants become citizens. While a paralegal cannot provide legal advice, they work closely with an immigration lawyer to assist people with citizenship, business immigration, political asylum, and work and student visa issues. In other words, only lawyers or BIA-accredited representatives can interview clients, decide which application forms to complete, submit an application to the government, maintain control of the file, and decide whether the client is eligible for a benefit and what information is required to qualify for the service. However, lawyers operating in states where they are not admitted should be careful not to advise on other areas of law that often overlap with immigration law, such as criminal law or family law, as this would constitute an unauthorized legal practice in that state.

Several immigration forms can now be submitted online. The benefits of online filing include automatic status checks, credit card payments, and in-app notifications. Lawyers and accredited legal representatives should have an online USCIS account for “agents.” The difference between you create and submit yourself and a legal representative using their account to deposit on your behalf is that their account displays multiple cases/submissions, while your account only displays the status of your case. Ask the attorney if they have an existing USCIS online representative account and if they are ready to file your application electronically for you. This person cannot be someone who regularly engages in the preparation and practice of immigration applications or who claims to be someone qualified to do so. Federal regulations also allow a trusted person (“reputable persons”) to speak to immigration authorities on behalf of an immigrant if they meet the following criteria: An ISP is a person, organization, business or other entity that provides immigration services, but is not a licensed lawyer with a good reputation, an organization recognized by the BIA or an accredited representative. or a government agency or employees of such a body acting within the authority conferred by the Social Security Act. NY GBL § 460-a. Get the latest news and updates on U.S.

immigration policy and reform directly from USCIS Recognizing that there is no access to affordable/low-cost legal service providers who practice immigration law and wish to improve access to legal aid for immigrants who cannot afford full legal fees, The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) allows certain non-attorneys to provide legal representation before immigration authorities. This program is administered by the Immigration Appeal Board (BIA), which is part of the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) of the USDOJ[1]. You wouldn`t hire a history teacher to teach your child math, would you? Similarly, you would not hire a tax lawyer to file your immigration documents. Every lawyer, even a paralegal, has a specialty or set of specialties in which he or she is competent. Do not assume or expect them to be good at practicing all aspects of the law. Find a professional who specializes in immigration, preferably in the country from which you are immigrating, with the situation (forms) you need to submit.