A Day in the Life of an Immigration Attorney
October 10, 2014 6:56 PM   Subscribe

I need to get a feel for the experiences of an immigration attorney ...

preferably in the NE United States. I'm writing a story and need some background .. stories, situations, scenarios, the good, the bad, the happy, the sad. If you are such an attorney, can you tell me of your experiences (with names changed, etc) ? or point me to a appropriate blog?
posted by falsedmitri to Law & Government (6 answers total) 2 users marked this as a favorite
 
Any particular type of immigration attorney? I worked for a business immigration firm for a while - our clients were (mostly tech) companies bringing in workers from overseas (mostly India). We dealt mostly with nonimmigrant visas (mostly L-1s and H-1Bs), but did a smattering of other types of work. My experience there was VERY different from the type of experience someone would have at, e.g., a legal aid type nonprofit that assists low-income clients with fighting deportations, DACA applications, refugee visas, etc.
posted by insectosaurus at 7:21 PM on October 10, 2014


Response by poster: The story concerns Latinos. I guess h1b and such aren't fitting to the story. More the last part you mention.
posted by falsedmitri at 7:24 PM on October 10, 2014


I worked in an immigration clinic as an intern for about a year during law school (I have not taken a bar and am thus not a lawyer). My work was with asylum applicants, mostly from Africa and ethnic minorities from Russia. Latino refugees have a really hard time presenting a successful case, as those fleeing economic hardship are not a kind of refugee that governments recognize as deserving asylum. There are certainly many deserving refugees (to my mind at least) originating from Latin America, but immigration officers and judges are incredibly skeptical to their claims. The documentary "A Well Founded Fear" is a good look at the kind of immigration law I worked with in that time, but may not be terribly helpful to your writing.

I can tell you that finding your clients can be hard. I worked with one client who got into legal trouble and was headed down the deportation track. ICE is incredibly unhelpful, and they shuffle detainees all the time. Your clients had better memorize your number or be organized enough to keep track of their documents, because it's up to them to keep you informed about where they are.

Local cops/jails will "release" your clients directly to immigration officials and you will run the risk of losing track of them. Calling ICE facilities gets you "He's not here, have a nice day. *click*" Your guy can be hundreds of miles away in any direction. If you don't call the right place (or if your guy is still being in-processed at one of the places you call) you're hosed.

Maybe some regions are better. I'm guessing not though.
posted by the christopher hundreds at 9:16 PM on October 10, 2014


Memail me.
posted by Capri at 10:30 PM on October 10, 2014


Response by poster: @the christopher hundreds:
Thanks, I can use this. When referring to ICE, do they say it as the word "ice"? or by the individual letters? or el hielo? All I know about this is the song by La santa cecilia.
posted by falsedmitri at 7:33 AM on October 11, 2014


It's called just "ice" like "ice cube." Not sure what Latinos call it.
posted by Capri at 7:41 AM on October 11, 2014


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