Oct
4
The US Immigration Maze
Filed Under Immigration News
I’m sure that if you have done any amount of online US immigration research you may feel more confused than when you started. There are so many websites out there trying to entice you in so that you go with them. That just makes sense, websites are online retail stores looking for customers. This was my experience when I lived in the UK and was looking to come to the US. Every website I went to had maybe one piece of the puzzle and no matter how many websites I went to I could never get a comprehensive understanding over anything. Even the US Embassy websites where the same. Every website has an agenda and this is careful limit the amount of information they give you. They are deliberately trying to not give you the entire picture simply because they do not want you to just take their information and do it yourself. There are also many kinds of liability issues the writers of these web pages are trying to deal with. There is no one rule that fits everyone. One person may have a degree and a conviction, whilst another person has a degree, no conviction but overstayed a previous visit to the US. Another may have a degree, no conviction, no previous overstay, and has a US girlfriend. I could go on listing many variations in a graduate’s personal circumstances that would change significantly the advice that should be given. No website can cater to everyone. That’s why I call it the US Immigration Maze.
After I passed the New York State Bar and decided to practice Immigration law, I wanted to provide my clients with as much comprehensive information as possible. My goal was to explain the law in plain English and then encourage my clients to contact me for specific advice once they had acquired a sound grasp of the general principles involved in their case. So I spent months and months writing easy to understand detailed guides on subjects like, The American Dream: The Real Guide to US Relocation. This book breaks down the ABCs of US Immigration. I wrote a Business Immigration Guide that talked about the E2 and L1 visa options. I’ve written guides on marrying an American, work permits and green cards. To be honest, I wrote and wrote as much as I could to provide my clients with as much insight as possible. I also had my own agendas. Firstly, I got tired of answering the same basic questions over and over again, so I thought if I write them all up then my time could be better used answering the more complicated questions. Secondly, I wanted my clients to feel, perhaps for the first time, that there was someone out there that was really on their side, someone who cared about helping them. Thirdly, I wanted to win my client’s trust so they could put their confidence in us to help them navigate through this immigration situation. 
Everyday, I am rewarded with emails from perspective clients saying how much they’ve enjoyed reading the materials on our website and how much it helped them. It really does make a big difference in your immigration thinking as a lawyer when you personally have experienced the immigration process first hand. When you know what it feels to go to the Embassy and be turned turned and then having to go through the process again until you’re successful. That gut wrenching feeling of disappointment and angst. Yes, I’ve been there, got the T-shirt, video,CD, DVD, Special Edition, Director’s cut and poster to prove it. In fact, every client from the very start of the process all the way to US citizenship has to go through a complete range of emotions and experiences. We just try to make sure that we’re there with them every step of the way, making sure that we deal with every bump in the road. US Immigration really is a minefield, describing it as a maze is to be too polite. US Immigration officers make decisions everyday that can make a dream or ruin it at the stroke of a pen. Maybe the US Immigration officer got a bad night’s sleep, was late to work due to an accident on the way in, or has other negative issues to deal with that put them in a really bad mood, who knows, but when they come to review one of our prepared cases, we want them to think twice before they pick a fight with us and approve the case, or I want to make their day by reminding them what a highly professionally prepared case looks like: the case that is a joy to read rather than a chore.
I hope this little article helps to give you a little more insight into the the world of US Immigration. Talk to us, we really care and want to help as many people as we can. No matter what your immigration issue is, you’ll feel better talking to us about it and what’s also good is that our consultations are free.
Chris M. Ingram,LL.M.,ESQ.