Exam or Degree

[DKSearch]

How do you become an immigration lawyer? Do you have to have a certain degree from a law school and pass a sort of examinations?

 

[Jim Mills]

Law degree and specialization in immigration law.
And to be allowed to practice law, a person has to pass the bar exam.
In principle, it actually is possible to pass the bar exam without a degree. Some states allow that. It is very hard to do that, though.
I recently came across an article about a woman who managed that. If I remember right, her mother is a lawyer, though, and so she knew what to study.

VEry few states allow that. The process, in most states, to becoming an immigration lawyer for someone with a High School diploma is:

1. Get accepted at a college
2. Graduate from college with a Bachelor's Degree (any discipline will work)
3. At some point, take the Law School Admission Test
4. Get accepted to an accredited law school
5. Graduate from an accredited law school with a Juris Doctor degree (3 years after college)
6. Pass a bar exam in any state - this usually is a 2 day exam with essays one day and a multi-state multiple choice section the other day.
7. Pass through the background and character assessment to be admitted to the bar and pay the relevant fees each year.

At this point, it is possible to claim to be an immigration lawyer. I have been an immigration lawyer and a member of the American Immigration Lawyer's Association for just over 7 years now. When I started, I knew very little really about immigration law (law schools do not teach much about it - maybe 2-3 classes at most). I still learn every day.

 

[thankful]

And also getting a JD degree is very expensive. By the time I am done I will be over $100,000 in debt.