Hiring an attorney in a remote location

[formalizingBiz]

I go back and forth between Japan and US, and I rent my friend's place when I'm in US. I am currently looking into some immigration issue, and I plan to hire an attorney; however, the place I typically stay is located in a small town, so there aren't that many immigration attorneys. I can count all immigration attorneys using only one hand literally. I'd really like to get a second, third opinion or possibly hire an attorney outside of the town. However, if I do so, I won't be able to meet him/her so often. Maybe we'll exchange emails, but I'm afraid that there will be some communication problem(s). Is this going to be a major problem? Should I just disregard geographical location and try to find the best attorney (for me)?

 

[formalizingBiz]

So, if the lawyer is used to communicating via email, fax and FedEx, there shouldn't be much problem.

Would there be any additional cost? For example, some attorneys charge for each email. FedEx costs. Attorneys may charge for fax as well. Costing slightly higher isn't a problem, but if it costs significantly higher, then I would kind of hesitate.

The only problems would come up if the lawyer has to represent you in court, or in a CIS office. In such cases, they would probably hire somebody local, which of course would increase the cost.

When does your attorney need to represent you in court (in your state)?

 

[formalizingBiz]

Well, for example if you are fighting a deportation order, or if you have a lawsuit to get CIS to speed up things. For citizenship, some people get stuck in name checks for years, and they then decided to sue CIS. For such lawsuits, if you want to be represented by a lawyer, you would need somebody local.

Would you say that you normally do not need to go to court if you're applying for B, E or H?

 

[formalizingBiz]

In these cases, it is usually all paperwork only. If you get a denial, it eventually could end up in court, but if the case is so weak that a denial is a distinct possibility, a good lawyer would advise you about that from the start.

Huh, I never knew that you'd actually end up going to court to get B, E or H. I'm just curious. Suppose that I end up going to court to get one of these visas. How much would it cost me?

(I have no plan to pursue something like that, but I just want to have some idea of what it is like ...)