Just general info' :
Lawyers.
1. Graduates of non-ABA-approved law schools.
In order to be admitted to the bar to practice law, many states require that an applicant has graduated from a law school approved by the American Bar Association (ABA). These schools are all in the U.S. or Puerto Rico. In fact, in 15 states, graduates of foreign law schools are not eligible for admission to the bar. (Note however that in four of these states, the rules are "ambiguous", according to an article authored by Northwestern University School of Law Senior Lecturer Carole Silver.) In many of the remaining states, in which foreign law school graduates are eligible for admission to the bar, there are further restrictions. For example, 9 of these remaining states and the District of Columbia require further education at a U.S. law school before sitting for the bar examination. Eight states require that a foreign graduate have experience in his/her home country before sitting for the bar examination. Note that, in some of the above states, it is possible for a foreign candidate to take the bar exam or gain admission, based on admission to the bar in another state.
2. Restriction to citizens and legal permanent residents.
In Louisiana, only citizens and legal permanent resident aliens (green card holders) are eligible to take the state bar exam. So, for example, a foreign national with only a temporary visa is not eligible for the bar. This state law was upheld by a U.S. District judge on July 2, 2003.
3. Residence requirement.
To apply for admission to the bar in Michigan, one must be a U.S. citizen or "a foreign citizen lawfully resident in the U.S. pursuant to a visa issued by" BCIS. This allows for those on temporary visas to obtain admission to the bar, but means that a foreign national (without an unrestricted visa) cannot gain full admission to the bar in advance of a job offer in the U.S.
4. Number of foreign-trained lawyers taking the bar exam.
In the years 1993-1998, foreign-trained lawyers sat for the bar exam in only 21 states, Guam and Puerto Rico. More than 91% of those foreign-trained lawyers taking the bar exam in those years did so in New York state, where a foreign-trained lawyer from a common law country, whose education is judged equivalent to that of an ABA-approved law school, can sit for the bar exam. Note for example that in total for the years 1993-1998, only 8 foreign-trained lawyers sat for the bar exam in California. Note also for example that, according to Pamela Hollenhorst, "Pennsylvania reports receiving many inquiries from foreign-trained attorneys about exam eligibility, although only five or six per year meet the requirements to sit for the bar."
5. Foreign legal consultants (FLC's).
This is a title existing in 24 U.S. jurisdictions (e.g. a state, D.C., Puerto Rico, Guam). It allows a foreign lawyer to advise in the U.S. on the law of his/her country, if the lawyer is admitted to practice in their home country; in some states it also allows a foreign lawyer to advise on U.S. law, with the advice of a U.S. lawyer. As of 1999, no jurisdiction other than New York had more than 27 FLCs. New York had 277. And note that "some bar admission administrators commented that there never really was a demand for foreign legal consultants, and that FLC rules were often passed at the behest of state attorneys who wanted access to foreign legal markets and needed to show proof of reciprocal access."
6. According to Silver, "the rules governing the rights of foreign lawyers to practice in the U.S. are so varied, complex and opaque as to present a sticky web of barriers." Silver also comments on "the clear protectionist purpose of many bar rules
Link:
http://www.cepr.net/publications/professional_supplement.htm.
