AC21: On Choosing a Lawyer ...
I also have Fragomen, Del Ray …
(They have 10-15 offices worldwide. My experience is based on only 2 offices - both in CA)
Pros:
- They are quite efficient with filings
- Very organized and professional
- They are a real big immigration firm (likely the biggest immigration law firm in US). Most INS centers are quite aware of this firm.
- Results have been quite good so far
Cons:
- They are reaal expensive (appx twice as costly as other attorneys. Eg: whole GC, LC, 140, 485 would cost over 10K, H1 alone costs 5K). So if the company is not paying for expenses then this should be an issue.
- With such a deep bench of lawyers (they are probably the biggest immig law firm in US), I found it surprising that they were not real informed about AC21, new developments etc (As it happened, I would end up using the AC21 rule). Though, they are getting up to speed right now.
- Getting to actually talk to people, takes some organizing effort.
Bottomline:
Keeping in mind all of the above, I would not advice that you use FDBL for your situation. Here what you should consider while choosing an immigration attorney,
(a). If it is a post 180 days job change and no other complications (job very similar and not an interview), any immig lawyer who could tie his/her shoelaces would do. Just make sure that you get a firm with at least 5 years of experience that practices immigration law only and nothing else (preferably most of the practice in Employment and Business Immigration).
That said, it is IMPORTANT, that you get the best attorney that you can, because in an uncertain world good cases have a way of getting bad real fast.
(b). Pre-180 days job change or some other complications: Now, you need a real good attorney who really knows what he/she is doing. In addition to having experience, reputation, and yes, some creativity and initiative, should have some experience with AC21 rule and extensive experience with employment immigration and appeals process. Most important of all, somebody who has conviction and confidence that you really deserve that permanent residency and they would be willing to battle with the INS to achieve that.
Attorneys who have stuck their necks out on AC21 interpretation and have already won approvals would be good candidates.
As far as attorneys on the web go, here is my review/grades (based on above requirements and their AC21 postings and opinions):
A List: Sheela Murthy, Carl Shusterman (they pass all the above requirements with flying colors).
AB List: Rajeev Khanna (could belong to A-List, has optimistic interpretation of AC21, but lately not much heard from him on the issue or any cases that they have won. They can also tackle INS real well and are very resourceful).
B List: Ron Gotcher (recently switched to a pessimistic AC21 interpretation, but knows his other stuff), Jim Mills – our friendly virtual neighbourhood attorney (Though short on conviction when it comes to AC21 and probably with a little bit less experience, I am convinced from what I have seen so far that he could drive an exceptional effort).
D List: The office of Jose Latour: Satisfies a lot of the other criteria but has an extremely cautious stand on everything to the point of actually damaging your case. They have a knee-jerk tendency to say no to everything and then think about it later (I have seen them recant 2-3 times from their earlier stances). Someone whom you would use if your case was squeaky clean but not otherwise (as mentioned before, in that case, just about any decent immigration atty would do!).
I also have Fragomen, Del Ray …
(They have 10-15 offices worldwide. My experience is based on only 2 offices - both in CA)
Pros:
- They are quite efficient with filings
- Very organized and professional
- They are a real big immigration firm (likely the biggest immigration law firm in US). Most INS centers are quite aware of this firm.
- Results have been quite good so far
Cons:
- They are reaal expensive (appx twice as costly as other attorneys. Eg: whole GC, LC, 140, 485 would cost over 10K, H1 alone costs 5K). So if the company is not paying for expenses then this should be an issue.
- With such a deep bench of lawyers (they are probably the biggest immig law firm in US), I found it surprising that they were not real informed about AC21, new developments etc (As it happened, I would end up using the AC21 rule). Though, they are getting up to speed right now.
- Getting to actually talk to people, takes some organizing effort.
Bottomline:
Keeping in mind all of the above, I would not advice that you use FDBL for your situation. Here what you should consider while choosing an immigration attorney,
(a). If it is a post 180 days job change and no other complications (job very similar and not an interview), any immig lawyer who could tie his/her shoelaces would do. Just make sure that you get a firm with at least 5 years of experience that practices immigration law only and nothing else (preferably most of the practice in Employment and Business Immigration).
That said, it is IMPORTANT, that you get the best attorney that you can, because in an uncertain world good cases have a way of getting bad real fast.
(b). Pre-180 days job change or some other complications: Now, you need a real good attorney who really knows what he/she is doing. In addition to having experience, reputation, and yes, some creativity and initiative, should have some experience with AC21 rule and extensive experience with employment immigration and appeals process. Most important of all, somebody who has conviction and confidence that you really deserve that permanent residency and they would be willing to battle with the INS to achieve that.
Attorneys who have stuck their necks out on AC21 interpretation and have already won approvals would be good candidates.
As far as attorneys on the web go, here is my review/grades (based on above requirements and their AC21 postings and opinions):
A List: Sheela Murthy, Carl Shusterman (they pass all the above requirements with flying colors).
AB List: Rajeev Khanna (could belong to A-List, has optimistic interpretation of AC21, but lately not much heard from him on the issue or any cases that they have won. They can also tackle INS real well and are very resourceful).
B List: Ron Gotcher (recently switched to a pessimistic AC21 interpretation, but knows his other stuff), Jim Mills – our friendly virtual neighbourhood attorney (Though short on conviction when it comes to AC21 and probably with a little bit less experience, I am convinced from what I have seen so far that he could drive an exceptional effort).
D List: The office of Jose Latour: Satisfies a lot of the other criteria but has an extremely cautious stand on everything to the point of actually damaging your case. They have a knee-jerk tendency to say no to everything and then think about it later (I have seen them recant 2-3 times from their earlier stances). Someone whom you would use if your case was squeaky clean but not otherwise (as mentioned before, in that case, just about any decent immigration atty would do!).