Since President Donald Trump took office in January 2017, the work of immigration law firms has been covered by major news organizations on many occasions. The deliberately anti-immigrant stance of the Trump administration has made life difficult for the clients of immigration attorneys in San Diego and all around the country. Consequently, legal professionals have been forced to adjust to a system that has become adverse, chaotic, and often foolish.
Like other lawyers, those who focus on immigration issues look out for the best interests of their clients. In essence, they help their clients obtain benefits offered by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), but their work may extend beyond matters related to this agency. Let’s say a woman from Pakistan wishes to obtain a B-1 visa for the purpose of exploring an investment opportunity in California. If her application is rejected because of red flags claimed by the Department of Homeland Security, an immigration attorney may be able to look at the review and adjudication process being conducted by State Department employees.
Before the 9/11 terrorist attacks, individual immigration matters were largely procedural. American technology companies that wanted to hire skilled workers through the H-1B visa program were able to handle this process internally. Things started getting complicated even before the Patriot Act was passed, and this is when immigration law firms started getting busy. Later, illegal border crossings and the rise of drug cartels operating in Latin America introduced new challenges to the already complex matter of immigration in the U.S.
These days, immigration attorneys are expected to navigate a system that’s tangled and flawed. They’re doing a lot more than just procedural work. Many lawyers are now finding themselves going to court more often than before to argue matters related to deportation, removal orders, asylum petitions, unlawful detention, family separations, unfair profiling, bureaucratic mistakes, and even incorrect interpretations of law. The nature of the American legal system is adversarial, but immigration attorneys didn’t litigate cases in the past as often as they do now.
The work of American immigration lawyers may involve filing petitions, preparing clients for interviews with USCIS adjudicators, handling H-1B visa workloads, visiting clients held at detention centers, and preventing deportation notices from becoming removal orders. Immigration attorneys also spend their time helping clients prove they meet admissibility requirements, arguing whenever state or federal law enforcement officers have crossed the line when dealing with their clients, working with partners who may take cases to appeals court, and quite a few other tasks.
There’s an upside to the current climate surrounding immigration policy: since immigration attorneys are now acting as advocates for their clients, young idealistic law students are becoming interested in this practice, not only to look out for clients’ legal interests but also to pursue outcomes that improve the lives of their clients and their clients’ loved ones.
For more information on issues such as citizenship, naturalization, and family-based immigration, San Diego residents should reach out to the experienced immigration attorneys at KS Visa Law. Call us today at 858-874-0711 to schedule an appointment.
