Asylum and Its Discontents in the United States
If you want to hire a lawyer to help you with your asylum case, you’ll find that attorney fees are all over the map. Some lawyers charge tens of thousands of dollars for a case. The larger immigration firms typically charge in the five to ten thousand dollar range. “Low bono” lawyers–and I include myself … Read more
They say that those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it. In that spirit, I’d like to discuss some asylum cases that I’ve lost (or at least that were referred by the Asylum Office to the Immigration Court) and why the cases were not successful. I am prompted to write about this … Read more
“Low Bono” refers to providing legal representation for less than market value. The idea is that for certain clients who cannot afford an attorney, the attorney will reduce her price so that the client can hire her. When lawyers represent asylum applicants (or anyone else) on a low bono basis, there is an obvious benefit … Read more
I’ve written previously about the poor state of the immigration bar. And while there are–unfortunately–too many bad lawyers, there are many excellent ones. The question is, for an immigrant unfamiliar with the American legal system, how can you distinguish between the good and bad? In other words, how do you find a lawyer who will … Read more
My friend, who is a keen observer of the Immigration Court and USCIS (and who wishes to remain anonymous), has noticed that clients often hide or forget information that effects their cases: There are surprises in life we all wish we could avoid. Finding a hair in your meal at your favorite restaurant comes to … Read more