Questions to Ask Immigration Consultant
Questions for anyone considering paying a non-lawyer immigration consultant: how to check what they are licensed to do, how they explain your options, what the fee covers, who holds your documents, and what happens if the case is denied.
The questions
Open any question for the note
Are you a licensed attorney, an accredited representative, or a consultant, and which of those are you acting as for me?
Why ask it
These are different things with different authority. In the United States, only licensed attorneys and representatives accredited through the Department of Justice recognition and accreditation program may give legal advice or represent you before the immigration agencies. A plain answer is the minimum you should accept.
What license or accreditation number do you hold, and where can I check it myself?
Why ask it
Attorneys can be looked up in the bar directory of the state that licensed them, and accredited representatives appear on a published government roster. In Canada, licensed consultants are listed by the College of Immigration and Citizenship Consultants. Verify rather than accept a framed certificate.
Are you allowed to advise me on which option to file, or only to help me complete forms?
Why ask it
Form filling and legal advice are separate services, and in many places non-lawyers may legally do only the first. Someone who has just told you they are not a lawyer, and then recommends a category, is doing something they may not be permitted to do.
Will you appear on my case as my representative, and sign the form that says so?
Why ask it
In the United States, the notice of appearance can be filed only by an attorney or an accredited representative; anyone else can appear only as a preparer. If they will not put their name on the filing in any capacity, you would be the only person accountable for what it says.
Has a complaint or disciplinary action ever been filed against you, and where would that be recorded?
Why ask it
Bar associations publish discipline records, and regulators of licensed consultants publish decisions. The answer matters less than whether they can tell you where to look, since an unregulated consultant has no record anywhere, which is itself the point.
From what I have told you, which category or program do you think fits, and what is it called?
Why ask it
You are asking for a specific name, such as a visa category, petition type, or program, rather than a reassurance. If nobody can name it, nobody can research it, and you cannot compare their advice with a second opinion.
What in my history could cause a problem: a past overstay, a denial, a criminal charge, an old application?
Why ask it
Cases fail on old facts, not on the current form. A consultant who never asks about prior filings, departures, arrests, or entries has not looked at the part of your history that decides the outcome.
Is there any risk that filing this makes my situation worse?
Why ask it
There genuinely is in some cases. A denial can bring someone out of status to the government's attention, and an answer later found to be false can create a long-term bar. Anyone who says filing carries no downside is not describing this system accurately.
Which parts of my case should be handled by a lawyer rather than by you?
Why ask it
An honest consultant has a boundary and will describe it: anything involving criminal history, prior removal, an appeal, or a hearing. Someone who says they can handle everything is telling you they do not know where their authority ends.
What is your fee, what are the government filing fees, and can you show them separately in writing?
Why ask it
Government fees are published and identical for everyone; the service fee is theirs. Bundling the two hides the price of the service, and it is how people end up paying several times the filing fee without realizing.
What is not included in your fee?
Why ask it
Ask specifically about responding to a request for evidence, interview preparation, translations, medical exams, courier costs, and any refiling. These add up, and they arrive at the point when changing providers is hardest.
Will I get a written agreement listing the services, the fees, and what happens if I stop?
Why ask it
Some jurisdictions require non-lawyer consultants to provide a written contract, a receipt, and a notice that they are not attorneys. No written scope means no way to show later what you paid for.
Which documents do you need originals of, and where will they be kept?
Why ask it
There is rarely a reason for anyone to hold your passport, birth certificate, or original civil documents. Holding originals to secure payment is a known pressure tactic and is unlawful in some places.
Will I read everything before it is filed, and get a complete copy afterwards?
Why ask it
You sign the application, so the answers are legally yours regardless of who typed them. Insisting on reading the final version is how people catch a wrong date, an invented job history, or a checked box they would never have checked.
Who fills in my answers, and who signs the application?
Why ask it
Some offices have staff complete forms from a brief intake sheet without the applicant seeing the result. Ask who does the typing and confirm nobody signs for you, since a signature you did not make is a serious problem in a file that follows you for years.
What is the current processing time for this, and where does that number come from?
Why ask it
Immigration agencies publish processing times, so this is checkable rather than a matter of opinion. A number offered with no source, especially one much faster than published, is a sales figure.
What could I do accidentally while waiting that damages the case: travel, changing jobs, letting a status lapse?
Why ask it
The most common self-inflicted harm happens in the waiting period. A useful answer names the specific actions that require permission first and the deadlines you must not miss.
How will I hear about a receipt notice, a request for evidence, or an interview, and how quickly?
Why ask it
Requests for evidence carry firm deadlines, and mail sent to a representative's address that is not passed on is how cases are abandoned. Ask whose address goes on the form and how notices reach you.
If this is denied, what are my options, and what would each one cost?
Why ask it
Ask them to explain the difference between refiling, a motion, and an appeal, and to say plainly whether they can handle any of them. A vague or annoyed answer here is worth more attention than any promise about approval.
What do you need from me in the next two weeks?
Why ask it
Ends the consultation with a concrete list rather than a general commitment. It also shows whether they have thought through your case or are working from a standard checklist.
Checking who you are dealing with
Practical guidance for the conversation itself
Start with the credential
Three different kinds of help
In the United States: licensed attorneys, representatives accredited through the Department of Justice and working for a recognized nonprofit organization, and everyone else. Only the first two may advise you on your case or represent you before the agencies. In Canada, immigration consultants must be licensed by the College of Immigration and Citizenship Consultants.
Verify it independently
Look the person up in the state bar directory, on the published list of recognized organizations and accredited representatives, or on the register of the relevant regulator. Do the search yourself rather than following a link they give you.
The word notary means something different here
In many countries a notario publico is a trained lawyer. In the United States a notary public is authorized only to witness signatures and may not give legal advice. Offices that trade on that confusion are the source of a large share of immigration fraud.
Free and low cost help exists
Nonprofit legal service organizations with accredited representatives handle many family and humanitarian cases at low cost, and some courts and bar associations maintain referral lists. Worth checking before paying a consultant for advice they may not be permitted to give.
Warning signs
- Any guarantee of approval, of a specific timeline, or of a work permit. Nobody outside the government decides these cases.
- A claim to have contacts inside an immigration agency, or to be able to speed a case up for a fee.
- Advice to leave something off a form, use a different name, or describe a job or a relationship inaccurately. Misrepresentation can create bars that last far longer than any delay.
- Holding your passport or original civil documents, or refusing to return them.
- Cash only, no receipt, no written agreement, or a fee that is quoted as one number covering both service and government fees.
- Pressure to sign today because a rule is about to change. Rules do change, and legitimate advisers explain the change rather than using it as a deadline.
- Blank forms presented for your signature, to be completed later.
Protect the paper trail
- Keep a complete copy of everything filed, including every page of every form and every supporting document, in your own possession.
- Pay by a method that leaves a record and ask for an itemized receipt each time.
- Read the form before you sign it, in a language you understand, and ask for the sections you do not follow to be explained. You are responsible for what it says.
- Note the receipt number for every filing and keep the notices somewhere separate from the rest of the file.
- Use your own mailing address or confirm in writing how mail sent to theirs will reach you.
If something has already gone wrong
- Get your file back, or a copy of it, as soon as you can. You are entitled to your own documents.
- Have an attorney or accredited representative review what was filed. A misstatement is easier to address early than after an interview.
- Complaints about a non-lawyer can go to your state attorney general or consumer protection office, and about an attorney to the licensing bar. In Canada, complaints about a licensed consultant go to the College.
- Keep going with any deadline you already have. An unresolved complaint against a consultant does not pause the case.