Things to keep in mind before choosing your immigration officer

The priority of every case is different. Therefore as clients it is your duty to ensure that you choose the most suitable immigration officer who can help you with your case. Here are a few evaluation questions you can ask yourselves before you make a decision:

legal, law concept - court form for dissolution of marriage,divorce on the foreground, glasses and a pen. The form is empty and I had filled out few items myself.

Ekpa & Co

Do I even need a lawyer or expert to help me?

This is a very important question

that you need to ask yourself. Sometimes your case may be so trivial that you can fix it by slapping a Band-Aid on it yourself. But be absolutely sure that it is easily fixable. If you have any grey areas that might possibly be beyond your skills to fix, don’t hesitate to bring in the big guns. Winging it with help of friends and online forums are not an option. They will do you more harm than good. Nobody can replace a good lawyer and expert when they are needed. If you can’t answer all of the following questions then you need to either get the answer yourself or hire a specialist you can trust.

Have you tried and succeeded in making a similar application before?
Do you have sufficient time and knowledge to get all the paper work done correctly?
Do you have necessary information and skills for making an appeal?
What would you do if you have a previous failed application and how can you effectively work around your complex immigration history?

There are a few points you need to look for when you talk to your immigration officer. You need to figure out if you are talking to the right person who can handle your case, the time required for the entire process and the clarity of the information you provide to your officer.

During the phone interview make sure that you get the following information:

Get a complete picture of the issues and possible outcome of the case. If you do not understand a point, it is your rights to enquire. So don’t hesitate to ask questions for the fear of coming across as an ignorant. Remember you are not lawyer and or an immigration expert and you are not entitled to know all the aspects of your case. Please bear in mind that it might be some issues that may be even beyond the specialist to solve at the time of your call. There maybe some questions that they have to do further research on before they can make a sound judgement.

They may require additional documentation, take it as a positive sign as there might be some relevant detail that they want to consider before proceeding with your case.

Give special consideration to their fee policies as well. You should be aware what you are paying for and if they require payment upfront.

You should have a clear inkling of their work quality and ethics: their communication skills, who will handle your case, a detailed plan of how they expect to win your case and their knowledge of relevant laws and rules to provide sufficient guidance.

Do not solely rely on the confidence that your potential exudes. It is quite easy to fake. Rather look for knowledge profundity, enthusiasm and sincerity.

Bear in mind that no lawyer has all the answers to every question. The law is very clear and transparent. You either know how to work it or you don’t. There is no guarded ’secret’ in immigration law. Every knowledge is easily verifiable. So when you are consulting a lawyer or expert, look for that verifiable knowledge which you can easily cross-check. This will help you sift the sand from stone about what your lawyer and advisor is telling you. It will also help you find out if your advisor truly knows his stuff.

Do I get a free consultation?

We believe no legal advice come free. If a law firm is offering you free consultation, it is most likely more of a sales pitch rather than legal advice. A good legal consultation progresses in the following stages: 30 minutes of taking your immigration history after which your legal officer will provide you with sound legal advice to your problems based on his vast experience. He will provide a detailed appraisal of your case including its strengths, its weaknesses, and your prospects of moving your case forward. At the end they should be able to give you a fixed fee amount. In short, after a legal consultation, you will be aware of the nature of your case, your options, your prospects of success, the time frame of completion and the cost for completion. If the ‘free’ consultation that you are getting is missing any of these points, it is just a sales pitch.

Please note that the information is written only to inform our clients of their legal rights and don´t contain any detailed advice to any certain specified question. For more up to date information, questions and comments please contact us.

Kauppakatu 6 A, 4krs 15140
Lahti, Finland

Tel: 03 780 0600, 0451884777
Fax: 03 7800 601