You most likely know someone that has been defrauded while processing their Canadian immigration as it is a problem widely experienced and a problem best avoided.
At this point you most likely are encountering issues with your immigration application, and maybe considering enlisting the services of either an immigration lawyer or consultant. But there are signs you should look out for in an immigration attorney?
Immigration attorneys or consultants can be a great addition on your side during the whole application process as they do a lot for your case.
They help in, adequately preparing the required documents, dealing with immigration officials, appealing and preparing for hearings, in cases where one is required.
Nevertheless, they cannot give any guarantees about the eventual success of your application.
Any lawyer or consultant who does that, is only trying to sweet talk you into paying their fees, instead of giving you legally sound advice.
In this guide, we would be outlining some red flags you should look out for when hiring an immigration lawyer or consultant.
When your case is taken too quickly
The law aspect of immigrating is very complex, and every case is peculiar. Therefore experienced immigration lawyer or consultant always firstly review your case and it’s peculiar nature with considerations as to what is best for the client before accepting to work with you.
So if any lawyer or consultant immediately offers to take your case, this is in our opinion a red flag and you should be concerned.
Because they have not had ample time to properly consider the peculiarities of your case or decide if they have any valuable legal advice to offer.
Rather, what they are doing is trying to get as much money from you as they could.
Seasoned immigration lawyer and consultants don’t give any guarantees or make effort to sell you on the visa process. Rather, they work alongside you to complete your application process in an error free manner, thereby increasing your chances of getting your visa approved.
In circumstances where they feel your case cannot be helped by them, they don’t take that case.
More often than not, lawyers offer free case evaluations where they guide you through all your legal options.
And any lawyer not willing to do this, most likely has a underlying motive so you should consider getting another lawyer to take your case.
Gives a quote before knowing your case details
Like aforementioned, every immigration case is peculiar and so are their quotes, they vary greatly and a lot of factors are put into consideration when giving one, like the time and services the lawyer has to provide.
It takes lots of time to accurately estimate a quote, so if a lawyer or consultant offers a quote immediately over the phone, be cautious. There’s a high tendency that they haven’t considered the peculiarities of your case, and are solely trying to reel you in with a low quote.
In cases like this, the immigration lawyer or consultant would later call back claiming some sort of complication arose in your case and for that reason, they’d need some more money systematically increasing their price.
Ensure you pick a lawyer or consultant who is straightforward about their fee, and offers a realistic quote based on the peculiarities of your application.
Guarantees a successful application
During the course of this guide, we have had to mention that lawyers or consultants can give no guarantees whatsoever in the immigration process.
This is be because they’ve no direct influence on the immigration decision making, and even the most adequately prepared application can be rejected.
So seasoned immigration lawyers or consultant would always be realistic and upfront about the outcome of your application, and not give unnecessary guarantees.
On conditions when an immigration lawyer or consultant gives you a guarantee that your application would be approved, then your best bet is looking for another expert as you’re dealing with a fraudster.
Seasoned lawyers would at most only promise to use all their expertise to do the possible best they can for your application.
Lack of ICCRC number or provincial law association listing (for Canada)
An immigration representative must have proper authorization in order to accept money to work on your immigration application in Canada.
For immigration consultants, this proper authorization we spoke of earlier is given by the Immigration Consultants of Canada Regulatory Council (ICCRC) and for lawyers it is granted to them by their provincial legal association, typically called a Bar Association.
So on conditions when an immigration consultant can’t provide their ICCRC number and lawyers can’t provide their provincial listing, it’s best to get a different immigration expert who can.
When you eventually find an immigration consultant who can provide their ICCRC number, you could check if they have the proper authorization by inputing this number up on the https://iccrc-crcic.ca/find-a-professional/ website to view the consultant’s status.
And to confirm if your immigration lawyer has the proper authorization to work on your application, you could ask them to give you the link to their listing on the relevant provincial Bar association website. You could also check it directly, if you so prefer to, use this database.
The sheer size and governing pattern means that there could be exceptions in some places.
Like in Ontario, paralegals are permitted to represent clients on their application, but they must be in good standing with the Ontario Bar Association.
Also In Quebec, notaries are allowed to also represent clients, with the condition of being in good standing with the Chambre des notaires du Québec.
They Claim You Don’t Need Family
In countries like the U.S. and Canada, the immigration process greatly favors family members of existing citizens and lawful permanent residents.
If you so desire to receive that green card or be a lawful permanent resident in such countries, there are law that states that you would need to have some sort of ties to the country.
This can be either be family member or a company offering you employment.
So when speaking to immigration lawyers or consultants, and they say you do not need a family sponsor or other ties to the either the U.S or Canada, they are trying to mislead you.
You need to pick a different expert who would be honest and give you a fair evaluation of your case.
Not Accesible
If you’ve asked around enough, you’d notice how lots of people have suffered from immigration lawyers and consultants who promise them a one on one attention during their case evaluation. But, after payment has been made, they disappear to never being reached directly.
There are more sides than one to this situation, it’s either their law firm is large, and most cases are handed off to junior lawyers. Or worse, they don’t have any lawyer or consultant working actively on your case.
We at immigly.com think that what you need is an immigration lawyer or consultant that you can access directly and who will handle your case personally.
Sometimes there are swift changes that can happen with your case, and it’s of paramount importance for you to be able to contact your representative right away.
They’re Just After Your Money
You’ve to be extra careful with any immigration lawyer or consultant who requests for money upfront.
Most seasoned lawyers would only request for any form of compensation after reviewing your case and it’s peculiarities and outlining a clear legal strategy to tackling it effectively.
So if your immigration expert is requesting for money right away, it’s possible you are dealing with someone who’s not interested in your case but how much they can get from you while possibly doing little or nothing.
There are also options of payback when the lawyer or consultant does not complete the work.
Most seasoned lawyers discuss this with their clients before they begin to render their services, so If the lawyer doesn’t discuss this or blatantly refuses to offer you a money back option in case the work was unfinished, you already know what to do, find another expert.
Contact An Experienced Immigration Attorney
As you begin your ultimate search for lawyers and consultants ensure you find the ones with the right experience matching your case.
Immigration law is complex like we have earlier mentioned, and you need a lawyer or consultant who has tackled a wide variety of different cases and understands every nuke and cranny of the process, from as little as submitting the paperwork to preparing for immigration hearings.
Good luck in finding that immigration expert that perfectly fits your need, we believe this article was helpful to you, if you agree, please share a link across your social media, you never know who might also need this information.
