A major concern for anyone seeking to retain legal advice regarding an Immigration matter from Thailand: how can I tell if my Thai fiancee is receiving legal advice from a competent credible professional? The answer: ask to be shown a license or other indicia of licensure. Much like a waitress asking someone for ID who appears less than 21 years of age, prospective clients should never be too shy to ask their prospective attorney for a copy of his or her bar card or other certificate in order authenticate their credentials. Further, ask the attorney what law school they graduated from and in which state he or she is licensed and in good standing to practice law. Should the individual attempt to dodge the question or if he becomes angry, then one could take this as a sign that the individual is not being completely candid about something…or isn’t what they claim to be. If he or she provides the name of their state of licensure, then go to the internet and search for the bar association or Supreme Court of that state. Each state or territory keeps an up to date record of all of the attorneys who are licensed to practice law in their courts. Should the attorney’s name not appear on the list then more research should be done before retaining his or her services.

Usually at this phase, most people would wonder: “Am I going to trust my Thai fiance to an operator who fabricates information about their legal credentials?”

US Visa rules and regulations are a complicated area of law that seems to constantly remain in a state of flux. On the surface, United States immigration may appear to be a straightforward endeavor and there are those who claim it is merely “filling in forms.” However, upon further investigation, one will quickly see that it is a narrow and deep area of legal practice, filled with pitfalls for the unwary. Failure to be one hundred percent honest in an application can lead to unintended consequences. Ask yourself, “can I put my Thai fiance in the hands of someone who tells me to lie to the U.S. Government?”

Ignorance of relevant immigration rules and deadlines can lead an unwitting couple into a situation where they are unable to achieve their immigration goals in the time frame they desire. When hiring an Immigration Attorney stay away from so-called “visa companies,” and “visa specialists,” as they are unsanctioned by the Immigration authorities at USCIS. The operators to be most on the lookout for often use the even more sinister tactic of claiming to be an actual attorney when in fact they are unlicensed and often have not even graduated from an accredited law school in the US. An unethical operator such as this ought to be dismissed out of hand, because they can cause problems in a case due to lack of expertise and where something does go wrong, even where it is no fault of theirs, they still are unable to remedy the situation because USCIS will not correspond with an unlicensed agent. Only a licensed attorney will have the credibility to provide follow-up documentation in a 221g refusal at the US Embassy.

For more information please see: k1 visa.