Asian Journal- The Filipino-American Community Newspaper

Not long ago my family was blessed with the visit of my mother and father who live a great distance from our home here in Southern California. During this visit we were able to attend the Annual San Fernando La Union festivities. At this very nice affair my father happened to see an immigration attorney upon a local Filipino newspaper. After some time reading the contents he commented, "there sure are a lot of immigration attorneys," and then he asked, "you must see them all the time down at the INS?"

In consideration I realized that I had never seen most of the attorneys that advertise in the Filipino papers at the Immigration Service. I realized that after all these years dedicated to the practice of immigration law and after almost daily visits to the Immigration Service, I had never actually seen these advertisers personally represent clients at the CIS. I responded to my father by stating that most of the attorneys he was reading about sent underlings to the Immigration Service on their behalf. My father then poignantly commented, "well, isn’t that a big deal to the clients that hired them? The only answer I could think of was, "you would think so."

I now have had time to reflect on that conversation with my father and the value of his question and I realize that the answer should be a resounding, yes! It does matter if the attorney you are about to hire routinely appears at the Immigration Service. It matters because there are attorneys giving information about an organization they have never visited or if they have it was 10 or 15 years ago when the place was still called the INS. It’s like getting information on how to drive a car by someone who has only read about driving, there might be some value in the advice but there are dangers that the inexperienced might not anticipate.

Those dangers can be prepared for and avoided by legal professionals who have been to the Immigration Service, have experienced the process, are aware of the local rules and procedures and most importantly, have the contacts and relationships that allow them to directly solve a problem. A lack of experience, knowledge or familiarity can cost you and your family.

An attorney with a high profile in the Pinoy community, one you may feel is well-known, may actually mean nothing or carry little if any weight at the Immigration Service because that same attorney is never actually seen by the officers. Alternatively, these self-proclaimed experts are often critical in print of the Immigration Service and its officers without realizing that the Service is comprised largely of Pinoy officers who read these articles. This will make an impact on your case.

Recently, a very loving couple that was ready to file for adjustment of status hired our firm. The US citizen husband was much older than his Pinay wife and they wanted to know if that would be a problem and how would the Immigration Service handle this type of case.

Anticipating the treatment they would receive at their interview we were able to properly prepare them for what turned out to be a 21/2-hour interview, an interview that concluded with an approval notice. The grueling process they went through was part of the new tactics and attitude one Immigration Office has been employing on marriage interviews. They were aware of such new procedures because they hired an attorney who personally attends his client’s interviews at the Immigration Service.

The adjustment of status interview at the Immigration Service is a serious matter involving a US Federal Officer who has been trained to root out problems and any applicant who takes such an interview lightly or does not seriously consider experienced representation does so at his or her own risk. The impact can be catastrophic.

Do yourself a favor, if you ever find yourself in need of an immigration attorney asked when the last time he or she was actually there, it might save you some heartache.

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Kelly S. O’Reilly is a principal and a founding shareholder in the law firm of Wilner & O’Reilly.

Please contact Kelly S. O’Reilly at (562) 207-6789 or 1-877-7MABUHAY. Wilner & O’Reilly, APLC, is located at 17777 Center Court Drive, Suite 200 Cerritos, CA 90703. Visit www.wilneroreilly.com.

( www.asianjournal.com )

( Published on December 20, 2008 in Asian Journal Los Angeles p. C4 )