What Does an Immigration Lawyer Do for You?

An immigration lawyer reviews your history, explains your options, prepares the paperwork, and represents you before government agencies and immigration courts. That is the short answer to what are the duties of an immigration lawyer. The exact work depends on your case, whether you face removal, want a green card, or need to appeal a decision. This guide walks through those duties by practice area. AG Immigration Law P.A. focuses on removal defense, adjustment of status, family petitions, naturalization, removal of conditions on green cards, waivers, and BIA appeals.

What an immigration lawyer does day to day

An immigration lawyer’s core job is to understand your immigration history and carry your case through each step. Most of the work falls into four parts: advising, paperwork, deadlines, and representation.

First, the lawyer reviews your records. That includes past visas, entry dates, government notices, receipts, and any court papers. Next, the lawyer explains your options in plain language, so you can make an informed choice.

Then the lawyer prepares forms and evidence, checks them against the filing rules, and files them on time. Finally, the lawyer speaks for you. That can mean appearing before an immigration judge, responding to USCIS, or filing an appeal with the Board of Immigration Appeals.

Immigration lawyers help people by turning a confusing process into a clear plan with dates, forms, and proof. Good work also means keeping you informed about each deadline and each new notice.

Duties in removal defense

In removal defense, the lawyer reviews the notice to appear first. That document shows what the government says about you and why.

The law says a notice to appear must list the acts alleged to violate the law, the charges, and the statutes the government says were broken. It must also tell you that you may have a lawyer. 8 U.S.C. § 1229 sets those rules. The first hearing generally cannot be set sooner than 10 days after the notice is served, unless you ask for an earlier date in writing.

You must also give the Attorney General a written record of your address and telephone number right away. Under 8 U.S.C. § 1229a, a court can order removal in absentia if you do not attend. That order requires clear, unequivocal, and convincing evidence that notice was given and that you are removable. If you were told orally about the consequences of missing court, you may be barred from certain relief, including adjustment of status, for 10 years. Exceptional circumstances are the exception.

At the hearing, the judge asks whether you admit or deny the allegations and the charges. 8 C.F.R. § 1240.10 sets that pleading step. Your lawyer prepares you for that moment, gathers records, prepares witnesses, tracks deadlines, and identifies which forms of relief may fit your facts.

Duties in adjustment of status and family petitions

For adjustment of status and family petitions, the lawyer checks who qualifies, builds the proof, and makes sure every form matches the record.

Adjustment of status is an application for a green card filed inside the United States. Under 8 U.S.C. § 1255, approval records lawful permanent residence as of the date the approval order is made. The same statute lists people who cannot use adjustment in certain cases. Examples include some people who worked without authorization or were out of status when they filed. The statute also has exceptions, so your full history needs a close review.

Family petitions follow their own rules. A U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident may file a petition on behalf of a spouse, under 8 C.F.R. § 204.2. The lawyer documents the qualifying relationship and prepares the paperwork for both the petitioner and the beneficiary.

Under 8 C.F.R. § 204.2, a family-based petition requires proof of the petitioner’s U.S. citizenship or lawful permanent residence and evidence of the claimed family relationship. Your lawyer also responds when the government asks for more evidence.

Duties in naturalization and removal of conditions on green cards

For naturalization and removal of conditions, the lawyer checks the eligibility rules, tracks the timing, and prepares the filing and interview materials.

Long trips abroad can matter for naturalization. Under 8 U.S.C. § 1427, an absence of one year or more breaks continuous residence, subject to the statute’s exceptions. Under 8 U.S.C. § 1427(b), an absence from the United States of one year or more during the required continuous residence period breaks that residence. The statute provides an exception for a person who, after being lawfully admitted for permanent residence, has been physically present and residing in the United States for an uninterrupted period of at least one year and who thereafter is employed by or under contract with the Government of the United States or an American institution of research recognized as such by the Attorney General, or is employed by an American firm or corporation engaged in whole or in part in the development of foreign trade and commerce of the United States, or a subsidiary thereof more than 50 per centum of whose stock is owned by an American firm or corporation, or is employed by a public international organization of which the United States is a member by treaty or statute and by which the alien was not employed until after being lawfully admitted for permanent residence. For that person, no period of absence from the United States shall break the continuity of residence if the conditions in 8 U.S.C. § 1427 are met. First, before the employment period begins, and before one year of continuous absence has passed, the person establishes to the satisfaction of the Attorney General that the absence is for one of these purposes. The person must also prove to the satisfaction of the Attorney General that his absence from the United States for such period has been for such purpose, as provided in 8 U.S.C. § 1427.

Applicants must also prove good moral character. Under 8 C.F.R. § 316.10, the agency judges this case by case, using the standards of the average citizen in the community. It may look at conduct before the statutory period if that conduct appears relevant. Giving false testimony under oath to obtain an immigration benefit is one of the listed categories. Under 8 C.F.R. § 316.10(c)(1), an applicant who has been on probation, parole, or suspended sentence is not thereby precluded from establishing good moral character, but such probation, parole, or suspended sentence may be considered in determining good moral character, and an application will not be approved until after the probation, parole, or suspended sentence has been completed.

If your conditional green card came through a spouse’s petition, you and your spouse must file Form I-751 together. Under 8 C.F.R. § 216.4, the filing must happen within the 90 days before the second anniversary of getting permanent residence. If the marriage ended or your spouse refuses to join, you may apply for a waiver of the joint filing requirement. Late filing requires good cause, shown in writing.

Duties in waiver applications

A waiver asks the government to forgive a ground that would otherwise block an immigration benefit, where the law allows it. The grounds of inadmissibility are set out in 8 U.S.C. § 1182. Some of those grounds can be waived only under the conditions the statute specifies.

That is why the review comes first, before any form is filed.

The lawyer’s work centers on proof. That means collecting records, writing a clear explanation of the facts, and organizing the evidence so the reviewing officer can follow it. Good organization cannot control the decision. It does make the record easier to review.

Duties in Board of Immigration Appeals appeals

In a BIA appeal, the lawyer files the notice of appeal on time and names the exact errors the Board should review.

An appeal from an immigration judge starts with Form EOIR-26, filed directly with the Board. Under 8 C.F.R. § 1003.3, the appeal is not properly filed unless the Board receives it with all required documents, fees or fee waiver requests, and proof of service within the required time.

It must name the findings of fact or conclusions of law being challenged. A vague notice risks summary dismissal.

When no transcript is needed, briefs are due from both sides within 20 days of the Board order setting the schedule. They are due in no case more than 35 days after the appeal was filed. The Board generally won’t extend these deadlines for workload or travel, so timing matters from the start.

Ethical duties every immigration lawyer owes the client

Immigration lawyers must follow professional conduct rules. Under 8 C.F.R. § 292.3, an adjudicating official or the Board of Immigration Appeals may impose disciplinary sanctions against a practitioner if it finds it to be in the public interest to do so, and such action is in the public interest when the practitioner has engaged in criminal, unethical, or unprofessional conduct, or in frivolous behavior.

Those rules shape how a lawyer treats you. Under 8 C.F.R. § 292.3, information concerning complaints or preliminary inquiries about a lawyer is confidential, except as otherwise provided by law or regulation or as authorized by that regulation. A lawyer should explain decisions and deadlines in words you understand. A lawyer should give honest advice, even when the news is hard.

The same regulation recognizes a practitioner’s duty to represent a client zealously within the bounds of the law. That duty works alongside honest advice, not against it.

Some matters may be referred to another lawyer or firm. If that happens in your case, we will tell you.

Talking with an immigration lawyer about your situation

Before a first conversation, gather every notice, receipt, prior filing, and a timeline of your entries and departures from the United States.

Many people read about these issues for a parent, spouse, or child. If you’re reading for someone else, write down the dates and documents they have. Note what they have already been told by the government or by anyone else.

If a person has a notice to appear, the law expects them to keep their address and phone number on file with the court current. Bring a record of those details to the first conversation.

If a notice to appear or a pending petition has you worried, reach out through our contact form, by phone, or by WhatsApp to book a paid consultation. Consultations carry a fee, and we review fee details when you make contact.

Adriana Gomez is the lawyer responsible for this page.