Immigration Law

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Immigration law is a dynamic and challenging area of law impacting tens of millions of people in the United States and around the world. Immigration lawyers work on legal issues impacting immigrants, non-immigrants as well as their family members and employers. Some immigration lawyers represent people attempting to obtain visas, avoid deportation or gain lawful permanent residence. Other immigration lawyers work for the federal government. Fully five branches of the federal government are involved in immigration affairs, including the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Justice, the Department of State, the Department of Labor, and Health and Human Services in a variety of capacities and immigration law is an excellent entry point into federal practice. Immigration law also intersects with international law. Immigration lawyers work with domestic law, but also with international (e.g. Refugee and Torture Conventions and Trafficking Protocol) and comparative law (immigration laws and policies of other countries and bi-lateral agreements). In fact, one of the only ways to practice international law in the United States is within the immigration context.

The advisability of gaining Immigration law knowledge is not limited to those who would work in immigration court matters. Criminal lawyers need to know how pleas and sentencing will impact their non-citizen clients. Family lawyers and judges need to know whether to consider immigration status in such things as assessing a child’s best interests and when domestic violence is an issue. Tax and education lawyers must understand how citizenship and lack of it impacts client issues. In short, Immigration Law crosses over with almost every other substantive area of law, including appellate practice, national security and Constitutional Law.