What is an immigration consultant?

You may find that there are numerous "Immigration Consultants" in your area who advertise their services for immigration matters. The fees charged by immigration consultants are often, but not always, low. The less costly fees charged by immigration consultants often make them appear to be an attractive alternative if you require help with an immigration matter, but are concerned with the amount of money involved. However, you should be warned that immigration consultants are not licensed immigration attorneys, and are not authorized to provide legal immigration advice.  Immigration consultants often do not have the necessary experience or education necessary to properly handle immigration cases. Immigration consultants also do not have ethical obligations as imposed by the State Bar Association upon licensed attorneys. 

The consequences of hiring an immigration consultant may be extremely adverse.  Filing an ill-prepared immigration case can cause delays or even irreparably harm your chances of securing immigration benefits. Unfortunately, immigration consultants have accepted payment from unwitting individuals and failed to provide any services at all. In the end, hiring an immigration consultant rather than attorney may not be as cost effective an option as you believed. Many individuals have been forced to retain an attorney and expend substantial amounts of money to correct mistakes made by an immigration consultant.