subject: Starting Your Career as An Immigration Lawyer [print this page] Starting Your Career as An Immigration Lawyer
The immigrant lawyer is responsible for providing the legal advice and guidance to his clients through the legal process involve in getting a green card or a visa (living, working or study) in the United States.
Immigration lawyer needs to remain up-to-date as the immigration law is subject to change. He has to have a thorough knowledge of the system so that he can assist his clients at a certain moment of their stay in the US. He also represents his clients in conflicts between them and US immigration authorities.
1. Being a lawyer, you need to have a perfect command on certain skills. These skills are very vital for your law career. You need to have a good verbal, negotiation and writing skills. For this, you need to work hard while still in high school. Getting hold of these skills in an early age will definitely help you in future. Start participating in debates, contribute in school's paper, taking a public speaking class will all help you flourish your skills. Also keep your grades high as this will come into act when you apply for admission in a law school.
2. Having four years of Bachelor's degree is an essential condition for getting into a law school. You cannot apply for admission in a law school without having a Bachelor's degree. Also just earning a Bachelor's degree is not enough; you have to keep your GPA high.
3. The second essential condition to get into a law school is to pass the Law School Admission Test (LSAT). Your score in LSAT and GPA both are very crucial to get admission in a top law school. Preparatory material is easily available which you can purchase and start preparing for the test, also there are preparatory courses that you can join to ensure good score in the test.
4. The next step is to shortlist the schools where you want to take admission. Choosing law school of your choice is not an easy task. You can attend the recruitments events to gain some useful information about the law school as you have a chance to talk to the representatives who can answer all your queries.
5. Tuition fees at law schools are usually high. So, not all the students can afford to study at law schools easily. However, if you have a good academic record and high LSAT score, you can apply for financial aid or scholarship. The other choice you have is to get some student loan.
6. Studying in law school demands much effort from you. Law is not easy and you have to spend a lot of time reading studying cases in the library. Independent study is very vital in law school. You have to choose the subjects dealt with immigration law. You can also find an internship while still in law school at a law firm that deals with immigration cases.
7. Earn your JD degree and start preparing for the bar exam. Obtain your license and start practicing law.
