The secret to successfully immigrating to Canada can be summed up in one word: information. With the immigration law constantly changing, having current, actionable information is key to filing a successful immigration request.
To navigate the immigration process, you need an immigration lawyer with credible experience in handling successful immigration applications. This is however not an easy task, but the following questions can kickstart your search for an immigration lawyer in Canada.
1. How Much Does It Cost?
Before you sign up an immigration lawyer to guide your application, find out how much they charge for the service. You don’t want to be caught off guard.
2. What Is Their Success Rate?
While not every immigration case succeeds or goes as hoped, you need to be sure that the lawyer has had more successful cases than failed ones. Working with an immigration lawyer with a high rate of success means you stand a better chance of having your application to emigrate to Canada approved. A good immigration lawyer won’t take up your case unless they are sufficiently persuaded that your case is likely to sale through.
3. How Can I Stay in Touch with My Lawyer if I Am Mot in Canada?
The immigration law firm you settle for must have a way of staying in touch with you, even if you are outside Canada. Thankfully, any immigration law firm worth its name uses technology to stay in touch with clients. You may not even meet the lawyer in person, but courtesy of technological inventions such as FaceTime, Skype, Zoom, and others, you can reach them from wherever in the world you may be.
4. Is the Immigration Lawyer Licensed?
Make sure the immigration lawyer is licensed to provide legal guidance on immigration matters. In addition, he or she must have been practicing for a considerable period to be of assistance.
5. What Law Do They Specialize In?
Any lawyer who claims to specialize in every type of legal service is not telling you the whole truth. They can know a lot about other types of legal services, but they cannot be specialists in every aspect of the law. Look for an immigration lawyer who at least specializes in Canadian immigration and related laws such as the refugee law, cross-border business law, and human resources law and policy.
6. What Is the Size of the Law Firm?
Although you can get a highly efficient small law firm, in most cases, it’s better to go for an established law firm with years of experience. However, this should not be your only yardstick since there are small firms that offer highly personalized and efficient immigration services.
7. Do They Have Online Reviews?
Having satisfied clients leave online reviews is a testament to an immigration law firm’s excellent services. Look online for reviews left by a company’s former clients. If the majority of the clients are satisfied with the services they received, chances are you will be as well. Scrutinize all the comments and reviews and only proceed if you are fully convinced.
8. Do They Speak Your Language?
For effective services, your lawyer should be able to communicate in a language you understand. In Canada, the most common languages are English and French. Get an immigration law firm that can communicate in a language you understand. If they have translators, the better. Their website should also speak your language. It should have a ‘translate’ feature for translating the content into whichever language you are comfortable with.
To immigrate to Canada, you need an immigration lawyer with a thorough knowledge of all the applicable immigration laws.
