How do I find information about my complicated immigration case?

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Recently, I was at a meeting of local immigration lawyers, and some attorneys who have been in practice for 20 or 30 years in this field were telling "war stories" about the cases they've seen in their long careers.  It was fascinating to hear about the complex fact patterns and the legal strategies they used to achieve results for their clients, and it made me appreciate something about practicing immigration law--for the clients we represent, these fact patterns are their lives, and what we are able to do can make a real difference.  If you have a complex immigration case, you probably know what I mean. You may feel like you've tried everything; you may have a file of immigration paperwork that is as thick as a phone book.  You've probably seen your share of the inside of immigration buildings, from USCIS to the EOIR, and you probably have the 1800 number memorized.  But how do you learn what's really happening in your immigration case, and how can you be the best advocate for yourself in meetings with lawyers or USCIS?

First, the most important thing is to work with someone you trust.  A good immigration attorney will help you understand the process, and will take the time to answer your questions, but to get the information you want, it helps to be prepared.  Here's are some things you can do to make your meeting with your attorney more productive:

• Schedule a time to have a meeting, whether face to face or by phone.  Let the person who schedules the meeting know what you're planning to discuss ("I'd like to talk to Christina about the Motion to Reopen she filed," for instance).  Having time to prepare for the meeting will allow your attorney to review your file, and will make your meeting more productive.  
• Bring a list of the questions you want to ask, and leave room on the page for your notes.  That way, when you go home you can see what you talked about and what the answers were. 
• If there are terms you don't understand--for instance, I often use abbreviations for things, like EAD, when talking to clients, and this can be confusing--make a note of the term so you can be sure to ask about it.  
• Some attorneys are great at making charts for clients to understand what will happen in their process.  If your attorney can do this for you, it's a really good tool to help you understand what's coming next, and it's something you can take with you so that you can refer to it later. 
• You can also ask your attorney to put together a memo after your meeting for you to refer to later.  Some attorneys may bill you for their time in doing this, so ask upfront if that is a concern for you.  Others will be making a memo for their file anyway, so it doesn't hurt to ask if they will forward a copy to you. 

Next, the internet is a great resource for learning more about immigration processes, but there is a TON of misinformation out there.  Here are the sites I trust for good immigration information: 

• www.USCIS.gov  This is the best site for up-to-date immigration information from the government agency itself. 
• www.justice.gov  The resource for the immigration court system, including EOIR and the BIA.  You can find published BIA decisions, see the immigration judge's bench book (this can be really helpful in learning more about the procedural side of things, if you're interested in knowing what's going on behind the scenes), and also find the EOIR practice manual, which is a must if you are representing yourself pro se.  
• Any site ending in .gov is run by the government and is generally trustworthy.  
• Sites run by immigration lawyers (like this one!) can have helpful general information.  Lawyers are governed by ethical rules and attorney websites are generally monitored by the state bar associations, so the information found on these sites tends to be more reliable than that found on message boards or other unregulated sources. 
• www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org is the website of the American Immigration Council, which publishes terrific practice advisories about specific topics in immigration law.  
• http://www.hias.org/en/pages/books-brochures is published by HIAS (the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society), and contains helpful information about immigration processes. 
• The Immigrant Legal Resource Center, www.ilrc.org, sells books and other materials about immigration law, which can be helpful if you're interested in learning more about a very complex matter.  
• Many colleges and universities publish immigration-related materials, some of which can be very helpful.  If the website ends in .edu, the information is generally reliable.  
• Unlike .edu domain names, which are regulated and must be associated with a school, .org is available to anyone.  A lot of reputable sources use .org, but not everyone with that domain name is a non-profit organization, so use caution when trusting these sources.  

Finally, you can review your entire immigration file, free of charge, by filing a request under the Freedom of Information Act.  Depending on how much information you are requesting (you can ask for anything from a specific document to the whole file), your request may take several months to a year to process, but the information is yours to keep--it will arrive on a CD for your review, and you can see what has been filed both by you and by the government in your case.  You can find the form at www.uscis.gov.  
Good luck to you!  And remember, if you need an immigration attorney to assist you with a complex immigration issue, you are always welcome to contact me at christina@cruddenlegal.com.