How to Verify an Immigration Lawyer or Consultant in the USA, Canada and Mexico

Unlicensed advisors can file the wrong forms, miss deadlines or put false information in your application, and you may have no way to get your money back. Licensed professionals must follow conduct rules, carry out work competently and answer to a regulator if something goes wrong.

Attorneys

1. Ask which state licensed them. Immigration law is federal, so an attorney licensed in any state can handle your case, even if they live elsewhere.
2. Look them up in that state bar's directory. The American Bar Association keeps a list of state lawyer licensing and directory sites.
3. Confirm the status is active and in good standing, and check for public discipline.
4. Check the Justice Department's list of currently disciplined practitioners, which covers people barred from immigration courts or DHS.

When an attorney represents you before USCIS, they file Form G-28, which lists their name, bar number and licensing state. Ask for a copy.

Accredited representatives

Accredited representatives are non-lawyers approved by the Justice Department's Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR). They must work for a recognized nonprofit organization. Check both the person and the organization on the Recognition and Accreditation roster. Partial accreditation allows practice only before DHS agencies such as USCIS; full accreditation also allows practice in immigration court.

Lawyers from other countries

USCIS allows attorneys licensed outside the US to represent people only in matters outside the United States.

Canadian law allows only these people to charge you for immigration or citizenship help:

• Lawyers, and paralegals in Ontario, who are members in good standing of a Canadian provincial or territorial law society. IRCC's page on authorized representatives links to every law society's directory, including the Law Society of Ontario directory.
• Notaries who are members of the Chambre des notaires du Québec: search the Quebec notary directory.
• Regulated Canadian immigration consultants (RCICs) licensed by the College of Immigration and Citizenship Consultants (CICC): search the CICC public register by name, license number or company.

On the CICC register, confirm the license is active and check the license type. RCIC-IRB licensees may also appear before the Immigration and Refugee Board. Regulated International Student Immigration Advisors (RISIAs) work at schools and advise international students.

These rules apply wherever the person is located. An agent in your home country who charges you for Canadian immigration help must still be one of the people above. Anyone you pay must also be named on your application, on the Use of a Representative form (IMM 5476). A paid helper who refuses to be named is often called a "ghost consultant"; IRCC will not deal with unauthorized paid representatives.

Unpaid help from family, friends or nonprofits is allowed.

Lawyers in Mexico need a law degree (licenciatura en derecho) and a cédula profesional, the professional license issued by the SEP's Dirección General de Profesiones.

1. Ask for the lawyer's full name and cédula number.
2. Search the Registro Nacional de Profesionistas at cedulaprofesional.sep.gob.mx, which is linked from the official gob.mx cédula page.
3. Confirm that the name matches their ID and that the degree is in law.

A cédula proves the person holds a law degree and license. It does not prove experience with immigration, so ask how many cases they have handled with Mexico's National Migration Institute (INM) or at consulates. Joining a bar association (barra or colegio de abogados) is generally voluntary in Mexico, so membership is useful but not required.

You can do most INM procedures yourself. Paperwork agents (gestores) are not licensed lawyers. INM warns against anyone who promises to speed up a procedure, and official fees are only those set by Mexico's Federal Duties Law.

Scammers sometimes copy the name and license number of a real professional. To protect yourself:

• Contact the professional using the phone number or email shown on the official register, not the details the person gave you.
• Be careful if they promise or "guarantee" a result.
• Ask for a written agreement that lists the services and fees before you pay.
• Be careful with cash-only payments, payments to a personal account, or requests to lie on forms.
• Make sure they sign your forms as representative (Form G-28 in the US, IMM 5476 in Canada).

1. Where are you licensed, and what is your license number?
2. Who will actually work on my case?
3. Have you handled cases like mine, with the same agency or consulate?
4. What are your fees, and what do they include? Are government fees extra?
5. Will I receive copies of everything you file?
6. What happens if my application is refused?

• USA: complain to the state bar about an attorney, and report notarios and other unauthorized advisors to the Justice Department's Fraud and Abuse Prevention Program and the Federal Trade Commission.
• Canada: complain to the law society about a lawyer or paralegal, or to the CICC about a consultant. Report unauthorized paid representatives to IRCC and fraud to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre.
• Mexico: file a complaint with the state public prosecutor's office (Fiscalía) for fraud, or with PROFECO, the consumer protection agency, for paid services that were not delivered.

Our scam protection guide has more reporting links, and our notario fraud guide explains who cannot legally give US immigration advice.