Would you recommend immigration law to a non-Spanish speaker Forum

[OUgrad14]

Hey everyone, I'm starting law school this month and I'm interested in immigration law. Based on what I've read on this subject, it is popular to recommend that those interested in this type of law speak Spanish fluently, but I don't. I don't speak the language at all, but I speak three Indian (India) languages fluently. I'm open to other types of law as well, but I'm particularly interested in working for the government--local, state or federal. What type of government jobs are available to attorneys besides criminal and contracts? Any help is appreciated. Thanks.

[should-i-do-it]

if you wanna to immigration law in texas or anywhere where most immigrants are hispanic you should probably know spanish, but if your in nyc where theres a bunch of immigrants from everywhere it might not matter as much, jobs all depend on what school your going to, hopefully its a good one

[09042014]

if you wanna to immigration law in texas or anywhere where most immigrants are hispanic you should probably know spanish, but if your in nyc where theres a bunch of immigrants from everywhere it might not matter as much, jobs all depend on what school your going to, hopefully its a good one

It's still like 90% spanish speakers.

I wouldn't recommend immigration to anyone, but for-fucking-get about it if you aren't fluent en espanol.

[prezidentv8]

I would not recommend any law to anyone ever.

[A. Nony Mouse]

I mean, if you want to do immigration law for the government it's really going to be federal, and if you're doing federal immigration law most of the time you're going to be sending the immigrants back, so you're not actually representing the immigrants and don't need to speak their language (that sounds kind of harsh but it's how I understand things to work). If you did private immigration work, and lived in a city with a large Indian immigrant population, you could maybe carve out a niche representing groups that speak the language you're fluent in (how many Indian immigrants also know English, though? I just don't know).

Outside of immigration, there's a lot of government work that isn't contracts or criminal law - tax, antitrust, general civil litigation where the US/state is a party (some contracts, but also civil rights/torts/employment/pretty much most other kinds of civil lit), labor and employment, public utilities, environmental, consumer protection, elections, etc. etc.

[Chrstgtr]

I'm open to other types of law as well, but I'm particularly interested in working for the government--local, state or federal. What type of government jobs are available to attorneys besides criminal and contracts? Any help is appreciated. Thanks.

Sounds like you should do some more research of what type of legal jobs are out there, general information about those jobs like salary and how difficult it to get those jobs, and what lawyers actually do since you don't seem to know even the most basics of legal field. Before you actually apply to law school you should make sure it is something you are interested in.

[randomstudent]

I would not rule out immigration law simply because you don't know Spanish, for two reasons: (1) There are some firms that handle a lot of immigration from non-Spanish-speaking countries. (2) I have worked before at a firm whose clientele was mostly Hispanic without knowing any Spanish.

[should-i-do-it]

In all honesty though, you should be more worried about getting any job, or retaking the lsat if your not going to a top school

[BVest]

To speak contrarily to the direction of this thread, of the 250,000 H1-B visa petitions a year, 150,000 or so are from India, and in the private sector of immigration law, the money follows the job-related immigration cases where the employers are picking up the tab. I'd have to imagine that knowing three Indian languages would be of benefit there, even if just from a language/cultural nuance perspective. (Most of the Indian work immigrants will be at least proficient in English).

[despina]

To speak contrarily to the direction of this thread, of the 250,000 H1-B visa petitions a year, 150,000 or so are from India, and in the private sector of immigration law, the money follows the job-related immigration cases where the employers are picking up the tab. I'd have to imagine that knowing three Indian languages would be of benefit there, even if just from a language/cultural nuance perspective. (Most of the Indian work immigrants will be at least proficient in English).

I disagree. Because folks who are getting sponsored for H-1B visas are generally fluent in English, speaking Indian languages wouldn't really be an advantage working with these clients. "Cultural nuance" is nice for being able to build a relationship with the employee and for when you occasionally have to work with consular officials, but for the most part in these cases your work as the attorney is with the American employer, putting together paperwork and forms to submit to USCIS. It's not like asylum law where you engage the client for hours at a time to prepare her to testify a historically and culturally specific, and often intensely traumatic, story of her life.

[worldtraveler]

To speak contrarily to the direction of this thread, of the 250,000 H1-B visa petitions a year, 150,000 or so are from India, and in the private sector of immigration law, the money follows the job-related immigration cases where the employers are picking up the tab. I'd have to imagine that knowing three Indian languages would be of benefit there, even if just from a language/cultural nuance perspective. (Most of the Indian work immigrants will be at least proficient in English).

I disagree. Because folks who are getting sponsored for H-1B visas are generally fluent in English, speaking Indian languages wouldn't really be an advantage working with these clients. "Cultural nuance" is nice for being able to build a relationship with the employee and for when you occasionally have to work with consular officials, but for the most part in these cases your work as the attorney is with the American employer, putting together paperwork and forms to submit to USCIS. It's not like asylum law where you engage the client for hours at a time to prepare her to testify a historically and culturally specific, and often intensely traumatic, story of her life.

This, and their visas and handled by their companies or some select immigration firms, so it won't be that helpful for OP. And it's also just filling out boring forms correctly and there isn't much to it.

Nothing is stopping you from learning some Spanish now OP. Do it if you really want immigration law.