In a first consultation we want to give you a concrete answer, not a generic one. The distance between «we would have to look at your file» and «here are your three options and this is the one we recommend» almost always comes down to the papers you bring with you.
This is the short list.
1. Identification for you and your family
Your passport, current or expired, and your national ID. Birth certificates for you and your children. If you are married, the marriage certificate; if there were earlier marriages, the divorce decrees.
These documents define who can petition for whom, and they are the first thing an immigration attorney looks at.
2. Everything immigration has ever sent you
Any paper on letterhead from USCIS, the immigration court, ICE or a consulate. Receipts, approvals, denials, biometrics appointments, expired work permits, previous green cards.
Even if you think it is useless now, bring it. A receipt from ten years ago can be the proof that you filed something on time.
3. How and when you entered the country
Visa, entry stamp in your passport, I-94 record, plane ticket, or any proof of the date. If you entered without inspection, what matters is the year and the approximate place.
How you entered is the single fact that changes a strategy the most: it determines which paths are open, which are closed and which require a waiver.
4. Any record with the police or the courts
If you had any contact with police or a court, bring the final disposition of the case, not just the arrest paperwork. An arrest without conviction, a dismissed charge and a conviction carry very different weight in immigration.
This is where being completely candid matters most. Whatever you do not tell us, the government will probably find anyway; the difference is that by then we will not be able to prepare for it.
5. Proof of your life here
Tax returns, leases, utility bills, employment letters, your children's school records, medical records, letters from a church or community organization.
They show how long you have been in the country and the ties you have built, and in several kinds of case that is precisely what is being weighed.
Three practical tips
- Bring the originals and one copy of each document. We keep the copies; the originals go home with you.
- Put together a simple timeline of key dates: entries, departures, filings, marriages, moves. One page is enough and it saves half a consultation.
- If a document is in another language, you do not need to translate it beforehand. We will tell you which ones need a certified translation.
What if you have none of this?
Come anyway. Many people arrive without a single paper, and part of our job is helping you rebuild your file: there are ways to request a copy of your own immigration history from the government. What matters is getting started.