Immigration Paralegal Job Description
Paralegals are widely used in immigration law, but face increasingly demanding education, experience and foreign language fluency requirements.
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Education Requirements
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The most commonly required education for an immigration paralegal is a four-year degree plus a paralegal certificate. Requirements for certification vary, but generally include graduation from a legal program approved by the American Bar Association, a college degree and work experience as a legal assistant. However, it is not uncommon for individuals with foreign law degrees, not eligible to practice law in the United States, to earn a paralegal certificate and work as immigration paralegals. Two large Detroit-based law firms employ such paralegals.
Experience Requirements
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Some immigration paralegal jobs required as little as one year of experience, while others required as much as five years.
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Foreign Language Fluency
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Immigration paralegal jobs may require fluency in one or more foreign languages, which can include Haitian Creole, Tagalog, Spanish, Indian (Urdu, Hindi, Punjabi), Portuguese and French.
Salary Ranges
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The annual salary range for full-time immigration paralegal jobs is from the mid-$40,000s to the mid-$60,000s, depending on experience and geographic location. Temporary or part-time immigration paralegal positions have a salary range of $24 to $26 per hour.
Immigration Paralegal Duties
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An immigration paralegal's duties may include drafting applications, petitions, letters and affidavits; coordinating filing of applications and petitions, translation of foreign documents and equivalency evaluations of foreign degrees; and researching availability of foreign documents and immigrant and non-immigrant visa alternatives.
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