Recommendation For An Immigration Lawyer

[pitipur]

hey all, is it no longer true that you can apply for perm residency based on some loophole where if you've been in the country for 3 years whether "illegal" or not? im fairly sure ive read that here a few times but not sure if that's changed and nobody seems to mention it anymore.

 

[Alicia karr]

Not to be argumentative but when I called the lawyer that you used for your permanent residency, he said that he charges 2000 for residence cases. I said that I was trying to apply directly for citizenship and he told me that you need to have residency for 5 years before you can apply for citizenship (so he either didn't seem to know about the direct-to-citizenship route or he doesn't work with that process).

He said that for residency he evaluates the possible ways that you could be eligible for residency - I already know I am not eligible unless I marry or study - which seems to be the case with OP. There is another lawyer who does the direct-to-citizenship route in certain instances; OP, you can find him mentioned in this forum several times searching for "citizenship lawyer".

Mariano works in a firm that specializes in immigration law. But he works with residency requests and a lot of businesses. Given what you've said I suspect that it's his partner, Martine, who probably does the citizenship requests. I can only talk about my personal experience with him, which obviously resulted in success as I now have my permanent residency. But I haven't applied for citizenship, he and his partner merely offered me this as a future option if I ever get worried about the residency requirement with the permanent Dni. For example if I envision myself being away from Argentina for years and then wanting to return...theoretically they could rescind my permanent DNI if I'm out of the country for several years. It did happen to one of his clients who was relocated by his company outside of Argentina. But he had been gone 8 years and was on a work visa..
Anyway they are law partners so they refer the work to the one that has that particular expertise. As I said, I can only vouch for my own experience, which as a rentista resident, was successful. I'll also check out who actually does the citizenship work (but I'm also positive it's his nonEnglish speaking partner.) that would explain the misinformation. Thanks for the feedback!

 

[estebandepraga]

Just curious although I dont need it
is that 2000 USD or pesos?

 

[Hybrid Ambassador]

If anyone is interested my English speaking imigration attorney (who just helped me get my permanent residency) charges only 2000 for citizenship cases.

There you go, competition for Dr.Rubilar..With US$4k difference you can do alot of travelling there in Argieland or just asados and malvecs.. I will go with lacoqueta's attorney with that kind of money saving in a New York minute!

 

[steveinbsas]

Not to be argumentative but when I called the lawyer that you used for your permanent residency, he said that he charges 2000 for residence cases. I said that I was trying to apply directly for citizenship and he told me that you need to have residency for 5 years before you can apply for citizenship (so he either didn't seem to know about the direct-to-citizenship route or he doesn't work with that process).

He said that for residency he evaluates the possible ways that you could be eligible for residency - I already know I am not eligible unless I marry or study - which seems to be the case with OP. There is another lawyer who does the direct-to-citizenship route in certain instances; OP, you can find him mentioned in this forum several times searching for "citizenship lawyer".

If I remember correctly, Dr. Rubilar posted that the five year residency requirement (three years temporary and two years of permanent residency) are provisions of a law that has been "obsolete" for years and the Argentine Constitution has a provision for foreigners to become citizens after two years of "residency" in Argentina.

 

[steveinbsas]

There you go, competition for Dr.Rubilar..With US$4k difference you can do alot of travelling there in Argieland or just asados and malvecs.. I will go with lacoqueta's attorney with that kind of money saving in a New York minute!

It looks like that lacoqueta's lawyer charges $2000 (it has to be dollars) for residency case, not citizenship cases.

And you will not need a lawyer to get your residency based on your social security income.

And you can do it all by yourself if you learn some basic Spanish and focus on learning the appropriate "immigration" terms and exp<b></b>ressions.

Or, if you desire, you can pay about $100 (of course that's dollars) to have Patricia go to migraciones with you to act as an interpreter who "knows the ropes" and can answer the questions that might leave you tongue tied.

 

[Alicia karr]

Steve, he specifically told me "$2000US for citizenship" because I was curious. That is also the same fee they charge for residency. Again, I've mostly dealt with Mariano who does the residency stuff, but I don't think he'd misquote a fee.but who knows? The best way to find out would be to contact them. However I suspect it makes sense because I'm guessing the amount of their time required for both processes is probably similar. And who knows, maybe they have little or no experience with clients asking for "direct to citizenship" and are only knowledgeable about the traditional way? All questions for them if one is interested. Good luck to all engaged in these processes.

 

[sesamosinsal]

Hey guys, I charge $500 for citizenship. I am cheaper than everyone. You probably won't get the citizenship, but you'll feel good knowing that you paid less than everyone else who tried (and eventually did.)

In all seriousness, with these things, one's track record matters. Has Dr. Rubilar ever lost a case?

 

[ElQueso]

As a trust-worthy, less-expensive alternative (Bajo, no offense) who also speaks good English:

http://www.celano.com.ar

He did my residency (as well as 7 others I know personally) and just completed a friend's citizenship.

My friend was here for about a year and a half before he started the citizenship process, no residency, no visa. Celano's had quite a bit of citizenship business in the last few months, the only issue may be he's too busy to take on new clients (I don't know this, though I know he had a run a few months ago when everyone started worrying about being here irregularly).

He takes a portion up front (it was half for residency, I believe it's the same for citizenship) and the rest when the process is complete. But ask him for his terms

Steve is correct about not needing a lawyer for residency, though paying someone to help, who knows the process, wouldn't be a bad idea if one can afford it. It doesn't need to be a lawyer (and would therefore be cheaper) - unless you run into some legal issues during the residency process. Mine was a 30-year-old legal issue in the States that wasn't even supposed to be on my FBI report, much less was it supposed to be reviewed by the immigration court here.

For citizenship without any kind of residency first, I'd go the lawyer route, from everything I've heard.

 

[Ceviche]

I will go with lacoqueta's attorney

Wrong choice amigo!