Language is the entry ticket, not the qualification. Bar admission, the case types actually handled, and who signs the filings are what separate practices.
Reviewed by Ekaterina Fitenko, Esq. — Florida Bar #1064536. With 20+ years of experience in the legal field, she represents Russian- and Ukrainian-speaking clients in employment and investor visa cases, in English and Russian.
Speaking Russian removes a real obstacle: immigration cases turn on precise statements about your own history, and a story told through an interpreter loses detail exactly where detail decides the case. But language is where the evaluation starts, not where it ends — it says nothing about whether the practice handles your category.
Immigration law is federal, which means an attorney admitted in any U.S. state may represent you before USCIS and the immigration courts regardless of where you live. What must be true is that they are admitted somewhere and in good standing.
That is checkable in a minute in the state bar's public register — the authority that issued the licence, not a directory listing that anyone can create. A profile on a review site is not a licence record, and the difference between the two is exactly where fraudulent practitioners operate.
In several countries a notario público is a senior legal professional. In the United States a notary public is not a lawyer and cannot give legal advice. The mismatch has cost people their cases, and it recurs in Russian-speaking communities with the equivalent confusion about consultants and agencies that prepare forms.
The practical test is simple: ask who will sign Form G-28, the notice of entry of appearance as attorney. Only an attorney or an accredited representative can, and that signature is what makes someone responsible to the agency for your case.
Immigration practice is broad, and a firm strong in asylum may rarely handle investor cases. Useful questions are concrete: how many cases of this type were filed in the past year, what the common refusal reasons are in this category, and what evidence the practice would start collecting first in your situation.
Vague answers to concrete questions are the signal. A practice that files a category regularly describes the failure modes without being asked.
Ask what the fee covers, what it does not, and what happens if the case receives a request for evidence or a denial. Government filing fees are separate from legal fees, and a quote that blurs them is not a quote. Our initial consultation is $200 for 30 minutes, paid before the meeting and credited against the fee if you retain us.
No. Immigration law is federal, so an attorney admitted and in good standing in any U.S. state may represent you before USCIS and the immigration courts. What matters is that the admission is real and verifiable.
In the public register of the state bar that issued it. A directory profile or a review-site page is not a licence record, and the distinction is where unlicensed practitioners hide.
No. A U.S. notary public is not a lawyer and cannot give legal advice or represent you before the agencies. The word resembles a legal profession in other countries, and that resemblance is the source of the problem.
It is the notice of entry of appearance as attorney or accredited representative. Only an attorney or accredited representative can sign it, and it establishes who is responsible to the agency for your case.
How many cases of your specific type the practice filed in the past year, the usual refusal reasons in that category, what evidence to start gathering, and exactly what the fee covers and excludes.
$200 for 30 minutes, in English or Russian. Call (305) 315-3425 or email fitenkolaw@gmail.com to schedule, or start with the intake form.
This article is informational only and is not legal advice. Immigration rules, fees and processing times change; confirm current requirements with the agency or with counsel before relying on anything here.
Fitenko Law PLLC, 11555 Heron Bay Blvd, Suite 277, Coral Springs, FL 33076 (main office); 600 Three Islands Blvd, Hallandale Beach, FL 33009 (by appointment only). Phone: (305) 315-3425. Email: fitenkolaw@gmail.com