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Find Services in Washington State

Who Can Help You With Your Application?

The federal government is very strict about who is allowed to give you legal advice or help prepare an immigration or citizenship application. Those approved to help you include the following:

  1. A licensed attorney who is not subject to discipline by a state bar or the federal government. You can check an attorney’s license status with the State Bar Association where they are admitted to practice. In Washington State, that would be www.wsba.org (click on directory tab)
  2. A US Department of Justice (DOJ) Accredited Representative who works for a DOJ Accredited organization. Both the organization and the person helping you must be accredited. You can use find a list of accredited organizations and people here. You should cross reference licensed attorneys and DOJ reps to see if they have been disciplined here. Note: A DOJ rep may be accredited only before USCIS OR may be accredited to practice before BOTH USCIS and the immigration courts (EOIR).
  3. Law students working under the supervision of a licensed attorney.

Notarios, notary publics, travel agents, tax preparers, immigration consultants and other similarly titled people are NOT allowed to provide legal advice or prepare forms. Interpreters may only translate what you state the answers to a form should be into English. They may not give legal advice or prepare forms. Anyone helping you to prepare your form must sign the form as a preparer. Interpreters must also sign.

Watch out for scams.

Find Providers Near You

For Free or Low-Cost Services, Connect with a Local Non-Profit Organization

The Washington New Americans program focuses exclusively on naturalization services in a workshop setting where you will meet with a licensed attorney or DOJ Accredited Representative. Alternatively, we encourage you to explore the map to locate your city in Washington State and find organizations that can assist with naturalization, your green card process, family petitions, and more

Please contact these organizations directly to confirm the services they offer and any associated costs. Ask about their DOJ Accredited Status when dealing with a non-attorney. Many of them provide services at little to no cost!

Asian Counseling & Referral Service
206-695-7600
https://acrs.org/
3639 Martin Luther King Jr. Way S
Seattle, WA 98144

 

Chinese Information & Service Center
206-624-5633
https://cisc-seattle.org/
611 S Lane St
Seattle, WA 98104

The Community for the Advancement of Family Education
509-415-8274
https://www.wenatcheecafe.org/
766 S Mission Street
Wenatchee, WA 98801

Catholic Charities Eastern WA
509-358-4250
https://www.cceasternwa.org/
12 E 5th Avenue
Spokane, WA 99210

Connect With A Private Attorney

If your case is too complicated, even for a nonprofit, or if you cannot get an appointment soon enough with a nonprofit, consider hiring a private attorney. You can find an immigration attorney through word of mouth, through your local, ethnic or state bar association, or through the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA). See www.ailalawyer.com where you can search for AILA members by zip code, language and service needed.

Note: Some attorneys charge a consultation fee. Some do not. Some provide free or low-cost services, and many do not. The fees you are quoted can vary quite a bit depending upon your location, the amount of expertise or experience the attorney has, and the complications or issues in your case, if any. There is no “right” or “wrong” fee. Legal fees are for the attorney and staff time devoted to your case. Some attorneys charge a flat fee for their time and others charge by the hour. Neither is right or wrong. Costs are the out-of-pocket expenses like USCIS filing fees, copies, postage, etc. in your case. See Find Legal Services | USCIS

Other resources to find or meet with lawyers include local bar associations and law schools that have lawyer referral services or clinics (some are consultations only and others are full service). Examples of a few include:

King County Neighborhood Clinics (Including Wednesday night immigration clinics)

East Side Legal Assistance Program (includes an immigration clinic)

Latina/o Bar Association of Washington (includes immigration clinics)

Attend A Citizenship Workshop

  1. Are you 18 years old or older?
  2. Have you had your green card for 5 years (or 3 years if married to a U.S. citizen)?
  3. Have you lived in Washington State for 3 or more months?

If all answers are “yes,” you may be on the right track to becoming a U.S. citizen.

Check if you meet all the requirements and gather the necessary documents to receive assistance at one of our workshops.

Attend A Workshop