A woman in Houston brought a folder to a strip mall office: her Guatemalan birth certificate, her daughter's, a marriage certificate with the civil registry seal, and the only copy of a police clearance that had taken four months to obtain. The man behind the desk asked her to leave everything so he could prepare the case. She did. Eight months later the office was empty and the phone was disconnected. Nothing about that story is unusual, and almost all of it was preventable with about forty minutes of checking done before the folder changed hands.
1. Confirm the license exists, in the state where it is claimed
Every state has a bar association or a supreme court licensing arm that publishes a searchable roster of admitted attorneys, and that roster is the only thing that settles the question. Search by last name, not by the name on the business card, because middle names, suffixes and married names get abbreviated in signage. The record should show an admission date, a current status such as active, inactive, suspended or resigned, and a bar number. An attorney licensed in any single state may represent you in immigration matters anywhere in the country, so an out-of-state license is not a problem. A lapsed or suspended one is the whole problem.
2. Read the disciplinary record, not just the status line
Most state bar profiles carry a public discipline history alongside the status, and where they do not, the state's disciplinary board publishes decisions separately. What you are looking for is a pattern rather than a single old entry: repeated findings involving client funds, neglect of client matters, or failure to communicate are the ones that predict how your own case will be handled. A private admonition from a decade ago about a missed filing deadline is different from three public reprimands in four years. If the record is thin or ambiguous, call the bar's consumer line and ask what is not published.
3. If the person is not an attorney, find them on the EOIR list
The Executive Office for Immigration Review, inside the Department of Justice, recognizes nonprofit organizations and accredits individuals within them to represent people before the immigration agencies. That accreditation is the only lawful alternative to a law license, and it is not personal property: it attaches to the individual at a named organization, at either partial accreditation, which covers USCIS filings, or full accreditation, which adds representation in immigration court. The roster of recognized organizations and accredited representatives is published and searchable, and it lists the office address and the expiration date of each accreditation. A notario, a consultant, a paralegal working alone, and a travel agency are none of these things.
4. Treat the first meeting as evidence
Certain things said in a first meeting tell you the rest of the story. A guarantee of approval, since no one controls an adjudicator. A suggestion that you sign a blank Form G-28 or a blank application. A refusal to put the fee in writing, or a fee quoted only in cash with no receipt. A promise of a special relationship at the local office. An unwillingness to say who will actually sign the filing. Ask directly for the bar number or the accreditation, and watch the response rather than the answer; a licensed attorney hands it over without being asked twice. The Federal Trade Commission oversees deceptive practices of exactly this kind, and complaints about immigration services are within its remit.
5. Keep the originals, and paper the handoff
Nearly every immigration filing is submitted with photocopies, and the agencies request originals only at an interview or a hearing, which means there is rarely a legitimate reason for a representative to hold your birth certificate for months. Make color copies, bring the originals to any meeting, and leave with them. If something genuinely must be retained, get a signed receipt listing each document. Keep your own copy of everything filed, along with the receipt notices, which carry the receipt number you will need to check status yourself. That number is what lets you verify, independently, that a case was filed at all.
Recourse exists, and it works better with records. State bars accept grievances against attorneys and can order restitution; EOIR accepts complaints against accredited representatives and can withdraw accreditation; state attorneys general prosecute unauthorized practice. A motion to reopen based on ineffective assistance is available where a filing was botched, and it is stronger when you can show the fee agreement, the receipt, and the date you handed the folder over.