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Immigration attorney vs district attorney

The differences between immigration attorneys and district attorneys can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both an immigration attorney and a district attorney. Additionally, an immigration attorney has an average salary of $80,187, which is higher than the $72,965 average annual salary of a district attorney.

The top three skills for an immigration attorney include immigration law, business immigration and USCIS. The most important skills for a district attorney are pre-trial conferences, legal research, and law enforcement agencies.

Immigration attorney vs district attorney overview

Immigration AttorneyDistrict Attorney
Yearly salary$80,187$72,965
Hourly rate$38.55$35.08
Growth rate10%10%
Number of jobs7,70313,378
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeDoctoral Degree, 47%Bachelor's Degree, 52%
Average age4646
Years of experience44

What does an immigration attorney do?

Dealing with immigration requirements can be a daunting task. An immigration attorney helps those who are struggling with these requirements. Functioning in this role means that they serve in an advisory capacity to foreign citizens and immigrants who are required to work with the country's immigration authorities. They are the go-to guy for immigrants in matters such as Visa applications, naturalization, employment, and deportation.

What does a district attorney do?

District attorneys represent the government in court and prepare criminal prosecution cases. Besides partnering on criminal investigations and evaluating police reports, district attorneys also consult with alleged perpetrators, law enforcement, and judges. They uphold professional ethics, abide by the country's prosecution laws, and supervise and guide legal clerks and associates. Moreover, district attorneys prepare and file pre-trial motions, study case law, and gather enough evidence needed to prosecute alleged perpetrators in the court. Also, they assess legal merits to bring criminal charges against the alleged perpetrators.

Immigration attorney vs district attorney salary

Immigration attorneys and district attorneys have different pay scales, as shown below.

Immigration AttorneyDistrict Attorney
Average salary$80,187$72,965
Salary rangeBetween $48,000 And $132,000Between $49,000 And $107,000
Highest paying CityBoston, MASan Francisco, CA
Highest paying stateMassachusettsCalifornia
Best paying companySeyfarth ShawVentura County Community Foundation
Best paying industryTechnologyProfessional

Differences between immigration attorney and district attorney education

There are a few differences between an immigration attorney and a district attorney in terms of educational background:

Immigration AttorneyDistrict Attorney
Most common degreeDoctoral Degree, 47%Bachelor's Degree, 52%
Most common majorLawLaw
Most common collegeStanford UniversityUniversity of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Immigration attorney vs district attorney demographics

Here are the differences between immigration attorneys' and district attorneys' demographics:

Immigration AttorneyDistrict Attorney
Average age4646
Gender ratioMale, 39.5% Female, 60.5%Male, 45.6% Female, 54.4%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 5.4% Unknown, 4.4% Hispanic or Latino, 7.6% Asian, 6.3% White, 76.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%Black or African American, 5.4% Unknown, 4.4% Hispanic or Latino, 7.7% Asian, 6.3% White, 76.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%
LGBT Percentage10%10%

Differences between immigration attorney and district attorney duties and responsibilities

Immigration attorney example responsibilities.

  • Achieve a high success rate for full caseload, including after submission of complex RFE responses.
  • Manage highly demanding and detail-orient immigration litigation process as both a leader and member of legal team
  • Track LCA and maintain DOL public access files.
  • Prepare immigrant employment-base petitions under preference categories EB-1, EB-2 and EB-3.
  • Draft motions, waivers, applications, requests for evidence, and appeals to USCIS, EOIR and BIA.
  • Represent clients in employment and family-base petitions, including: H-1B, asylum, adjustment of status, and citizenship applications.
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District attorney example responsibilities.

  • Manage, train and mentore newly hire ADA's in courtroom management and trial advocacy.
  • Maintain legal files and filing/tracking systems on all court cases, appeals, invoices and billings.
  • Research, analyze and write response to an order to show cause in appeals proceeding.
  • Represent county officials in arbitration proceedings and employment litigation matters.
  • Prosecute misdemeanor caseload in criminal court through various stages of litigation up until trial
  • Calculate restitution, issue subpoenas, and contact victims regarding upcoming trials and other court determinations.
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Immigration attorney vs district attorney skills

Common immigration attorney skills
  • Immigration Law, 14%
  • Business Immigration, 8%
  • USCIS, 8%
  • Waiver, 7%
  • Legal Research, 6%
  • Litigation, 5%
Common district attorney skills
  • Pre-Trial Conferences, 10%
  • Legal Research, 10%
  • Law Enforcement Agencies, 8%
  • Subpoenas, 5%
  • Criminal Cases, 4%
  • Felony Cases, 4%