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The differences between immigration attorneys and legal externs 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 legal extern. Additionally, an immigration attorney has an average salary of $80,187, which is higher than the $47,238 average annual salary of a legal extern.
The top three skills for an immigration attorney include immigration law, business immigration and USCIS. The most important skills for a legal extern are litigation, legal intern, and legal issues.
| Immigration Attorney | Legal Extern | |
| Yearly salary | $80,187 | $47,238 |
| Hourly rate | $38.55 | $22.71 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 7,703 | 10,986 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Doctoral Degree, 47% | Bachelor's Degree, 68% |
| Average age | 46 | 46 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
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.
Legal externs are law students who took the opportunity to do on-the-job training at a law firm. Instead of monetary compensation, they receive academic credits. Legal externs primarily engage in job shadowing. They are usually assigned mentors in the law firm, and they would shadow their mentors in their daily routines. Legal externs are exposed to the actual work done by lawyers. Legal externs are involved in cases, providing insights while building a solid case for their client, giving advice to clients, and representing clients under the supervision of the actual lawyers in the firm. They are usually not given administrative or clerical tasks since they are expected to do more tasks directly related to being a lawyer.
Immigration attorneys and legal externs have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Immigration Attorney | Legal Extern | |
| Average salary | $80,187 | $47,238 |
| Salary range | Between $48,000 And $132,000 | Between $23,000 And $93,000 |
| Highest paying City | Boston, MA | Washington, DC |
| Highest paying state | Massachusetts | New York |
| Best paying company | Seyfarth Shaw | Jones Day |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Professional |
There are a few differences between an immigration attorney and a legal extern in terms of educational background:
| Immigration Attorney | Legal Extern | |
| Most common degree | Doctoral Degree, 47% | Bachelor's Degree, 68% |
| Most common major | Law | Law |
| Most common college | Stanford University | Stanford University |
Here are the differences between immigration attorneys' and legal externs' demographics:
| Immigration Attorney | Legal Extern | |
| Average age | 46 | 46 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 39.5% Female, 60.5% | Male, 46.0% Female, 54.0% |
| Race ratio | Black 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, 5.6% Unknown, 4.4% Hispanic or Latino, 7.8% Asian, 6.4% White, 75.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% |
| LGBT Percentage | 10% | 10% |