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Immigration attorney vs staff attorney

The differences between immigration attorneys and staff 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 staff attorney. Additionally, a staff attorney has an average salary of $110,028, which is higher than the $80,187 average annual salary of an immigration attorney.

The top three skills for an immigration attorney include immigration law, business immigration and USCIS. The most important skills for a staff attorney are litigation, legal services, and juris.

Immigration attorney vs staff attorney overview

Immigration AttorneyStaff Attorney
Yearly salary$80,187$110,028
Hourly rate$38.55$52.90
Growth rate10%10%
Number of jobs7,70375,402
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeDoctoral Degree, 47%Doctoral Degree, 56%
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 staff attorney do?

Staff Attorneys are legal employees who work for a variety of organizations, often as full-time employees. They use their legal expertise to help deal with day-to-day legal issues with which their organization needs regular assistance.

Immigration attorney vs staff attorney salary

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

Immigration AttorneyStaff Attorney
Average salary$80,187$110,028
Salary rangeBetween $48,000 And $132,000Between $69,000 And $173,000
Highest paying CityBoston, MASan Francisco, CA
Highest paying stateMassachusettsCalifornia
Best paying companySeyfarth ShawNelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough
Best paying industryTechnologyProfessional

Differences between immigration attorney and staff attorney education

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

Immigration AttorneyStaff Attorney
Most common degreeDoctoral Degree, 47%Doctoral Degree, 56%
Most common majorLawLaw
Most common collegeStanford UniversityStanford University

Immigration attorney vs staff attorney demographics

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

Immigration AttorneyStaff Attorney
Average age4646
Gender ratioMale, 39.5% Female, 60.5%Male, 47.5% Female, 52.5%
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, 5.5% Unknown, 4.4% Hispanic or Latino, 7.7% Asian, 6.3% White, 75.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%
LGBT Percentage10%10%

Differences between immigration attorney and staff 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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Staff attorney example responsibilities.

  • Generate an internal memorandum exploring VAWA and special immigrant juvenile cases that lead to the establishment of a new clinic program.
  • Provide statewide training for attorneys and advocates on education law and also responsible for major impact education litigation and appeals.
  • Create and conduct workshops on e-discovery, privilege, FMLA, ADA, and FLSA
  • Conduct internal FLSA (wage and hour) compliance and re-classification audits for pre-complaint resolution.
  • General practice attorney handling primarily bankruptcy, domestic relations and criminal cases, preparation of wills and trusts and probate.
  • Draft wills, powers of attorney, probate estate administration filings, divorce filings, caregiver contracts, and property deeds.
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Immigration attorney vs staff attorney skills

Common immigration attorney skills
  • Immigration Law, 14%
  • Business Immigration, 8%
  • USCIS, 8%
  • Waiver, 7%
  • Legal Research, 6%
  • Litigation, 5%
Common staff attorney skills
  • Litigation, 17%
  • Legal Services, 8%
  • Juris, 7%
  • Legal Advice, 6%
  • Appeals, 4%
  • Administrative Agencies, 4%