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The differences between immigration paralegals and criminal justice lawyers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 6-12 months to become an immigration paralegal, becoming a criminal justice lawyer takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, an immigration paralegal has an average salary of $67,056, which is higher than the $49,977 average annual salary of a criminal justice lawyer.
The top three skills for an immigration paralegal include management system, government agencies and USCIS. The most important skills for a criminal justice lawyer are criminal justice, semester, and public safety.
| Immigration Paralegal | Criminal Justice Lawyer | |
| Yearly salary | $67,056 | $49,977 |
| Hourly rate | $32.24 | $24.03 |
| Growth rate | 14% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 4,279 | 824 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 60% | Bachelor's Degree, 53% |
| Average age | 46 | 46 |
| Years of experience | 12 | 4 |
Working alongside immigration lawyers, an immigration paralegal is in charge of liaising and assisting clients through the progress of their visa petitions or other cases. Their responsibilities revolve around gathering and securing foreign documents, coordinating with immigration managers, managing and filing documentation, preparing applications, and handling case systems and other databases. Furthermore, as an immigration paralegal, it is essential to update clients with the progress of their cases, answering their inquiries and helping them navigate through the procedures as needed.
A criminal justice lawyer is responsible for representing clients in court with criminal charges and defends them according to legal requirements and procedures. Criminal justice lawyers analyze the case by undergoing in-depth research and investigation that would support settlement claims. They reference laws and state regulations to identify the clients' options for case resolution. A criminal justice lawyer must have extensive knowledge of the legal industry, as well as possessing excellent critical-thinking skills to strategize appeals and negotiate pleas on trials.
Immigration paralegals and criminal justice lawyers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Immigration Paralegal | Criminal Justice Lawyer | |
| Average salary | $67,056 | $49,977 |
| Salary range | Between $45,000 And $97,000 | Between $32,000 And $76,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | Pennsylvania | California |
| Best paying company | American Express | Indiana University of Pennsylvania |
| Best paying industry | Professional | Professional |
There are a few differences between an immigration paralegal and a criminal justice lawyer in terms of educational background:
| Immigration Paralegal | Criminal Justice Lawyer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 60% | Bachelor's Degree, 53% |
| Most common major | Legal Support Services | Criminal Justice |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill |
Here are the differences between immigration paralegals' and criminal justice lawyers' demographics:
| Immigration Paralegal | Criminal Justice Lawyer | |
| Average age | 46 | 46 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 26.3% Female, 73.7% | Male, 48.9% Female, 51.1% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 8.3% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 22.1% Asian, 5.4% White, 59.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% | Black or African American, 5.7% Unknown, 4.4% Hispanic or Latino, 7.9% Asian, 6.5% White, 75.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% |
| LGBT Percentage | 9% | 10% |