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The differences between immigration paralegals and paralegals can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 6-12 months to become both an immigration paralegal and a paralegal. Additionally, an immigration paralegal has an average salary of $67,056, which is higher than the $49,943 average annual salary of a paralegal.
The top three skills for an immigration paralegal include management system, government agencies and USCIS. The most important skills for a paralegal are litigation, legal research, and law firm.
| Immigration Paralegal | Paralegal | |
| Yearly salary | $67,056 | $49,943 |
| Hourly rate | $32.24 | $24.01 |
| Growth rate | 14% | 14% |
| Number of jobs | 4,279 | 5,177 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 5 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 60% | Bachelor's Degree, 51% |
| Average age | 46 | 46 |
| Years of experience | 12 | 12 |
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.
Paralegals are law firm or legal department employees who work on cases with lawyers. They handle different activities, usually administrative or clerical, such as organizing and maintaining files, updating records, and managing correspondences, among others. Paralegals also handle different activities directly related to active cases being worked on by lawyers in the firm or department. They assist lawyers on cases by preparing materials needed for trials, conducting legal research, verifying trial facts, helping during interviews, getting statements from those involved in the case, and creating presentation materials. Paralegals should have knowledge of laws and should be familiar with landmark cases.
Immigration paralegals and paralegals have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Immigration Paralegal | Paralegal | |
| Average salary | $67,056 | $49,943 |
| Salary range | Between $45,000 And $97,000 | Between $35,000 And $70,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | Pennsylvania | California |
| Best paying company | American Express | Arnall Golden Gregory |
| Best paying industry | Professional | Professional |
There are a few differences between an immigration paralegal and a paralegal in terms of educational background:
| Immigration Paralegal | Paralegal | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 60% | Bachelor's Degree, 51% |
| Most common major | Legal Support Services | Legal Support Services |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | Harvard University |
Here are the differences between immigration paralegals' and paralegals' demographics:
| Immigration Paralegal | Paralegal | |
| Average age | 46 | 46 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 26.3% Female, 73.7% | Male, 22.4% Female, 77.6% |
| 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, 9.2% Unknown, 4.8% Hispanic or Latino, 20.2% Asian, 5.7% White, 59.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% |
| LGBT Percentage | 9% | 9% |