Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between immigration paralegals and senior legal assistants 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 senior legal assistant. Additionally, an immigration paralegal has an average salary of $67,056, which is higher than the $51,102 average annual salary of a senior legal assistant.
The top three skills for an immigration paralegal include management system, government agencies and USCIS. The most important skills for a senior legal assistant are litigation, legal research, and legal correspondence.
| Immigration Paralegal | Senior Legal Assistant | |
| Yearly salary | $67,056 | $51,102 |
| Hourly rate | $32.24 | $24.57 |
| Growth rate | 14% | 14% |
| Number of jobs | 4,279 | 9,152 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 5 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 60% | Bachelor's Degree, 55% |
| 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.
Senior legal assistants are responsible for managing junior-level assistants. They also support lawyers with various legal tasks such as conducting legal research, drafting documents, and hearing trials. These assistants must work with attorneys and clients to review various legal documents to ensure their accuracy and completeness. They gather documents for attorneys and prepare witnesses scheduled for court hearings. Senior legal assistants must also arrange the delivery of subpoenas while preparing the required affidavit of service.
Immigration paralegals and senior legal assistants have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Immigration Paralegal | Senior Legal Assistant | |
| Average salary | $67,056 | $51,102 |
| Salary range | Between $45,000 And $97,000 | Between $36,000 And $70,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | Washington, DC |
| Highest paying state | Pennsylvania | Pennsylvania |
| Best paying company | American Express | |
| Best paying industry | Professional | Professional |
There are a few differences between an immigration paralegal and a senior legal assistant in terms of educational background:
| Immigration Paralegal | Senior Legal Assistant | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 60% | Bachelor's Degree, 55% |
| Most common major | Legal Support Services | Business |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between immigration paralegals' and senior legal assistants' demographics:
| Immigration Paralegal | Senior Legal Assistant | |
| Average age | 46 | 46 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 26.3% Female, 73.7% | Male, 16.1% Female, 83.9% |
| 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, 8.3% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 21.8% Asian, 5.4% White, 59.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% |
| LGBT Percentage | 9% | 9% |