I found a U.S. visa attorney — expensive, but zero reviews on Avvo. I don’t know how to feel about that. Has this happened to you, that a good specialist has no reviews on Avvo at all? Is that normal, or should I keep looking?
Zero reviews on Avvo aren’t necessarily a death sentence. But check the contract right away — if it says you can’t leave negative reviews, that’s a red flag. And ask about cases specifically for your visa type — you should choose a lawyer based on real successful cases for the particular visa you need, not on their overall rating. I wouldn’t trust generalists who take on every type of visa too much.
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Avvo isn’t representative — good lawyers there often have only 2–3 reviews despite hundreds of cases; people just don’t go there to leave reviews. Ask specifically about cases for your visa type — that’s more important than any rating. And check their license there too, it literally takes a minute.)
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A schedule with no breaks between clients is already a red flag. The lawyer physically can’t get to grips with your case before the meeting — 30 minutes with no preparation, then the next. When I reviewed consultations before filing my NIW (National Interest Waiver), the main test was simple: can the person explain the strategy specifically for my case, or do they speak in generalities like “we’ll help”? Ask specifically — how many cases in your visa category were approved in the last year, and how she handled RFE (Request for Evidence).
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Check the license on the state bar website — it shows years of practice and complaints; Avvo is secondary here.
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In SF, half of the decent lawyers don’t have Avvo reviews — people just don’t go there to write them. Ask them to show 10 closed cases in your category with client approvals and references directly — that’s a real metric, not a site ranking.
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Avvo isn’t a metric at all — ask how many RFEs it has won in the past year.
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In my experience, three client references in your visa category are worth more than any Avvo.
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Getting several consultations from different lawyers is normal — not just one. Even the best sometimes get an RFE; nobody guarantees anything. And those who have 100% approvals simply don’t take the difficult cases, that’s the whole secret )
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