9 MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT USING AN OVERSEAS BASED (OUTSIDE AUST

1. 9 MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT USING AN • OVERSEAS BASED (OUTSIDE AUSTRALIA) • MIGRATION AGENT/ LAWYER • OVERSEAS AGENTS HAVE CONTACTS IN THE LOCAL AUSTRALIAN EMBASSY SO THEY ARE BETTER – An overseas agent may have been known in the local Embassy but nowadays that is less and less likely as, since the bombing of the Australian Embassy in Jakarta, Indonesia and the increase in worldwide terrorism the Australian government has subcontracted out most visa receipting to private companies based outside the Embassies and so the local agent can often not even get into the Australian Embassy regularly if at all • Bombing of Australian Embassy, Jakarta 9 September 2004 • OVERSEAS AGENTS ARE CHEAPER AND THEREFORE I SAVE MONEY – If the cheapest agent is your primary reason for who you chose as an agent then good luck! We can probably find you an even cheaper one in Sydney’s Chinatown but whether he will still be in business in 6 months is debatable at best – the cheapest are usually the cowboys of the industry • OVERSEAS AGENTS KNOW MORE ABOUT VISAS BECAUSE THEY ARE OVERSEAS – this does not even make sense. All registered agents must do a minimum amount of continuing professional education every year to retain their license. These courses are rarely offered overseas. Furthermore, agents outside Australia do not even need a license to give migration assistance so they are unaccountable to Australian authorities. • OVERSEAS AGENTS ARE SAFER BECAUSE THEY ARE LOCAL AND YOU CAN VISIT THEM – with the internet it is not necessary to visit any agent - you can always visit us in Australia or we can interview you by webcam. Furthermore, it is not visiting an agent that protects you, it is their license, experience and track record. Please read about ours on our website www.australianimmigrationlawyers.com • OVERSEAS AGENTS KNOW LOCAL CONDITIONS BETTER THAN AN AUSTRALIAN BASED AGENT – once again, the internet has taken this advantage away from local agents. We can Google search anything within minutes and or contact the Australian Embassy ourselves for answers on any local matter. With our excellent reputation worldwide we normally get relies from embassies (except the notoriously slow New Delhi) with 24 - 48 hours.

2. OVERSEAS AGENTS ARE MORE HIGHLY RESPECTED IN AUSTRALIAN EMBASSIES - not true at all. Any immigration lawyer is respected due to the length of time he has been an agent, his reputation for honesty and his track record of success – not where his office is or where he lives. Furthermore, in our experience over 15 years of successful migration applications as a law firm, we also note that respect is given to lawyers who know migration law as no immigration officer wants to be proven wrong; it is not good for their career. • OVERSEAS AGENTS ARE REGULATED UNDER AUSTRALIAN LAW – not true at all – see point 3 above. It is high time this myth was exposed for what it is; a myth. • OVERSEAS AGENTS CAN BE TRUSTED MORE AS THEY WORK IN THE LOCAL COMMUNITY OVERSEAS – If this were true where would the expression “an inside job” have come from in relation to bank robberies and the like? Often, the locals are the most dangerous as they think they can bribe Australian officials in Embassies. In fact, in 2000 when Justin Rickard was working with the Australian embassy in Nairobi, Kenya he was told by officials there that the Australian government was doing a secret “internal investigation” to flush out rampant bribery in that Embassy by local agents. Don’t be naive – it does go on. • OVERSEAS AGENTS SHOULD NOT BE ASKED TOUGH QUESTIONS ABOUT WHAT THEY WILL DO FOR ME ON MY VISA APPLICATION & I AM BETTER TO “TURN A BLIND EYE” – not a good strategy when it comes to something as important as your migration. Here are some tough questions to ask (we can provide more if you need them): • I. Are you a practising lawyer as well as a registered migration agent or just a migration agent? If you are not a lawyer, why not? How will you deal with legal issues on our case? • II. How long have you been practicing in the area of migration law? • III. How many cases have you had approved? If less than 50O, then why? • IV. Can you give me any authentic written testimonials with contact details of any of your clients with cases the same as mine that you have had approved? If not, why not? • V. What percentage of your cases is approved? If less than 95%, then why? • VI. Have you ever done a case the same as mine? What happened? Was it approved? If not, why not? • I. Will you take a percentage of your fee only when my case is approved? If not, why not?