Lawyer immigrating to US?

Question

I have freind who lives in France. She is studying to be lawyer and wiil grad next spring. When she grad, she wants to move to Hawaii. How hard will it be to practice law here and how does she immigrate here?

Answer 1

She will have to immigrate here just like anyone else.  Legally if she plans on practicing law anywhere in the US.  She will have to apply for citizenship.  Hawaii is a beautiful state with plenty of things to do all the time.  It is a very expensive state to live in but beings she will be a lawyer she should be ok.  Good luck to her.  Why would she ever want to leave France?  Such a beautiful country.

Answer 2

Without knowing the ins and out of being able to legally practice law in the United States - I am assuming she would need to apply to the state for the appropriate license.

However the actual process of emigrating to the United States first of all is a completely different and can be a very time consuming affair.

For all of the requirements, application forms and procedures for a French citizen to emigrate to the United States can be found on the American Embassy website which I have provided below for you.

The first link is an introduction as to what an immigrant visa is and an overview of what is required.

The second link are the specific requirements and procedures for obtaining Employment based visa.

Answer 3

She will have some problems getting a legal license in the USA.  France's legal system is based on European Civil Law, which is a completely different system from our own common law system.

Richardson School of Law offers a one-year LLM degree specifically designed to help foreign lawyers understand the American system.  Richardson is on the Manoa campus, right outside of Honolulu proper.  Link is below.