Announcing: Immigration Live Chat Starting March 3, 2011

Do you need to have a brief immigration question answered?  Are you confused by thousands of confusing (and conflicting) Internet forum and blog postings on a specific immigration subject?    Do you want to chat with an immigration attorney about specific immigration regulations or general immigration policy?

Immigration Live Chat Launches on March 3, 2011 at 9:00 pm EST

By popular demand by our clients and readers, we are launching a weekly immigration live chat.   The chat is initially scheduled to last 30 minutes and the inaugural Immigration Live Chat is scheduled for March 3, 2011 at 9:00 pm eastern time.

The chat will have a moderated question-and-answer format.  Chat users will be able to submit questions to the moderator who, in turn, would present them to Attorney Dimo Michailov who would answer them for the entire chat room’s benefit.   The purpose of the moderation is to ensure that questions are presented and discussed in a logical way — and to make the chat experience for you, our clients and readers a more pleasant one.

Chat Schedule

We intend to have a weekly Immigration Live Chat every Thursday evening at 9:00 pm EST.  This time is likely to allow clients and readers from a variety of time zones to join.   We realize that no time will perfectly accommodate all of our clients and readers around the world, so we are happy to experiment and find the best time.  Each upcoming chat will be published and linked from the main Immigration Live Chat page.   If you wish the software to send you a reminder for the next chat, please go to the actual chat page and provide your email address and set when you wish the reminder to be sent to you.

Our Chat Software

We are very happy with our chat software.  It is provided by “Cover It Live,” a tool used by top media companies which provides simple, portable and pleasant chat experience.   We chose this chat software because it seems to be very quick and user-intuitive to use, unlike other chat programs.  Our chat software is based on Flash and it can run across many platforms, including mobile phones.  Archives for each chat will be provided at the conclusion of each event.

Chat Rules and Guidelines

There are a few important rules and guidelines for the Immigration Live Chat.   First of all, please understand that the information provided in the chat is not a legal advice and should not be substituted for a consultation with an attorney.  No attorney-client relationship is established by posting one or more questions questions, by having your questions answered or by otherwise participating in the immigration chat.

To make the chat experience pleasant for everyone, we have a few simple chat guidelines:

1. Please keep your questions short, to the point and by including relevant (but not confidential or personally identifiable) information.
2. The Moderator will pass questions to Attorney Dimo Michailov on a first-come, first-serve basis.  Some related questions may be grouped together for better context or chat efficiency.
3. Our chats are busy and there are usually many incoming questions.  Please be patient if you do not see your question for a few minutes.  Please do not post duplicate questions.
4. Chat users will not see other chat users’ messages unless the Moderator chooses to submit them to Attorney Michailov for discussion.
5. If you are new to the chat, please take a moment to observe past archives or a few questions to get a sense of the “flow” of the chat and the kind of questions that are appropriate.
6. Please treat the Moderator, the participating attorneys and the fellow chat participants with respect and collegiality.  We will not allow behavior or content related to illegal activities.  Defamatory, harassing, infringing, obscene, offensive or other unlawful material or discussion will not be tolerated and may be banned.

Please Mark Your Calendars and Join Us on March 3, 2011

We are excited to be able to communicate with so many of our clients and readers and are looking forward to a great inaugural chat on March 3, 2011 at 9 pm EST.    Please mark your calendars and prepare your questions for a great session.