Thus, an immigration lawyer's work involves both counseling people intending to stay in the US or become US citizens, preparing applications to the government plus representation in court and within the government hierarchy. Aside from the everyday duties of organizing applications to the INS, the job involved quite a bit of legal research, as the firm maintains an array of informational brochures for its clients. These need to be updated and revised in tune with changes in the legislation. Although the principles of U.S. Law differ quite a bit from Icelandic Law, the sources of Immigration law are relatively easy for an Icelandic law student to access. This stems from the fact that statute law, such as the Immigration Act, plays a relatively large role in this field.
Case law is by no means unimportant, though.
Finally, I was able to travel the West Coast, all the way from California in the south to Vancouver in the north. In my opinion, the value of work exchange visits such as the above is unquestionable for students who wish to widen their horizons. The stay proved for me both a valuable language training as well as increasing my understanding of the U.S. legal system. Both items are important to those who wish to take advanced legal courses in a foreign country, and it is thus desirable that Icelandic students would take advantage of the work exchange program to a larger extent than has been true over the last few years. It is my hope that E.L.S.A. will continue its cooperation with I.L.S.A. in the U.S., as it is perhaps more important now than ever, in this decade of European integration, that to-be lawyers keep a wide perspective.