You should have a lawyer at your Master Calendar Hearing. In fact, if you do not, the judge is instructed to ask if you would like to be represented and to allow for one, two, sometimes three continuances to let you to find a lawyer.
For the purposes of keeping my legal fees as low as possible, should my immigration lawyer be located in San Francisco?
If that is where your court is, it’s advisable but not necessary. People who are comfortable with a lawyer and feel he or she will do the job may prefer to have that lawyer represent them no matter that attorney is located.
If my immigration lawyer is in another state and my Master Calendar Hearing is in San Francisco, how will the lawyer represent me?
You are generally assigned to the court based on where you live, and if you are assigned to San Francisco because you live here, the attorney in another state would have to travel to San Francisco unless he or she was granted the ability to make telephonic appearances.
Read more about Master Calendar Hearing Locations.
