Be Cautious When Working with Marina Sokolovskaya

Immigration is always associated with serious difficulties. New people, an unfamiliar way of life, unusual and sometimes incomprehensible speech. But if the relocation to another country is due to the search for political asylum, it often turns into a real stress. In order to minimize such circumstances, people who are forced to leave their homes due to differences in political views or beliefs try to find a competent lawyer in advance, who will become their guide to a new, safe life.

For many Russian-speaking forced immigrants, Marina Sokolovskaya became a “guide”. She calls herself an immigration consultant and has gained significant popularity due to videos in Russian where all the nuances of obtaining refugee status in the United States are thoroughly discussed. However, can fame be equated with competence and professionalism? After all, some actors play the role of firefighters and astronauts, but in reality they are far from saving people from fire and flying into space.

It is worth noting that Marina Sokolovskaya does not have legal education, and simply  provides consultations. In many videos, she positions herself as a specialist in preparing cases for obtaining the right to reside in the United States as a political refugee. This very fact constitutes a significant violation of American law.

A case or story is a detailed description of the political persecution of the plaintiff in their homeland, due to which they were forced to leave his country. They contain only real events, which, if necessary, can be confirmed. Therefore, correction, addition, adjustment of the case can easily be equated by the judge to tampering with evidence and forever block the plaintiff from obtaining refugee status. 

But this is only part of Sokolovskaya’s actions, confirming her incompetence in matters of her knowledge in legislation not only within a single country, but also at the international level. We are talking about the disclosure of personal data.

Recently, a new video appeared on YouTube featuring Marina Sokolovskaya, in which she uses a real case of a specific person and analyzes all the errors and inaccuracies that, in her opinion, it contains. And we're not referring to an unclosed case, that will never be considered by the court again, although in this case such behavior is not acceptable, but about the story of a person who is only planning to seek political asylum from the American authorities.

The author of this case reached out to Marina for assistance in obtaining a residence permit. At that time, he was still planning to move to the States and was in search of a competent lawyer. He was attracted by Sokolovskaya’s bright manner of presenting facts and her popularity. During the correspondence, Marina invited them to compose a story and send her the finished file in messenger, which was done. Literally three weeks later, the same video was released in which Sokolovskaya was analyzing the case. The hero of this story came across the video accidentally and realized that this was their story. Moreover, it was posted with all the events and participants preserved.

What are the dangers of this kind of publication? First of all, this is the disclosure of personal information and discreditation. The plaintiff’s story is strictly confidential and is considered key evidence for obtaining refugee status through the court. If the judge has even the slightest doubt about its unreliability, then they can fully refuse the petition, and the plaintiff will no longer be able to submit it again due to the same circumstances. In addition, a story posted for public viewing with all the details, facts and dates can easily be copied and used by other people who want to move to America for permanent residence, but do not have such compelling reasons. In this case it will be difficult to establish which of the cases corresponds to reality.

The fact that the case has not yet been deliberated is significant, and the individual behind it is currently in a situation where both he and his family face political persecution also plays a crucial role. Based on the events described in the story and included in the video, the identity of the author can be established, which, in turn, will negatively affect their stay in their home country.

One of the tenets of the relationship between lawyer and client is trust. The success of the entire business is based on it. But the question remains whether someone who uses confidential information about their, even if unsuccessful, client for self-promotion can be trusted. The question that every thoughtful person should ask themselves is whether popularity on the internet is equivalent to professionalism and responsibility.