Mahone

The CCNA route and switch is an excellent cert to get, even if you end up going down the systems path. Managing systems is that much easier if you also have a good understanding of the underlying network infrastructure and employers recognize this. Plus, in my experience, it’s rare that you find yourself in a position where you only do systems or only networking. There is almost always an overlap, even if that overlap is merely communicating proficiently and/or resolving disputes with the teams responsible for network infrastructure. Unless you go down the dedicated networking career path, the CCNP is completely unnecessary, but fun to do if you have the time. Let us know how it goes.

In a criminal defense context, i'd absolutely agree with you. But immigration is a different beast entirely. From those I associated with while going through this process, of those that said they had a lawyer, many later regretted the choice to do so because they didn't believe the advice they received really assisted them in anyway and others claimed they in fact made the process harder than it needed to be due to the lawyer giving them incorrect advice. Visajourney.com is a good forum for those going through US immigration - the question has been asked countless times on there and the answer from those that have been through the process is nearly always the same. A straight forward case does not need a lawyer; most people don't use a lawyer and are almost always fine. The exception is waiver cases and in said waiver cases, a standard immigration lawyer is not going to help. You need one that specialized in waivers and they will not be even close to cheap. I don't anticipate that most of those going through the criminal courts will advise to not use a lawyer and it seems to be the exception, not the norm when they don't use one. It's apples and oranges.

The first bit of research would tell them they can't do this. If they aren't going to even bother checking the basics of US immigration law then yes, hire a lawyer.

Agreed. Had I not been through the process myself and associated myself with dozens and dozens of others doing the same thing for a couple of years, some with and some without lawyers, I'd be arguing for getting a lawyer right now and telling everyone who disagreed with me that they were idiots for not getting legal counsel. It does seem counter intuitive, but of the immigration lawyers that are even close to affordable, most of them are like the quack doctors of the medical field. Those that are genuine and really know what they are talking about will likely cost everything you have and more and their expertise is generally only needed in waiver cases. But take this for what it is, advice from a stranger on the internet.

I'm not so sure that this is necessary. Having been through the process of applying for US residency and now about to go through the process again for US citizenship, my experience is that so called "immigration attorneys" are at best very expensive proof readers and in some cases their knowledge of US immigration is so poor that they actually make the process more difficult. Most people who hired them ended up saying it was an unnecessary waste of money. In 99% of cases, everything an immigration lawyer can tell you can be found on the USCIS website. Just do the research and you'll be fine. Assuming you end up marrying this girl, make sure you collect as much evidence as possible to prove your relationship is bonafide and not a sham marriage. Keep things like text messages, facebook messages and photos. DO NOT ELOPE. The exception to this is if you need to apply for a waiver for whatever reason. Lets hope you don't, but if you do, an immigration attorney that specializes in waivers is definitely what you need. Outside of immigration, be prepared for your family to potentially express their displeasure at you having a relationship with a 'foreigner'. We had issues on both sides, with my family having a predisposition against Americans in general and her family accusing me of marrying her for a green card. Others went as far as to place bets on how many months/years our marriage would last. You may end up having to grow a pretty thick skin.

Some application software is available for Linux, some packages have equivalents, others can be emulated. Some you just can't use on a Linux OS. Choice of operating system is like choosing any other tool, just depends what you want it for. Personally, I rarely use Linux on my personal workstation, it just doesn't do everything I need it to do. But I have used it for many servers. Linux is always my first choice for external DNS servers and web servers. I have also used certain Linux distros for penetration testing in the past.