Follow-Up Sequences for Immigration Leads: The Schedule That Converts

Immigration firms often lose the most money in follow-up without realizing it. They pay for a lead, miss the first call, reach voicemail on the second, and let the CRM label another reachable prospect as unresponsive.

Use a written schedule, run by software, for every lead. The schedule below works and can be adapted to your firm.

Before the sequence: the five-minute rule

The first contact must be fast. Speed-to-lead research shows that reaching a new inquiry within about five minutes catches the prospect while they are still at the screen. This sequence assumes that attempt has happened or uses it as the first step.

This also assumes leads arrive with case-type data attached, because every template below branches on it. Leads delivered into your CRM by API carry that data; leads keyed in from an inbox usually do not.

This page covers the schedule and the reasoning. If you just want the message copy, the full sequence is written out in our follow-up email and text templates.

The first 14 days

Day 0, minute 0-5: call. If no answer, immediately:

Day 0, minute 5: text. "Hi [name], this is [firm] about your [case type] inquiry. I just tried you. What's a good time today or tomorrow for a quick call? You can reply with a time." One-word replyable, case-type specific, zero pressure.

Day 0, hour 1: email. Subject: their case type, not your firm name. Two short paragraphs: what happens in a consultation for this case type, and two bookable time options (or a booking link).

Day 1: call at a different time of day than the day-0 attempt. Leave a short voicemail this time: name, firm, case type, one callback window, your number twice.

Day 3: text. Add one useful item: "Most [case type] consultations cover eligibility, timeline, and costs. If it's easier, here's a link to pick a time."

Day 5: call. Third time slot you have not tried (early evening reaches people day shifts miss, within calling-hour rules).

Day 7: email with substance. A short answer to the most common question for their case type: current typical timeline, the documents worth gathering, what a filing costs. You are demonstrating the competence they were shopping for.

Day 10: text. Be direct: "Still happy to help with your [case type] question. If the timing isn't right, no problem, tell me and I'll stop following up. If it is, here's the booking link."

Day 14: last sequence email. Close the active phase without closing the door: "We'll stop the frequent check-ins. Your situation may take time to develop; that's normal for [case type]. We'll send occasional useful updates, and you can book any time."

The sequence uses six calls or texts and three emails, each adapted by case type and each cheaper than the lead it rescues. Texting requires consent, calling hours have rules, and every opt-out must be honored immediately. Use consent records and our compliance guide to manage those boundaries.

Day 15 onward: long-term follow-up

Now the lead moves to the long game, because immigration cycles run 6-12 months and silence usually means not yet:

• Monthly email, useful only. Process updates for their case type, fee-change news, document checklists. No "just checking in," which is a message about your needs, not theirs.
• Event-triggered touches. A policy change affecting their case type is the single highest-converting reason to reappear: "This week's change affects [case type] applicants; here's what it means."
• Quarterly personal note. Send one personal sentence from the intake person responsible for the lead, not a message pretending to be personal.

Tooling for this tier is covered in our email platform comparison; the CRM-native sequence builders handle it for most firms.

Measure the sequence and maintain it

Sequences fail quietly when someone pauses a step, a template becomes outdated, or a new hire skips the day-5 call. Track two numbers by source and intake person: contact rate within 14 days and signed cases attributed after day 30. The second number supports the cost of long-term follow-up because two-week reports cannot show the profit from long-cycle cases.

The quality of the leads entering the sequence still matters.

What to read next:

• Nurturing the 6-12 month lead continues the follow-up plan after day 14.
• How to measure lead quality shows which contact and signed-case metrics reveal whether the sequence works.
• Email marketing for law firms compares tools for running the monthly follow-up.