A California immigration lawyer can help you with your immigration case shares Brian Lerner. What does it take to become a California immigration lawyer? First, he or she gets a B.S. or B.A. degree. This usually takes 4-5 years. Afterwards, he or she goes to Law School which takes another 3 years. Finally, after that, the California immigration lawyer will take the California Bar. Depending on the year, this will take another 6 months of intense studying and then taking the Bar.