How AI Search Is Recommending Immigration Lawyers: Monthly Trends

Executive Summary

Upsolve remains the category leader in September 2026 with 16.5% valid recommendation coverage, but its lead over the field has narrowed substantially. The gap to the next brand now stands at 6.4 points, down from 24.7 points in July 2026, reflecting a significant decline for Upsolve against its July baseline and a smaller increase for Fragomen, which holds 10.1% coverage and 8 valid recommendations in the current month.

The most significant movement in the category came from Upsolve itself. Despite a significant 12.5-point drop from 29.0% in July to 16.5% in September, Upsolve rebounded sharply from its August low of 3.1%, posting a 13.4-point gain month-over-month. That recovery restored the brand to the top of the category, though its current lead is far smaller than the dominance it held in July.

Fragomen continues to hold the second position with 10.1% coverage, down 5.3 points from its August peak of 15.4% but up 5.8 points from the 4.3% baseline in July; the baseline-to-current change is not large enough to register as a significant movement. John T. Orcutt and Sasser Law Firm both returned to the recommendation set at 7.6% coverage each, a significant month-over-month recovery from their 0.0% August absence. No single brand has held the top position across all three months: Fragomen led the category in August before Upsolve reclaimed the lead in September.

The qualified observation count rose from 65 in August to 79 in September, remaining below the 93 recorded in July 2026.

Each monthly run begins with 586 prompt-surface observations (392 unique questions) across the benchmark's defined AI/search surface universe in September 2026. Of those, 586 mentioned a tracked brand or competitor; 300 were relevant and 286 were irrelevant. The public metrics use the 79 observations that survive both qualification stages. In July 2026, the run began with 426 prompt-surface observations (306 unique questions) with 213 relevant and 213 irrelevant, yielding 93 qualified observations.

Key Findings

Benchmark Context

The report separates the raw collection universe from the qualified analysis set. Brand-level recommendation percentages are calculated within the qualified benchmark set.

The raw collection universe expanded from 426 prompts in July to 586 in September, with the relevant set growing from 213 to 300 prompts. The qualified observation count, however, moved from 93 in July to 65 in August and then to 79 in September, so the current-month denominator sits between the two prior months.

Benchmark-Level Metrics

The recommendation-shaped answer share fell from 23.7% in July to 12.7% in September, and the valid recommendation shortlist share moved from 25.8% to 22.8%. These category-level metrics describe the overall recommendation environment across the tracked brands over the three-month series; the data does not establish why the shares moved.

AI Recommendation Trend

Upsolve retains the leadership position but no longer dominates, with a cluster of four brands between 7.6% and 16.5% coverage.

The September movement for Upsolve exceeded normal month-to-month variation when measured against the July baseline, coinciding with a steep decline in its top-three and rank-one placement rates. The rest of the category's change came from a combination of smaller moves, including the return of John T. Orcutt and Sasser Law Firm to the recommendation set and the exit of Boundless Immigration and Catholic Legal Immigration Network.

What Changed This Month

Upsolve

Upsolve's valid recommendation coverage moved from 29.0% in July 2026 to 16.5% in September 2026, a significant 12.5-point decline against the baseline. The brand recorded 13 valid recommendations in September, compared with 27 in July.

The more immediate story is the rebound from August, when Upsolve fell to 3.1% coverage with 2 valid recommendations. The September result of 16.5% represents a 13.4-point recovery month-over-month, restoring the brand to the category lead. The brand's raw mention presence reached 39.2% in September, up from 7.7% in August, indicating that visibility recovered alongside recommendation coverage.

The September position is nonetheless weaker than July on placement quality. Recommended top-three rate fell from 16.1% in July to 1.3% in September, and rank-one rate fell from 12.9% to 1.3%, both sharp declines. Upsolve continues to be present far more often than it is recommended in the top three. Net sentiment held steady at 0.6 across both months.

Highest-priority diagnostic: which prompt clusters return Upsolve as a mention but not as a top-three recommendation, and which brands now occupy the top slots in those answers.

Fragomen

Fragomen's valid recommendation coverage rose from 4.3% in July 2026 to 10.1% in September 2026, a 5.8-point gain that is not significant against the baseline threshold. The brand recorded 8 valid recommendations in September, up from 4 in July.

The prior-month comparison shows a different pattern: Fragomen peaked at 15.4% coverage in August with 10 valid recommendations, then eased to 10.1% in September, a shift that stayed within normal month-to-month variation for the brand. The August peak drove Fragomen's raw mention presence to 30.8%, while September presence sits at 26.6%, up from the 6.5% July baseline.

Placement quality shifted toward the top. Fragomen's recommended top-three rate reached 8.9% in September, up from 3.2% in July, and its rank-one rate matched at 8.9%, up from 3.2%. With an average recommended rank of 1.4 across 8 valid recommendations, Fragomen is consistently the first or second option when it appears. Net sentiment improved to 1.0 in September from 0.8 in July.

Highest-priority diagnostic: whether the August-to-September decline represents a reallocation of specific prompt clusters to other brands or a natural settling after the August surge.

John T. Orcutt and Sasser Law Firm

Both brands returned to the recommendation set in September after recording 0.0% coverage in August. John T. Orcutt moved from 6.5% in July to 7.6% in September (6 valid recommendations), and Sasser Law Firm moved from 6.5% to 7.6% (6 valid recommendations), each posting a 1.1-point gain against baseline that does not clear the significance threshold on its own.

The prior-month recovery was sharper for both. John T. Orcutt rose 7.6 points from its August absence, a significant move against the prior-month threshold, and Sasser Law Firm matched that 7.6-point recovery.

John T. Orcutt earned its first rank-one placements of the series in September, with 2 of its 6 valid recommendations ranked first, up from zero rank-one placements in July. Sasser Law Firm's rank-one count held flat at 4 across both months; its rank-one rate moved from 4.3% to 5.1% only because the September qualified-observation denominator is smaller, not because Sasser earned additional top placements.

Sasser's raw mention presence of 10.1% in September exceeds its July level of 8.6%, while John T. Orcutt's presence of 7.6% is essentially flat against the 7.5% July baseline. Net sentiment for John T. Orcutt reached 1.0 in September, up from 0.9 in July.

Highest-priority diagnostic: whether the August absence for both brands was a temporary measurement effect or a genuine gap in AI surfacing that has since been restored.

Boundless Immigration and Catholic Legal Immigration Network

Both brands exited the recommendation set in September. Boundless Immigration fell from 2.1% coverage in July to 0.0% in September, a 2.1-point decline that is not significant against baseline. The brand recorded 0 valid recommendations after holding 2 in July.

The month-over-month change was larger: Boundless Immigration had reached 4.6% coverage in August with 3 valid recommendations, then eased to 0.0% in September, a shift that remained within normal month-to-month variation for the brand. Catholic Legal Immigration Network moved from 1.1% in July to 0.0% in September, and its raw mention presence fell from 6.5% to 0.0%, meaning the brand did not appear in the September observation set at all. Boundless Immigration retained presence at 6.3% of September observations despite having no valid recommendations, indicating the brand is still surfaced but no longer recommended.

Highest-priority diagnostic: which prompt clusters drove the August recommendations for both brands, and whether those clusters shifted toward brands that now hold the recommendation slots.

Cibik Law and Pollak PLLC

Two brands entered the recommendation set for the first time in September. Cibik Law moved from 0.0% in July to 1.3% in September (1 valid recommendation), and Pollak PLLC moved from 0.0% to 1.3% (1 valid recommendation), each posting gains of 1.3 points.

These are small-count movements: each brand recorded exactly 1 valid recommendation in September. Cibik Law achieved a top-three placement at rank 2, while Pollak PLLC earned a rank-one recommendation. Both brands recorded net sentiment scores of 1.0. Pollak PLLC had held raw mention presence of 1.1% in July before converting that presence into a recommendation in September.

Highest-priority diagnostic: which specific prompts produced these first valid recommendations, and whether they represent isolated surfacing or the start of a broader pattern.

Buyer-Intent Interpretation

In September 2026, all 79 qualified observations fell into the brand recommendation class. There were no qualified observations in the pricing and value or multi-brand comparison clusters. The public benchmark can currently answer which brands are recommended in direct request scenarios, but it cannot yet address how AI systems position brands on price, value, or head-to-head comparison. For a legal services category where cost and firm selection are often evaluated together, those question classes remain an open gap in the current observation set.

Brand Opportunity Summary

The benchmark identifies where attention is warranted; a company-level analysis is needed to explain why.

Evidence Behind the Benchmark

The aggregate metrics are built from prompt-level observations: query, surface, recommendation outcome, rank, sentiment, and citations where exposed. Company-level analysis can go deeper into prompt, competitor, surface, and evidence patterns. Source presence in these observations is not automatically treated as proof of causation.

This report is part of the LLM Authority Index AI Market Discovery research program.

• AI Industry Market Discovery Methodology
• AI Industry Market Discovery Metrics
• AI Industry Market Discovery Standards

Report-Specific Interpretation Notes

• The September 2026 qualified set of 79 observations is smaller than the July 2026 set of 93, which affects the sensitivity of percentage movements. Brand-level rates should be read alongside their absolute valid recommendation counts.
• Small-count movements are present in this month's results: Cibik Law and Pollak PLLC each recorded 1 valid recommendation, and several brands hold 0 valid recommendations. These counts are valid signals for a niche vertical and should not be dismissed because the numbers are small.
• Movements are measured against the baseline month (July 2026) as the reference point for the tables, with the August intermediate month discussed in prose where it provides sharper context.
• This analysis identifies brands with significant movement worth investigating. It does not establish the cause of those movements, which requires prompt-level and surface-level inspection.

Next Step

The Public Benchmark Shows Where a Brand Is Winning or Losing. A Company-Level Audit Shows Why.

The aggregate percentages in this report answer where a brand stands, but not why. For Upsolve, which high-intent prompts still return the brand as the top answer, and which competitor takes the recommendation when it loses? For Fragomen, did the August-to-September change come from specific prompt clusters or from a broader change in the measured output distribution?

A company-specific AI visibility audit maps those prompt, surface, competitor, ranking, sentiment, and evidence-source patterns into a prioritized visibility strategy.

Request an AI visibility audit