An immigration lawyer is an attorney who represents nonimmigrant visitors and immigrant residents of the United States, on issues of short-term and long-term visas, and citizenship and naturalization, Immigration law is based on federal law; none of it arises at the state or local level.
Immigration law is quite complex – there are more than 40 different types of nonimmigrant visas that are available. Each has different purposes, different requirements to earn one, and different sorts of evidence needed to support the visa petition. The length of the time you can stay here on a visa ranges from as little as 180 days for B-1 and B-2 visitor’s visas, to lifetime permanent residency.
What Kind of a Financial Arrangement Will My Attorney Require?
The kind of financial arrangement an immigration lawyer will require will vary depending on the lawyer’s general practice habits, whether you are paying them or a potential employer is, and what kind of case you bring to them (the “scope of representation”).
The fees charged will depend on what the lawyer needs to do for your case. Some immigration cases require only paperwork, while others are more complex and require going in front of a judge at an immigration court or a federal appellate court. Court appearances by your lawyer are likely to cost more than straightforward paperwork cases.
Many lawyers charge by the hour and bill based on the amount of time it takes them to complete their tasks. Your bill will read something like “June 4: ⅕ hour research time, ¼ hour telephone call with the judge.” The lawyer will keep close track of everything they do during the day that relates to your case. Before beginning to work on your immigration project, the lawyer will give you a ballpark estimate of the total cost, but the final number could be higher or lower depending on how many hours of work were actually required.
On the other hand, some lawyers prefer to bill a flat rate. With a flat rate, the attorney will tell you in advance exactly how much the case will cost and you will be responsible for paying that fee. The lawyer bases that number on their experience with other similar cases.
Each method of billing has its own advantages and disadvantages. Because it is directly related to the amount of work needed to be done, an hourly fee could get quite expensive. On the other hand, if the case turns out to be easier than expected, with hourly billing you will pay for only the hours of work actually done. With a flat fee arrangement, you don’t know whether the actual cost of the work was higher or lower than the estimate and thus you don’t know if you overpaid or if you underpaid and got a bargain.
Whether you pay the lawyer based on hourly rates or based on flat fee rates, you will likely be charged for administrative costs, such as photocopying and mailing. At the time you hire them, ask your lawyer about what costs will be billed to you, so there will not be any surprises.
How Will My Lawyer Charge Me?
The first step in hiring a lawyer is consulting with them about the nature of the case. Many immigration attorneys require a consultation fee for that first meeting, while others offer this service for free. After the initial consultation the lawyer will have a better idea of what kind of work will be required, and what the extent of the work is likely to be. Then they will give you an estimate of the total fees that they will charge, as described above.
Usually, you need not pay the entire amount of the fees upfront. Instead, the lawyer will require that you pay a retainer. With retainers, the client pays all the money owed to the lawyer into an account set aside specifically to hold clients’ money. When the lawyer works, they send the client a bill, but the client does not write a check – instead, the lawyer removes the amount of the bill from the retainer account.
As the money in the retainer account starts to run out, you will be required to make another payment into the account. If it turns out that the lawyer overestimated the amount the fees would come to, the unused portion of the money you paid will be returned to you after the case is over.
Note that the retainer account is a trust account (an account where money or property is held by one person for the benefit of another) because the lawyer is a fiduciary (someone who is bound to act in someone else’s best interest, not their own). The lawyer cannot take money from the account for any reason other than getting paid for doing legal work for their clients.
Because they know that some of their clients cannot afford regular legal fees, many immigration lawyers charge some clients exceptionally low rates. Some even work pro bono (without any charge) on behalf of some of their clients. No lawyer could maintain a practice charging only minimum amounts to all of their clients, so most lawyers who provide discounted services also have a normal legal practice and do the charitable work on the side.
What Kinds of Cases Do Immigration Lawyers Work On?
These are just a few of the many types of cases an immigration worker may have on their plate. Due to the wide variety, you can see why no two immigration cases will cost the same:
- Preparing the paperwork for a visitor who is coming to the United States for a relatively brief time in order to take a vacation, to participate in a competition, to perform on stage, to wrap up a business deal, or for another short-term activity
- Preparing the paperwork for someone who wants to marry a U.S. citizen and move to the U.S., or for someone who has already married a citizen and needs to obtain their permanent residency visa (a “green card”)
- Working with a company to obtain state and federal job approval and an employment visa for someone the company wants to hire
- Working with a student who has been accepted to a U.S. college or university and needs a visa to study
- Helping someone who has lost the right to hold a visa because of a past immigration error or the commission of a crime. This typically requires the lawyer to appear in an immigration court
- Assisting with moving an employee of a company from one of its foreign offices to a U.S. office
- Assisting someone who has entered the U.S. without a visa and who is now threatened with deportation
- Appealing the denial of a visa request
- Assisting a refugee to obtain a visa
- Guiding someone through the process of obtaining citizenship
- Obtaining a visa for someone based on the fact that they have a relative who is a U.S. citizen or permanent resident
Do I Need a Lawyer?
Yes. Immigration law is very complex and requires rigorous representation by an immigration lawyer who is familiar with federal legal rules regarding visitor’s visas, citizenship and naturalization.
Your status in the United States is very important, and you do not want to find yourself being deported or otherwise unable to enter or live in the United States. If you have an immigration question, trust a knowledgeable expert rather than trying to learn the technical legal requirements yourself. Failing to file the right paperwork precisely on time or failing to submit the right supporting evidence can have permanent consequences.
