Here’s what we learned about how many applicants hired lawyers, what they paid for legal help in presenting their application to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), and what they had to say about their experiences with immigration attorneys. Almost all green-card applicants paid their lawyers a flat fee.
Immigration Lawyer Cost Item Average Cost 30-min Consultation $75 – $150 Hourly Rate $150 – $300 Form Filing Assistance $250 – $800 Green Card Assistance $800 – $5,000 1 more rows ...
The expiration date on your Green Card is also the date of your second anniversary as a conditional permanent resident. If you do not apply to remove the conditions in time, you could lose your conditional permanent resident status and potentially be removed from the country. Use our Filing Calculator to determine your 90-day filing date.
Your status is conditional until you prove, after a specified period of time, that you did not enter the marriage to circumvent the immigration laws of the United States. To remove conditions, you must file Form I-751, Petition to Remove Conditions on Residence.
$595. You must pay a $85 biometric service fee for each person applying to remove conditions on their residence on the same form.
The filing fee for Form I-751 is $595. A biometric services fee of $85 is also required for petitioners.
No, if you are a Lawful Permanent Resident (“Green Card holder”) with a conditional (“temporary” or “2-year”) Green Card holder, you do not need to hire an attorney to help you with the filing for USCIS Form I-751, Petition to Remove Conditions of Residence.
An immigration lawyer charges between $150 and $300 per hour, with a typical 30-min consultation fee of $75 to $150. Legal assistance when filing basic immigration forms costs $250 to $800, while green card assistance runs from $800 to $5,000, plus the USCIS fees of $460 to $700.
12 to 18 monthsHOW LONG DOES IT TAKE TO REMOVE CONDITIONS ON RESIDENCE? After filing the Petition to Remove Conditions on Residence, your I-751 processing time can take anywhere from 12 to 18 months.
The Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) requires conditional residents to attend an interview when USCIS is adjudicating (or deciding) the couple's removal of conditions petition. However, the INA also gives USCIS the authority to waive I-751 interviews.
If your I-751 is denied and you receive an NTA, contact your immigration attorney right away. If your I-751 is denied, deportation is a possible outcome, but you do still have the opportunity to submit additional evidence.
To remove conditional status, the green card holder and his or her spouse, must file Form I-751, Petition to Remove Conditions on Residence, within 90 days of the expiration of permanent residence, i.e., within 90 days before the second anniversary of when the green card was issued.
The documents may include, but aren't limited to, the following examples: Birth certificate(s) of child(ren) born to the marriage. Lease or mortgage contracts showing joint occupancy and/or ownership of your communal residence. Financial records showing joint ownership of assets and joint responsibility for liabilities.
The immigration process can be intimidating and take a long time, but hiring an immigration attorney to support you with your case can speed up the process and help you meet your goals.
Expect to pay the attorney somewhere between $3,000 and $7,000 in total—in addition to the application fees described above. Most attorneys will quote you a flat fee in advance, and ask you to pay part of it at the beginning and the rest at the end.
$535The filing fee for Form I-130 is $535. The filing fee for this petition cannot be waived. NOTE: The filing fee is not refundable, regardless of any action USCIS takes on this petition.
Immigration lawyers typically charge between $100 and $250 for a detailed consultation and many credit this to legal fees should you choose to hire them. Many also offer introductory calls at no cost – these are not meant to be detailed consultations, but an opportunity to share some context, get to know the lawyer and decide if you want to work with them. You’ll find many lawyers that specialize in removal / deportation cases do not charge any consultation fees at all.
If you are here unlawfully, an attorney can help you figure out if there is a path to legal status. If you’ve had any brush ups with the law, even if you weren’t convicted, you might be at risk for deportation. These are just a few scenarios in which the advice of an immigration lawyer is crucial.
However, a lawyer in California may have more exposure to the immigration issue you are facing. It is important to balance cost and experience.
Note: If you come across a “notario” or immigration “consultant”, they are not lawyers and are not licensed to practice immigration law. Be very careful who you trust with your immigration needs. Navigating U.S. immigration is incredibly time consuming and complex.
Government filing fees are not optional (unless you qualify for a fee waiver. Whether you work with an attorney or file your paperwork yourself, you will incur these costs and they can be quite steep. Thousands of people immigrate to the U.S. each year without the help of an immigration lawyer.
Immigration cases are complex. There are layers of complicated rules, laws, and regulations you need to navigate to get a successful outcome. Some cases are simple and don’t need special assistance.
There are a lot of resources and information on immigration available online. So, it might seem unnecessary to pay a high price for an immigration lawyer when all these resources are free. The reality is, however, the immigration process is complex, and there is usually a lot at stake.
There is a whole host of factors that will influence the cost of an immigration lawyer. Generally, however, the following factors will affect the price you are charged:
As we’ve explained above, there is a whole range of factors that will influence the actual cost of an immigration lawyer. What we can do, however, is look at what the average costs are for different types of visas.
Now you no longer have to wonder how much does an immigration lawyer cost. These legal fees can seem very expensive. But it may save you time and money in the long run. It could also be the difference between a successful application and a possible denial (or worse – deportation!).
An EB-1 green card is an employment-based petition for permanent residency in the U.S. The EB-1C was specifically designed for the most skilled and proficient business managers and executives. EB-1 green cards do not require PERM labor certification
The N-400 application can be used by lawful permanent residents in the U.S, that is older than 18, to apply for U.S citizenship. Your green card must have been valid for at least 5 years prior to your application to be eligible. If your green card is based on marriage, it only has to be valid for three years.
An Adjustment of Status is where someone currently living in the U.S under a non-immigrant visa becomes a beneficiary of an approved immigrant petition and apply for their status to be changed to permanent resident. The person or entity that filed your immigrant petition has to file an I-485 form.
H-4 visas are visas dependents of H-1B visa holders can apply for. This visa is used so that dependents (spouse and children under the age of 21 years) can stay with the H-1B visa holder in the U.S. Your application for an H-4 visa can be submitted with the H-1B visa application. H-4 visas allow the holders to work en get an education in the U.S.
Non-immigrant work visas are visas that are obtained for the purpose to work, invest, trade and do business in the U.S. Non-immigrant visas only apply for a limited time period and do not lead to permanent residency or citizenship.
CPR status (or conditional permanent resident status) is given to those people who received permanent residence in the U.S based upon marriage to a U.S citizen or permanent resident spouse. This status applies if you were married less than 2 years at the time you were granted a green card. CPR status expires after two years, so you have to do a timely application in order for the conditions on your residence to be removed. This application must be made before your green card expires, otherwise you might be deported.
U.S Citizens and legal permanent residents are allowed to petition for foreign relatives to come live in the U.S legally. There are two categories, namely Immediate Relative Petitions and Family Preference Petitions. The category of family members that are allowed to come to live in the U.S differs if you are a U.S citizen versus only being a green card holder.
In addition to assisting with the application forms, a lawyer can help you gather the necessary documents and prepare for the interview.
Immigration attorneys normally charge a “flat,” or fixed, fee rather than billing by the hour. In fact, our survey showed that 96% of our readers paid their lawyers a flat fee to handle their adjustment-of-status applications. Most immigration applicants prefer fixed legal fees, because they know from the start exactly what it will cost. And in standard cases, lawyers are able to predict approximately how much time they will need to spend.
I agree. The supporting materials are more important than the forms although the form is required. You need to ask what the attorney will be doing for the fee.
Sometimes you get what you pay for and $800 is very little money for the important process for you. If the paper work is not done correctly you will be put into deportation.
Some attorneys charge more than that and some charge less. The reason is that they do not just fill the form, send it and forget about it. They have to make sure that their is sufficient evidence included with the form that is specific to your situation and that sending that form is the right thing to do.
If you are a conditional green card holder, you may file form I-751 to remove conditions on a green card. A conditional green card is obtained when you adjust your status through marriage.
How do I file Form I-751? 1 Fill out Form I-751 during the 90-day period immediately before your conditional residence expires 2 Sign the petition under the correct portion of the application. 3 Prepare the filing fee.
To remove conditions from a green card, the conditional resident must file a Form I-751, Petition to Remove Conditions of Residence with USCIS. The petition must be “jointly filed” or filed by both spouses.
To prevent fraud and evasion of immigration laws, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) will grant permanent resident status for only two years if a couple has been married less than two years at the time that residence is granted. This type of residency is considered conditional permanent residency.
Often a conditional resident may not have the option to jointly file the I-751 petition with their spouse. Under certain conditions, USCIS may waive the joint petition requirement. USCIS will provide an I-751 waiver in the following instances:
If you do not apply to remove the conditions in time, you could lose your conditional permanent resident status and potentially be removed from the country.
citizen or lawful permanent resident after two years ;* or.
If you file your Form I-751 after the 90-day period , you must include a written explanation as to why you are filing late.
When to Apply to Remove the Conditions. You must file your Form I-751 during the 90-day period immediately before your conditional residence expires if you are filing Form I-751 jointly with your U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident spouse.
Your permanent resident status is conditional if it is based on a marriage that was less than two years old on the day you became a permanent resident. We give you conditional permanent resident status when you are either admitted to the United States on an immigrant visa or adjust your status to that of a permanent resident.
You entered into your marriage in good faith, and not to circumvent immigration laws, but during the marriage you or your child were battered or subjected to extreme cruelty committed by your U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident spouse, and you were not at fault in failing to file a joint petition; or.
Your parent is still married to the same U.S. citizen spouse or lawful permanent resident after two years and you are not included in your parent’s Form I-751. You may file Form I-751 without your U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident spouse or stepparent if: