Attorneys and Legal fees

nightsman

Registered Users (C)
Hi,
I have been looking on these forums for such a thread - couldnt find one. Apologize me if I am posting something which exists already.

Can people please provide
(i) names and addresses of the attorneys they are using/used and
(ii) how the attorneys were - helpful, not, good job, etc.
(iii) how much they were charged (specifically for I-140, I485 etc).

I am near NYC and I have no idea what the rates are (even ball park figure) for attorneys. So I am not sure whether I should self petition or not.

Thank you,
 
Hi,
I have been looking on these forums for such a thread - couldnt find one. Apologize me if I am posting something which exists already.

Can people please provide
(i) names and addresses of the attorneys they are using/used and
(ii) how the attorneys were - helpful, not, good job, etc.
(iii) how much they were charged (specifically for I-140, I485 etc).

I am near NYC and I have no idea what the rates are (even ball park figure) for attorneys. So I am not sure whether I should self petition or not.

Thank you,

Hi, i know is very hard to find a good lawyer. I am also in NYC, but my attorney is North Carolina, I've been with her for the past 7 years, and is way cheaper then a NYC lawyer.
 
I agree wtih tipotodo.

You don't need one in your area. I've never met my attorney face-to-face. It was all email, phone and fax.

Simply compile a list as follows: Go to aila.org and chose those specializing in whatever your need is (I assume EB1 or EB2-NIW). You can specify in aila's search feature a particular area of expertise within immigration law.

Then, take that list and go the the corresponding state bar website and check their years since graduation and current standing with the state bar. Avoid like the plague anyone who has not been in continuos good standing with the state bar.

Check their websites if any (you can get that either from aila.org or the state bar website). I was "turned off" by crappy looking websites with flashy banners, spelling mistakes and sloppy presentation.

I did this and had about 15 lawyers in the mid-west (tends to be less expensive in all respects than either coast). Compose an email detailing your case (i.e., show you've done the research and know what EB1 or EB2-NIW are) and that you're interested in hiring an attorney for help. Ask for their fee structure and an estimate of how much it would cost should it all go like the average case. The fees structure can vary widely: some will charge you an up-front fee to get started and that fee covers a certain amount of hours. After those hours are gone they bill you hourly. Others charge a flat fee for everything. Others bill hourly since the beginning. Regardless, most these guys accept payments in installments.

After you send the email just wait for their replies. Most reply within one business day. That's the kind you want. Some don't reply (avoid!!!!) and some take three or four days (avoid!!!!).

Of those that replied I crossed off my list those with spelling mistakes. Unbelievable!!! Can you imagine your I-140 coming to CIS with all your shining qualifications as attachments but the cover letter typed by a lawyer has instances of changing "affecting" with "effecting" or "their" with "they're".
Anyway, in their replies they'll explain CLEARLY how much it is. If it is not clear you should walk away. These replies will determine who you pick. S/he will certainly ask for more information, and will feel engaging. You need to have some interaction with the attorney before actually hiring them. You'll balance gut feelings and budgets and you'll pick the one that's right for you. Also avoid those that reply asking for money to discuss your case.
 
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NIW_ENGINEER thats as goos a reply as there can be! thanks much. I will remember aila (I didnt know about it until now!). I agree spelling mistakes are not professional and dont present your case well.

Also, may I ask you who you use?

Thanks,
 
Hi,
I have been looking on these forums for such a thread - couldnt find one. Apologize me if I am posting something which exists already.

Can people please provide
(i) names and addresses of the attorneys they are using/used and
(ii) how the attorneys were - helpful, not, good job, etc.
(iii) how much they were charged (specifically for I-140, I485 etc).

I am near NYC and I have no idea what the rates are (even ball park figure) for attorneys. So I am not sure whether I should self petition or not.

Thank you,


I agree with the posts that you don't need the lawyer in your area. But just don't go by the cost. You need to compare the cost with services as well as hidden costs. You also need to consider the success rate of the lawyer.

1.There are lawyers who do more in your case as compared to others. e.g. My lawyer dafted my letters of support. There are very few lawyers who will do that. I have seen lawyers who are cheap but they will ask you to write your own cover letter too.

2. There are lawyers who has hidden costs. Like if you plan to upgrade to PP why will ask for more money.

So compare evrything before you decide.

Good Luck
 
I agree with the posts that you don't need the lawyer in your area. But just don't go by the cost. You need to compare the cost with services as well as hidden costs. You also need to consider the success rate of the lawyer.

1.There are lawyers who do more in your case as compared to others. e.g. My lawyer dafted my letters of support. There are very few lawyers who will do that. I have seen lawyers who are cheap but they will ask you to write your own cover letter too.

2. There are lawyers who has hidden costs. Like if you plan to upgrade to PP why will ask for more money.

So compare evrything before you decide.

Good Luck

Ashja is right, find a lawyer with a good approval rate. My laywer also drafted all my letters of support and I still havent met he rface to face, all thru phone and fax!
 
Attorney

I had a very good attorney represent me in my case. His fees were reasonable too. $3500 in total no hidden costs. After an initial payment of $1500.00, the reminder need to be paid only on approval. He helped me draft the letters, and wrote a wonderful support letter that I was impressed with my own achievements!! His name is Ramasamy Krishnan; ram@ashleykrishnan.com
 
Also, may I ask you who you use?

Thanks,

George Newman of Blumenfeld, Kaplan and Sandweiss (www.bks-law.com), a former chair of the Missouri-Kansas chapter of AILA. He was the initial contact, but he handed my case of to another lawyer in the firm: Brad Sandler. They charged me $2000 up-front (I don't really remember how much it was.. could be as much as $4000) and after that I raked in about $4000 in hourly fees. They were OK with me paying 300/month for the accumulated billed hours not covered by the initial payment.

They do have nice templates for your references to follow when writing your recommendation letters. My references liked working with those templates and not one of them asked me to write a letter myself (I had 10 people). They put in a lot of work reading the letters and asking for edits and changes, which I then conveyed back to the original writers. This feedback loop went on for quite a while -- this is how I accumulated billed hours. They where worth it, though.

We didn't file concurrently (their suggestion), so I just hired them for the NIW I140. After approval I saved some cash and did 485s and EAD paperwork myself (this is easy).
 
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DO self petition. I did twice: first EB-2 NIW and then EB-1A EOA. Both approved. I think I am not as bad as I thought, maybe better than lawyers. Compile all data that supports ur case and then shoot.


Hi,
I have been looking on these forums for such a thread - couldnt find one. Apologize me if I am posting something which exists already.

Can people please provide
(i) names and addresses of the attorneys they are using/used and
(ii) how the attorneys were - helpful, not, good job, etc.
(iii) how much they were charged (specifically for I-140, I485 etc).

I am near NYC and I have no idea what the rates are (even ball park figure) for attorneys. So I am not sure whether I should self petition or not.

Thank you,
 
I had a very good attorney represent me in my case. His fees were reasonable too. $3500 in total no hidden costs. After an initial payment of $1500.00, the reminder need to be paid only on approval. He helped me draft the letters, and wrote a wonderful support letter that I was impressed with my own achievements!! His name is Ramasamy Krishnan; ram@ashleykrishnan.com

thanks to NIW2 for introducing a successful attorney. I have heard his name from lot of my friends. Ramasamy Krishnan is an excellent attorney. he has got lots of EB1 and NIW approval for lots of my friends. he really does fantastic work. his petition letter is superior. you have 99 % chance of approval if you hire this attorney. i am very sure. let me know if anybody wants to hire him
 
DO self petition. I did twice: first EB-2 NIW and then EB-1A EOA. Both approved. I think I am not as bad as I thought, maybe better than lawyers. Compile all data that supports ur case and then shoot.

one will have less hassle if hiring a good attorney. sometimes it is very helpful if you have an attorney at the time of writing petition letter/RFE. I prefer to go with an attorney although I file myself my petition. As I already mentioned go with a good attorney, Ramasamy Krishnan, who has got lots of EB1 and NIW approvals for my friends. email him and get a free discussion.
 
... I prefer to go with an attorney although I file myself my petition. ....

This raises a good point. With the full benefit of 20/20 hindsight, I guess I would've done most by myself by using everything I've learned in this forum and then send it to a lawyer for review. I would've saved some major cash and still get the benefit of the expert, legal, professional advice.

I only learned about this forum (and joined it) after I submitted my I-140
 
I think it all depends on how the attorney understands your case. I agree that some attorneys would be better than others.

I would second mogambo1, that you are in a better position to comment about your acheivements and if you have some time to spend on learning the process it would help your case and save money also.
 
One thing I am sure of. Almost ALL the people who had got their cases filed through attorneys and who got an opportunity to read their letters or were given a copy of the file which their attorney had filed to INS (I must tell you there are only few attorney's who provide you with the copies of what they file and even out of those most dont provide you with letters etc, just copies of your filled INS forms) have expressed their discontent over hiring an attorney. Most of them had a feeling, (that includes whose cases got approved as well as those whose cases got denied or got an RFE) that they could have done that much by themselves. Some even feel that they wasted money hiring one. While other feel they could have done better job themsleves. The problem is that even they (attorney's) know that it is not much of a big deal filing your case and getting it approved and thats the reason you are not provided with any documentation most of the times or else who will need them. ANd with so much of experience dealing with sveral 100 cases every year I bet I can do better job wihtout a law degree. Anyway most of us forget about them once we get an approval and try to support hiring them. I bet only a few on this forum would justify hiring an attorney for the reason they dont understand the whole process or have been earning a lot of money that they dont care spending it and consider it as one less hassle.
 
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Attorney and legal fees

I agree with Mogambo only to a certain degree, for first we hear about only the successful cases in the forum and I am sure there are many out there whose cases have been denied or have not tried applying.

Secondly, there are lot of us who do not have that great publication record or citation record etc..so for me and similar others hiring an attorney was beneficial. I had a limited number of publications (second or third or ..author in most) and yet my attorney was able to present (or spin it) my application in a very good light. And it was approved.

The other reason is there are very few attorney's who specialize in doing EB-1/NIW's etc. So if you get to hire an attorney who "CAN ALSO" do this, then you do not get our money's worth. The attorney would ask you to write the recommendation letters ...etc and do all the work. The ones who specialize in this readily write the letters for you and perform most of the work involved. I was asked only review the science portion of the letters.

So I would suggest that hiring an attorney certainly improves the probability of approval, provided you choose an attorney that specializes in this type of work. Also, do not worry to much on whether you satisfy the criteria too much. Go with what you got.
 
I agree with Mogambo only to a certain degree, for first we hear about only the successful cases in the forum and I am sure there are many out there whose cases have been denied or have not tried applying.

Secondly, there are lot of us who do not have that great publication record or citation record etc..so for me and similar others hiring an attorney was beneficial. I had a limited number of publications (second or third or ..author in most) and yet my attorney was able to present (or spin it) my application in a very good light. And it was approved.

The other reason is there are very few attorney's who specialize in doing EB-1/NIW's etc. So if you get to hire an attorney who "CAN ALSO" do this, then you do not get our money's worth. The attorney would ask you to write the recommendation letters ...etc and do all the work. The ones who specialize in this readily write the letters for you and perform most of the work involved. I was asked only review the science portion of the letters.

So I would suggest that hiring an attorney certainly improves the probability of approval, provided you choose an attorney that specializes in this type of work. Also, do not worry to much on whether you satisfy the criteria too much. Go with what you got.

I have heard from my friends that some lawyers do miracle. even if you have not a strong case then they write a very strong petition letter which boost the chance of approval. lawyers also help you for writting different powerful reco letters. they are very helpful at the time of RFE/appeal. there are many plus points if you go with an attorney. you can also read different opinions from the forum members. even if you have a strong case, sometimes you do not organize properly and attorney is very crucial at this point.last factor is luck. if we are lucky and got approved by self filing, does not mean that we know more than an attorney. an attoreny is certainly more qualified than us in this matter. i respect that. everbody is good in their field. so it is upto you to decide.
 
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