Attorneys and Legal fees

I did the application myself. When I read the I-140 instructions, I thought that 5 of those criteria would be easy and it turned out to be right.

I talked to a lawyer who started BSing me and telling me that it was very though to qualify for EB-1A. He did not reply to emails. This was before I paid him any money. So I let him go and did it myself.

Yes, there is a lot of learning to do if you have to file it yourself. But, you will do that learning even if you hire a lawyer :rolleyes: (plus you need to have a considerable amount of free time)

Having said all this I would still suggest a lawyer, i.e. if you can find a good one. I believe that you need an EA lawyer to do EB1 cases :).
 
Thank you all. I guess those of us filing should consider an attorney for few reasons:
1. As mentioned above they are experiences in their field and why should I spend time if it is someone else's day to day activity. This experience will come in handy if RFEd.
2. Very important is the amount of letters. I can probably write 3 in my own language. Writing 7-8 might lead to same language.
3. and most importantly, if time is of essence, it is better tolet someone who has walked the path lead you then do it yourself (where the pay-off for getting it right teh first time is very high).
 
Since there is some renewed interest I am bumping it back up.... Please tell us who you used as your attorney and how good they were...
 
ashleykrishnan

Thank you NIW2 for the info
my primary contact with this firm is mark, can you comment on whether they work together on a case or if i should insist on ram, havent paid yet; would appreciate a PM


NIW2 said:
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.
Click to expand...
 
Attorney

drreddy7:

I had contact only with Krishnan and not mark. I found Krishnan to be very knowledgeable of the process and even about my research. The most important thing for me was, he was fast and filed my case within a month. I also found that his fees were less than other attorney that I had looked up. All the work was done over email and phone. He drafted an excellent support letter and edited my recommendation letters, which I think was the reason for my approval.

This forum was extremely useful and helped me to understand the process, but in a way it was also depressing. Most (I think all) the CV's posted were far superior to mine and got me thinking that I was not qualified. So I would suggest that the forum members should send their resumes to the attorneys for a free evaluation. This would help to decide to go for it or not and also give an idea on the capability of the attorney. If he/she his prompt and if he knows what he is talking about.
 
drreddy7 said:
Thank you NIW2 for the info
my primary contact with this firm is mark, can you comment on whether they work together on a case or if i should insist on ram, havent paid yet; would appreciate a PM
Click to expand...

hi drreddy7,
Ram is good. he writes good petition letter. you will get approval soon. I did work with Ram for my NIW and got approved in 2 weeks. i contacted him by phone and email.
 
legal fees and taxes

Hey all,

As a side note in this discussion, remember that the IRS allows you to deduct attorney's fees, costs, and filing fees paid in connection with obtaining H-1B status or lawful permanent resident status. This is because these expenses are necessary for you to obtain permission to engage in work that will result in taxable income.

If you already filed then you might see if this deduction makes any difference and you can file an ammended return. If you haven't filed, check to see if it makes any difference. In my case it didn't because it didn't bump up my deductions above the standard deduction.
 
Thanks a lot NIW2/Hunter2006
I think I am going ahead with this firm.
NIW2, can you please share your credentials with me.
Also, I am an EB2 physician in retro, would there be a utility to filing EB2NIW(being advised by Jeffries)
My email reddmail@gmail.com
 
Attorney

Thdoc:

Do not get too overwhelmed by the criteria for EB-1. There are number of my friends who have got approved with qualifications that were not that great as the term "alien of extraordinary ability" suggests. I feel that you should talk to the attorney and go with the attorney if you feel good about. I agree with 2006Hunter he was good and knew what he was talking about on my NIW case. I am now looking to file my EB-1 can you send me a message on the money back guarantee...
 
Hey, I have a question - How much did they charged you? and how was the process looks like?
Thanks, R
 
Attorney

GC

I can only provide suggestions based on my own experience and that of my friends. You should make the decision on your own. My experience using him was very good.
I did visit the website you had posted, it gives only names of attorneys or companies based on the LCA filing information with the Dept. of Labor.

NIW/EB-1 petitions are self petitions, there is no LCA or company sponsors. So you cannot get this information anywhere. That firm specializes only in NIW and EB-1 according to what they told me.
 
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Attorney

Hi!

I e-filed my EB-1A petition on February 16, 2007 and updated to PP on May 3, 2007. I received a general RFE. It states

You are seeking classification for the beneficiary as an alien of extraordinary ability. Form I-140 lists the beneficiary area of expertise as biomedical researcher.
You have submitted evidence of the alien's original scientific, scholarly, artistic or business-related contributions, but have not demonstrated that they are of major significance in the field. The letters discussing the beneficiary's contributions refer to their potential but do not contain sufficient information about factual influence or effects already made to the field.


To establish eligibility as an alien of extraordinary ability, provide evidence that you have sustained national or international acclaim and that your achievements have been recognized in your field of expertise. Such evidence shall include the achievement of one time (that is major internationally recognized award) or at least three of the following:

They have then listed all the EB-1 criteria. Under the award criteria they require me to “Submit your awards, prizes and certificates have national or international recognition. The awards presented appear to be scholarships, fellowships and competitive postdoctoral appointments are generally not the type of “nationally or internationally prizes or awards for excellence”. Please submit evidence that meet the requisite standard of national or international recognition for excellence.


Under the “documentation of your memberships in association in the field for which classification is sought” they ask what accomplishments were specifically targeted to qualify the alien for this membership, if any? Was the alien invited to join the group?

They end the RFE by stating that “mere submission of three or more of the above items may not establish your eligibility for this classification.


I am postdoctoral associate and have 20 publications, 10 first author publications. I have 30 citations from ISI summary. I have reviewed 10 journal articles and some more for my advisor. Regular membership in three professional associations.

I hope that gurus can give me some advice. I have read all the prior postings. I am exploring the option of hiring an attorney to respond to this RFE. Any suggestions on good and reasonably priced attorneys. What would be the average fee likely for this? Any advice would be appreciated.
 
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