Frequently Asked Questions
At Amaryllis Law, we pride ourselves on making sure you are not surprised by your immigration fees. That’s one of the main reasons we offer flat fees in most cases. Flat fees provide you with a sound expectation of what you will pay over the life of a particular immigration representation. Flat fees never include expenses or government fees in your case.
We offer payment plans on certain case types based on the length of representation. In general, we require the legal fees for most affirmative immigration benefits to be paid up front, prior to commencing representation. In removal proceedings and cases involving children and victims of crime, we typically offer generous payment plans. Please remember that payment plans are for your benefit, and that Amaryllis Law may unilaterally terminate a payment plan for late payment at any time.
The only way to know what something will cost is for the attorney to meet with you and identify what benefit you’re seeking. After you pay the initial consultation fee of $100, a Amaryllis Law attorney will consult with you, your family, or your business to identify a plan of action and determine eligibility for immigration benefits. In many cases Amaryllis Law applies your consultation fee toward the legal fees associated with your case. Often, Amaryllis Law attorneys can tell you what the representation will cost after the initial consultation if the attorney requires no further research to resolve a plan of action for your case.
Any later changes in our legal fees are rare, but would reflect changes in your case–interruptions in the normal course of representation like complicated requests for evidence or appeals–all things that you would anticipate may involve additional legal fees.
Immigration law is not simply filling out forms. Rather, in nearly every kind of immigration filing, you want an attorney for her experience managing the unique demands of your case, applying immigration burdens of proof to your benefit, and complying with the evidentiary standards necessary to win your case.
In our experience, you hire an attorney to assist you in a number of different circumstances ranging from emotional support to technical expertise. You may feel overwhelmed by the steps or requirements for your immigration benefit. You want the benefit of an experienced immigration lawyer because you fear that you may create unnecessary delays in processing. You might decide that you don’t want to deal with the headache or time commitment involved with navigating an immigration process that’s second nature to a seasoned immigration attorney and her staff. Finally, you definitely want to pursue counsel where you have concerns about criminal conduct or entries and exits creating issues of inadmissibility, removability or other bar on entry to the U.S.
Even in the most straight-forward cases, most clients find it helpful to have an attorney assist them with the process of preparing the USCIS petitions and compiling supporting proof of eligibility. Most good attorneys will tell you whether their involvement will make a vital difference, or barely a dent.
Amaryllis Law attorney fees always exclude USCIS filing fees. You are responsible for USCIS filing fees as well as fees related to overnight courier service and translation/interpretation charges. (Add the possibility of attorney travel, medical records, certified dispositions, orders of publication) We do not charge you for copies, phone calls, or other miscellaneous expenses, and we do not bill hourly in flat fee cases without entering into a new agreement notifying you of the change from flat fee to hourly representation.
Free advice isn’t the same as good counsel. Finding the right immigration solution takes time, and the insight, experience, and knowledge of a seasoned immigration attorney is valuable.Most immigration attorneys charge consultation fees that represent anywhere from a half hour to an hour of that attorney’s time as they walk through the particular facts of your case necessary to determining eligibility for relief. Amaryllis Law waives the consultation fee in removal and deportation cases, adoption cases, and for members of certain organizations at attorney discretion.
Amaryllis Law’s normal consultation fee is $100. In some advanced criminal or other complex consultations, we may raise our consultation fee to include the time it will take to engage with criminal counsel or research a conviction. In many cases, we apply the consultation toward the cost of the ultimate representation in the case.