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UNDERSTANDING ATTORNEY'S FEES AND
CASE COSTS IN IMMIGRATION CASES

Many people put off consulting with an immigration attorney, or worse, seek immigration assistance from unlicensed "immigration consultants" and "form preparation services" or, try to utilize "do it yourself kits" because of misunderstanding, uncertainty or fear about attorney's fees and other legal costs. We feel that a candid discussion about legal costs and attorney's fees is the best way to address client concerns.

In our office, we welcome any questions clients have regarding legal fees and costs. The basis and amount of the fee in your case will be discussed during your first interview with an attorney in our office. Please understand however, that we are not able to accurately quote fees for a hypothetical case over the telephone. It is impossible for an attorney to fairly determine what a client's best options are, or how much time a particular legal matter might take, without a detailed interview with the client and a preliminary review of the documents. Anyone, including an attorney, who tells you differently is being less than candid and you should usually be prepared for sudden, "unexpected expenses" and additional fees to arise later in the case after you are already financially committed to them. In actual practice, what may seem to the client to be a complex problem may in fact have a simple and inexpensive legal solution, or a seemingly simple matter may involve complicated legal issues, present difficulties in developing evidence or require long and difficult procedures with governmental agencies. We can only make a fair assessment of your problems, potential options and expenses after we are given sufficient information about your case and individual circumstances to advise you on your legal options. When we have sufficient information to accurately quote a case fee to you, we will honor that fee agreement for the services to be performed, regardless of later unexpected difficulties, unless those additional unexpected problems were caused by a client's failure to follow our advice or a client's failure to cooperate with us in prosecuting their case.

CONSULTATION FEES FLAT FEES OR CASE FEES HOURLY FEES WITH RETAINER CASE COSTS Click above to jump, or scroll down to browse

WE ARE COMMITTED TO PROVIDING AFFORDABLE LEGAL SERVICES and WE WELCOME QUESTIONS REGARDING FEES AND COSTS

*CONSULTATION FEES* Our office charges a consultation fee for the first office visit (or equivalent consultation via telephone or internet). Our consultation fee is $100.00 USD (or 4500 Thai Baht + 7%VAT at our Bangkok office) for the first one (1) hour. After one (1) hour there is an additional $25.00 USD charge (or 1125 Thai Baht + 7%VAT at our Bangkok office) for each additional 15 minutes thereafter. Normally, it is only a very unusual, difficult or complex case which requires more than a 1 to 1½ hour consultation, unless the client has an unusually large number of questions, unusual factual circumstances in his/her case, or wishes to obtain very detailed, technical legal information from the attorney. After the initial consultation, if the client wishes to retain our offices to represent him and, if we agree to accept the case, a written fee agreement is provided to the client specifically stating the services to be performed by the attorney, the flat fee or case fee to be paid for those services and the attorney's best estimate of projected third party costs. The consultation fee is required to be paid prior to, or at the consultation. Our offices accept payment by cash, cashier's check, international money order, credit card or wire transfer. Please note that for all services performed at our Asia office, the Thai government requires that a 7% Value Added Tax (VAT) be added to any service bill. Remittances to our North American office may be made in U.S. Dollars. Remittances to our Asia office may be made in either U.S. Dollars or Thai Baht. If we feel that your case does not require the services of an attorney, we will tell you why and if possible how to proceed on your own. If we feel that it would be advantageous for you to be represented by an attorney, we will explain the reason for our recommendation so that you may make an informed decision regarding your case. We will advise you of the available options and discuss those options with you including the costs of various options. In general, there are two (2) basic types of fee arrangements in immigration matters which are explained more fully below. In addition, clients are expected to pay certain costs, such as government filing fees, which are paid to others in processing their case. Case costs are also explained more fully below.
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FLAT FEES OR CASE FEES With many types of routine immigration cases, the attorney, through experience, can reasonably predict the amount of time and work that a particular matter will take to complete. In these instances, it is possible for the attorney to set a flat fee or "case fee" for the handling of a case from beginning to end. The advantage of flat fees or "case fees" to the client is that the client knows in advance exactly what the legal fees involved in his/her case will be. If the case requires more time and additional work than the attorney anticipated, the client is not responsible for any additional attorneys fees. Case fees are generally paid at the beginning of the case. However, in some cases that involve multiple stages with different governmental agencies, partial payments are made as each new stage is reached following successful conclusion of the preceding stage. Most cases in our office are handled on a flat fee or "case fee" basis. We are committed to keeping case fees as low as reasonably possible so that our clients are able to afford the benefits of legal representation.
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HOURLY FEES WITH RETAINER Complex, unusual, or extremely difficult cases may handled on an hourly fee basis with a portion of the projected fee (the "retainer") being paid prior to commencement of work by the attorney. Our office very rarely handles cases on an hourly basis except for very complex or difficult cases. The only type of cases that are always handled on an hourly basis by our office are removal (deportation) cases because experience has taught us that it is impossible to predict in advance how long such cases may go on or how many hours an individual removal case may take to properly defend.
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CASE COSTS In virtually all immigration cases there are costs paid to government agencies or other third parties which are necessary for the preparation and processing of the case. These costs include, but are not limited to, such things as application and visa fees (paid to governmental agencies such as the INS or Department of State), certified translations of foreign language documents, photography, fingerprinting, special courier/delivery fees, etc.. Your attorney will provide you with an estimate of anticipated costs associated with your type of case. Some costs are paid through our office and some costs will be paid by the client directly to a service provider (such as payment of medical exam fees to a physician). For costs paid through our office, we do not add additional administrative charges onto costs charged by service providers or by governmental agencies and the client pays only the actual cost.
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