Pricing

People often call us and ask two main questions, what are our fees and what does the government charge in filing fees.  We cannot control what the government charges (you can find their current filing fees here), however, we are always pleased to explain our reasonable and straightforward fee system with our clients.  We provide quality service and individual attention to all of our clients around the world, all for a very reasonable legal fee.  Download or view a PDF listing some of the immigration services we provide on a fixed or flat legal fee basis here.  

Answers to Common Questions

Question 1:  I am thinking of hiring an immigration attorney.  There are plenty of immigration lawyers, some who may charge differently than you do and some who may be closer to me.  Why should I choose HenterLaw?

Answer:  Not only is this a common question from people who contact us, it is a great one.  When you hire HenterLaw, you do more than just hire a law firm, you hire a lawyer who is committed to helping you solve a problem.  This means that when you have a problem, you will be speaking with your lawyer, not an assistant or paralegal. 

For immigration matters at HenterLaw, any flat fee we offer includes as much time speaking to an attorney as necessary to file your case.  An attorney will sit down and talk with you when you have questions.  You will not be dealing exclusively with a paralegal who knows less about your case and the law than an attorney would, nor will you be sent a computerized questionnaire that asks you questions rather than receive direct contact with an attorney.  Many law firms who charge less to handle immigration matters than HenterLaw will not give you access to a lawyer for your questions—they will make you talk to an assistant.  While their philosophy may be that they do not want you to bother their attorneys with your questions, at HenterLaw we value our clients and we enjoy helping them--they are never a bother.

Furthermore, at HenterLaw, we will not limit how much time you spend with an attorney.  Other firms may only give you up to one or perhaps two hours with an attorney (if any) for the legal fee they advertise.  At HenterLaw, until we file your immigration matter, it does not matter how much time it takes.  Mr. Henter will spend as much time with you as your case needs to prepare your filing properly.

Although our office is in Charlottesville, our clients are spread throughout the world. At HenterLaw, we understand that an immigration lawyer must be responsive to your calls and requests for information.    Because your questions will not be shuttled off to an assistant, you can expect that an attorney will respond promptly to your call or e-mail, whether you are in Central Virginia, Northern Virginia, London, Paris, or anywhere else.  We not only have the technology to connect with our clients around the world, such as videoconferencing and e-signing documents, we work hard to make it feel as if we at HenterLaw are right next door.
We pride ourselves on giving personal attention to our clients.

We pride ourselves in giving personal attention to our clients.

Question 2:  Why should I hire an immigration attorney at all?

Answer:  Potential clients should know that immigration law is one of the most complicated areas of law in the United States, if not the most complicated.  A number of years ago, Congress commissioned an examination of the immigration laws and decided that they are more convoluted and complex than tax laws. Therefore, at HenterLaw, we believe you should hire an attorney—whether it is us or someone else—to handle your immigration matters. Although we understand that people want to save some money and try to file for their own immigration benefits, time and time again, we have seen people who attempt to do this encounter problems with U.S. immigration officials.  Examples of such problems include not having supplied an important document, having difficulty obtaining written proof of some issue, or sometimes just missing a deadline.  The truth is that, when this happens, the US Government will usually move quickly to dismiss your case.  Hiring an attorney to correct matters (assuming they are, in fact, correctable) will almost always cost you more than it would have to hire an attorney to help you initially. Indeed, if your case is dismissed, it will likely cost you more in government filing fees alone to re-file your case than hiring an attorney the first time.

 Another problem that often arises when individuals handle their own immigration matters is that they may say too much.  Lawyers have a saying:  “don't talk yourself out of court”. Individuals will often say things to immigration officials that are not accurate or, worse, prevent them from obtaining the benefits they want.  At HenterLaw, we work with our clients to make sure that we answer all of the Government's questions accurately, but without jeopardizing our clients’ cases.

If nothing else, think of hiring an attorney as a form of insurance.  You may not think you need an attorney, but it will give you peace of mind to know that HenterLaw is looking out for you.

Finally, for those of you who simply do not wish to hire an attorney, we offer a review process.  Simply schedule a consultation with an attorney at HenterLaw, and we will review the materials you bring with you.  We will then let you know what documents or proof you may be missing, and whether or not you are in danger of falling into one of the many traps that exist in immigration law for the unprepared.  Of course, this review process is never as thorough or complete as hiring HenterLaw to oversee the whole immigration process and be your advocate.

In short, at HenterLaw, we are willing to work with you to make the immigration process as simple and painless as possible for you.

Question 3:  Why do you charge a consultation fee when some other firms do not?

Answer:  At HenterLaw, we believe in giving valuable advice to our clients.  You will find that in most cases with firms that offer you a free consultation, all you are really getting is a chance to tell your story to a paralegal, or if you are lucky, a junior or inexperienced attorney.  That person will then decide whether or not to help you, but you will rarely receive any advice or legal information.  At HenterLaw, we do not think that is a particularly helpful way to conduct business.

 In a consultation with an attorney at HenterLaw, we will not only tell you whether we are willing to help you, we will also explain the law to you.  We will let you know what your legal options are, what the weaknesses of your case may be, and what you may need to do to strengthen your case.  We are always pleased when clients, at the end of the consultation, say how helpful we were in explaining their case to them. We believe that a consultation with an attorney at HenterLaw is a real value to our clients, and it is worth a reasonable fee. 

As an added benefit, for immigration matters that we offer for a fixed or flat fee, the consultation fee will reduce that fixed fee.  Here is an example of how this works.  Suppose you meet with Mr. Henter and your consultation fee is $100.  Suppose during the consultation you decide to hire HenterLaw to help you with a matter that has a fixed legal fee of $500.  The consultation fee would be credited to the legal fee, and you would only need to pay an additional $400.  Thus in effect, if you retain HenterLaw, your consultation becomes "free" because the consultation plus the fixed fee will total no more than $500 in legal fees.

More About Our Immigration Expertise

To learn more about how we may be able help you, please visit one of the pages below:

• Overview of Our Immigration Practice
• Family Immigration
• Employment Immigration
• Litigation and Deportation

or go to a description of our other practice areas.

If you have an immigration problem or question, are wondering whether you need to retain an immigration lawyer, or would like a description of how we may able to help you (including any discussion of likely legal fees), please contact us here and we will happily respond to your inquiry as soon as we are able.

Regardless of the nature of your immigration concern, we encourage you to contact us without delay. The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) processes petitions in the order in which they receive them. This simply means that, whether your immigration issues will take months or years to resolve, the sooner you submit your completed petition (or other documents) to USCIS, the sooner you may obtain entry into the U.S. or properly change your status.

If you wish, you can check the Department of State's visa bulletin here to see whether a certain visa is available. Also, the Department of Homeland Security has posted a list of government filing fees here.

Unique material copyright © 2008 by HenterLaw PLC. All rights reserved. Links to other websites are unique works and not the property of HenterLaw PLC or Charles M. Henter, and they are not responsible for their content.

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