Pricing Structures Used By Immigration Lawyers

Immigration lawyers can help with any number of problems that you may encounter when you decide you want to immigrate into a country. Before you take on the task of an immigration case finding the right person to represent your needs must take precedence in your life.

There are many financial factors to consider when it comes to immigration lawyers. The fees an attorney will charge you are important to your bottom line.

Look at his pricing structure to decide if it fits with your budget. It is tempting to choose the least expensive attorney of the bunch. This could prove to be short sighted if the attorney turns out to not be a good one. The fees of immigration lawyers vary tremendously so you must take the time to look at each one as closely as possible.

As far as legal fees are concerned, there are two main methods of pricing in this regard- there is an hourly rate or a flat fee. Most lawyers will go with one or the other. However, occasionally you will come across an attorney who may propose that a mixed pricing structure be used. Before you say yes to anything you need to understand how exactly you will be charged for the work that is performed on your case.

Many immigration lawyers charge their clients hourly fees for their services. This means that they charge by the hour based on the time that they spend working on your case (or any member of their staff spends on your case). If you have a case that is simple and straightforward and will not take a lot of time to research the hourly rate might be the best option for you. However if your case is more sophisticated and will take longer then hourly fees can add up very fast.

A flat fee is a pricing structure that is used by some immigration lawyers for routine cases. Examples of this would be a Labor Certification application or an H-1B. When this pricing model is used the client and the legal provider agree on what the price will be before any work is done on the case. This price will remain as such, regardless of how long the case may need to be worked on. If the flat fee model is used then it is in the best interests of the attorney to work as swiftly and as efficiently as possible. There may be instances where an unexpected complication arises which may make it such that the contract would need to be re-negotiated.

Some lawyers who are dealing with complicated cases may decide to use a combination of the two pricing structures to collect their fees. Assessing a flat fee upfront is not always a simple task if the attorney is not certain of how much time, effort and work will need to go into the case to bring it to a successful conclusion. Find out when you first meet with legal counsel what type of fee model he prefers to use.