Are you in need of an immigration lawyer but you’re unsure of how much it’ll cost you to obtain their services? Then you definitely have to read this handy guide that will help you find out how much an immigration Lawyer would charge depending on your requirements.
Due to the rising government fees for visas, biometrics, adjustment, and filing, one might think that hiring an immigration lawyer will be too big to handle, and it would make sense to handle the immigration case on their own. Simple immigration cases can be handled without any legal representation, however, immigration cases are rarely simple. Hence, it’s better to hire the services of an immigration lawyer to handle your case.
Immigration Lawyers are usually not the highest-paid among lawyers because they understand that their clients have difficulty obtaining the rights to work in the country, and hence adjust their fees accordingly. To get an idea of how much you’ll need to budget to obtain the services of an immigration Lawyer, continue reading this article.
Who is an Immigration Lawyer?
Immigration lawyers are highly trained professionals who provide legal services to help their clients scale through the immigration process successfully and become a citizen of a particular country. They help clients arrange visas so they can live, work, invest, and study in the country. In addition, Immigration Lawyers always provide services to clients facing deportation from the country. If you’re in a foreign country, an immigration lawyer can help you obtain citizenship through naturalization.
The Cost to Hire an Immigration Lawyer
Legal fees usually vary depending on the services needed by the client. For example, employing the services of an immigration lawyer in a family-based immigration case would cost you less than hiring an immigration lawyer for a deportation case.
The average cost of an immigration lawyer in Australia can range from $250 to $500 per hour, depending on the skill level of the immigration lawyer and the type of case. As you can observe, the cost of an immigration lawyer is fairly okay and not as expensive as you might think.
It’s recommended that you hire an immigration lawyer even for some cases because without professional help, that simple case can become complicated very fast and end you at a deportation trial in front of an immigration judge. Most cases that require the services of an immigration lawyer would cost you around $1,500 to $2,000.
Typical Immigration Legal Fees:
- Application for Work Permit (Employment Authorization): $300-600
- Application for Citizenship/Naturalization: $500-1,500
- Application for Family-Based Green Card: $800-3,000
- Employment-Based Petitions: $1,500-7,000
- Application for Asylum: $1,000-6,000
- Application for Adjustment of Status: $600-2,500
- Deportation Defense: $2,000-15,000 (The cost for deportation cases could rise drastically if the case involves numerous court appearances and complex defense strategies)
Immigration Lawyer’s Consultation Fee
Most Immigration lawyers charge very low consultation fees, especially for the first consultation. Some even make the first consultation free. It is during the first consultation that a client evaluates whether or not the immigration lawyer is fit to handle the case. The typical first consultation can last for 30 minutes to 1 hour and would cost you around $150.
Why hire an Immigration Lawyer?
There are numerous reasons why you should hire an immigration lawyer for your case, but in this article, I’ll be showing the 3 main reasons why you need to consider hiring a qualified immigration lawyer.
- The Complexity of family-based petitions and the application for visas. Family-based petitions usually start off as a simple case but have a great tendency to become complicated very fast. While the application for visas is always a technical process that needs professional help.
- Detention and Deportation cases. Every detention and Deportation case, if not handled by a qualified professional, would end up on the negative side of the verdict. Hence, you absolutely require an immigration lawyer if you wish to remain in the country.
- Unlawful residence. Individual who has been apprehended for being in the country unlawfully for a certain period needs professional help, if not, you’d be looking at a deportation case in no time.