Assembled from EOIR rosters, state bar directories, published fee schedules and court filing instructions. Nothing here is legal advice, and the forms change often — check dates before relying on any figure.
A fee agreement is a contract. It is usually two to six pages, and most of the disagreements that later arise between clients and immigration lawyers are visible in it before anyone signs. What follows is a way to read one.
Flat fee or hourly, and why immigration usually means flat
Most immigration work outside of federal litigation is quoted as a flat fee for a defined piece of work: one petition, one application, one hearing track. That suits a practice where the steps are predictable and the client needs to know the total.
Hourly billing shows up in three places: complex business filings, federal court cases, and matters where nobody can guess how much work is coming. Rates reported in the $200 to $500 range are common, higher in large metropolitan markets. If you are quoted hourly, the agreement should say the rate, the increment billed (six minutes and fifteen minutes are both used), whether paralegal time is billed and at what rate, and whether the deposit is replenished when it runs low.
What a careful reader checks
Whether the flat fee is for the case or for a stage. "Adjustment of status" sometimes means the I-130 and I-485 package through the interview. Sometimes it means the I-130 only, with the I-485 quoted later. Ask which, and get the answer in the document rather than in an email.
Government filing fees are not the lawyer's fee
Filing fees go to USCIS, EOIR or the State Department. They are separate, and a competent agreement says so in plain terms. USCIS changed its fee schedule on April 1, 2024, and additional fees were added by legislation in 2025, so verify every number on uscis.gov before you budget. As of the 2024 schedule, the I-130 was $675 on paper and $625 online, the I-485 was $1,440 for most applicants age 14 and over, and the N-400 was $760 on paper and $710 online. Asylum applications had no filing fee for many years; that changed, which is exactly why you check the date on any figure you read, including these.
What a careful reader checks
Who writes the check, and to whom. Some firms collect filing fees and remit them; some require you to bring a money order. Also look for costs that are neither the lawyer's fee nor a filing fee: translations, medical exams (the I-693 civil surgeon exam commonly runs $200 to $500), courier, photocopying, expert declarations, psychological evaluations.
The two clauses people wish they had read: RFEs and appeals
A Request for Evidence is routine. The agreement should say whether responding to one is included in the flat fee, included up to a stated number of hours, or billed separately. "One RFE response included" is a reasonable term. Silence is not.
Appeals are almost never included, and should not be assumed. If a petition is denied or an immigration judge orders removal, the next step (a motion to reopen, an I-290B, a BIA appeal, a petition for review in a circuit court) is new work under a new agreement. Look for language that says so and, ideally, indicates what that work would cost.
Also look for: what happens if you miss a document deadline the office sets, what happens if you move or stop responding, and how the fee is refunded if you terminate. Most states require unearned fees to be returned; a flat fee marked "non-refundable" in full is worth questioning.
Payment plans
Installments are ordinary in immigration practice. A common structure is a deposit of a third at signing, a payment at filing, and the balance before the interview or hearing. What the agreement should say: whether work stops if a payment is missed, and whether the office will withdraw from a case in progress. Withdrawal before a merits hearing can be devastating, so read that sentence twice.
Ranges people report
These are attorney fees only, exclusive of filing fees, and they vary widely by city and complexity.
- Family petition (I-130 alone): roughly $1,000 to $3,000.
- Adjustment of status package with interview: roughly $2,500 to $6,000.
- Consular processing: roughly $2,000 to $5,000.
- Affirmative asylum: roughly $3,000 to $10,000.
- Removal defense: roughly $4,000 to $15,000, often staged (bond hearing, master calendar, individual hearing priced separately).
- Naturalization: roughly $800 to $2,500.
A quote far below the range is not automatically a bargain. Ask what it covers, and confirm the person quoting it is a licensed attorney or an accredited representative before the money moves.