Immigration Consultation: What to Bring and Ask

Arriving at a consultation with organized documents allows the attorney to give you an accurate legal assessment rather than a general overview based on incomplete facts. The documents that matter most are the ones that establish your identity, your immigration history, and any legal proceedings involving your case. Identity Documents: Bring all current passports (including expired ones if you have used them for travel to the United States), any government issued photo identification (state driver's license, national identity card), birth certificate with certified translation if not in English. Bring originals if possible; attorneys typically want to see originals and can work from copies. Form I 94 Arrival Departure Record: Your I 94 is the official record of your most recent entry into the United States and your authorized period of stay. U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) moved I 94 records online in 2013. Print your current I 94 at i94.cbp.dhs.gov before the consultation. It shows your entry date, entry class of admission (the visa category under which you entered), and your authorized stay expiration. This is one of the most critical documents for the attorney to review. Prior Visa Stamps: Your passport pages showing prior U.S. visa stamps tell the attorney what categories you have previously held, when those visas were issued, and whether there are any notations that might be relevant to your current case. Prior USCIS Approval Notices and Receipt Notices: Bring all Forms I 797 (approval or receipt notices) for any prior petitions or applications filed with USCIS. These notices establish what petitions have been filed on your behalf, approval dates, and prior authorized categories. Employment Authorization Documents: If you currently hold or have previously held an EAD, bring copies. The category printed on the EAD indicates the basis for your work authorization. Prior Visa Denials or USCIS Denials: If you have been denied a visa at a consulate or a petition has been denied by USCIS, bring the denial notice. The denial notice explains the grounds for refusal, which the attorney must know to advise you on your current options. Immigration Court Notices and Orders: If you have ever had a hearing in immigration court, bring any court notices, orders, or decisions you have received. An order of removal, voluntary departure order, or grant of relief from removal are all critical facts that affect your current eligibility for many immigration benefits. Any Prior Petitions Filed on Your Behalf: If a prior employer or family member has ever filed an immigration petition for you (I 130, I 140, I 526E, labor certification), bring whatever documentation you have about those petitions and their current status.

Accuracy in describing your immigration history is the most important thing you can do in a consultation. Immigration attorneys cannot advise you well on incomplete or inaccurate facts. USCIS and consular officers have access to extensive databases of immigration records; facts that you omit or misstate will surface later, often at the worst possible time. Common areas where clients underreport or misstate facts include: Prior entries to the United States. List every entry you can recall, including dates, ports of entry, and the visa or basis for each entry. If you entered multiple times on tourist visas, list them. If you entered once without authorization, say so. Entry without inspection (crossing without presenting at a port of entry) is a fact that significantly affects your legal options, and concealing it leads to worse outcomes than disclosing it. Periods of overstay. If you remained in the United States beyond your authorized period of stay, describe when your authorized stay ended and when you departed or if you are still here. Overstays affect unlawful presence calculations and may trigger bars to reentry. Criminal history. List every arrest, charge, and conviction, including minor offenses, traffic violations that resulted in a court appearance, juvenile adjudications, and expunged records. Immigration law treats many offenses differently than criminal law does; an offense that was expunged under state law may still have immigration consequences. Prior immigration applications, denials, and appeals. List every application filed, including visa applications at consulates, USCIS petitions filed by yourself or on your behalf, and any administrative or judicial appeals. Prior removal proceedings or voluntary departure. If you have ever received an order of removal, a notice to appear (NTA) in immigration court, or a voluntary departure order, these facts are critical and must be disclosed. Name changes or aliases. If you have used any other names (maiden name, alias, name change), disclose them. USCIS records are searched by all known names.

A skilled immigration attorney uses the consultation to conduct a legal intake: gathering facts, identifying applicable law, and assessing what options are available and what obstacles exist. The attorney will evaluate your current status: what category you are in, when it expires or expired, and whether you are currently in lawful or unlawful status. They will assess your entry history: how you entered, when, and under what category, because adjustment of status eligibility under INA section 245(a) depends on a valid inspection and admission or parole. They will look for grounds of inadmissibility or deportability under INA sections 212 and 237. Common grounds include unlawful presence, prior removal orders, criminal convictions, misrepresentation on prior immigration applications, failure to maintain nonimmigrant status, and prior visa overstays. They will evaluate your qualifying relationships: for family based immigration, who are your qualifying relatives and what is their immigration status? For employment based immigration, is there a sponsoring employer, what category might apply, and what are the labor certification implications? They will assess waiver availability: if grounds of inadmissibility exist, what waivers might apply, what standard applies (extreme hardship, consent to reapply, etc.), and what is the realistic prospect of waiver approval? They will consider timing: is there an immediately available visa number for your category, or is there a backlog? What are current USCIS processing times for the forms you need to file? They will identify risks: what could go wrong, what potential complications are foreseeable, and how would they address those issues if they arose?

The consultation is your opportunity to evaluate the attorney as much as they are evaluating your case. Come with written questions so you do not forget anything under the time pressure of the meeting. Based on what I have described, what options are available to me? A good answer names specific visa categories, petition types, or relief forms and explains why each applies or does not apply to your facts. What complications do you see in my case? Every case has potential weaknesses. An attorney who only describes the strengths and not the risks is not giving you a complete picture. What would your recommended strategy be, and why? This tests whether the attorney has thought specifically about your case. What is a realistic timeline? Ask for a range, not a guarantee. What USCIS processing times apply, and what steps are within our control to accelerate? What are your fees for this type of case, and what is and is not included? Get a specific description of the fee structure and what additional costs may arise. Who in your office would work on my case? At larger firms, the attorney you meet with in the consultation may not be the one handling your day to day paperwork. Ask who does the work and who supervises it. What is your communication policy? How often will I receive updates, and how should I reach you with questions? Have you handled cases similar to mine in the past two years? How many, and what were the outcomes? What are the risks if we do nothing? Sometimes immigration status creates urgency; sometimes waiting is safer. Understanding the consequences of inaction helps you make an informed decision.

Consultation fees in immigration law typically range from $0 (free) to $350 for a standard one hour consultation with an experienced attorney. Geographic market and attorney seniority affect consultation fees. Attorneys in major metropolitan areas (New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Miami, Chicago) tend to charge more than those in smaller markets. Solo practitioners and smaller firms often charge lower consultation fees than large immigration firms or national practices. Typical ranges as of 2026: free consultations are common at volume oriented practices, legal aid organizations, and firms using consultations as a primary client acquisition channel. Consultations priced at $75 to $150 are common at small to mid sized firms with moderate consultation volumes. Consultations priced at $150 to $250 are typical at established practices where the attorney spends substantive time reviewing your situation. Consultations priced at $250 to $350 or more are common for highly specialized attorneys (EB 5, O 1, national security clearance related matters) or attorneys with significant track records in complex matters. Some attorneys apply the consultation fee to the retainer; others treat it as a standalone charge for professional time. When scheduling the consultation, ask whether the fee applies to the retainer. For EB 5 investor cases, consultation fees at the higher end of the range are common because the legal analysis required is more complex and the stakes are higher. A thorough EB 5 consultation may cost $300 to $500 and cover not only immigration eligibility but also investment structure, source of funds documentation requirements, and project risk factors.