tubeoflondon

Dear All

I requested some of the excellent USA lawyers to be able to obtain the L1 visa from London.
I have some numbers in front of me but want to check if you have the same experiences as me.
Attorney asked to obtain L1 visa fees around £15k for me and further if home office requests more documentation plus £5k
After that each family members wife and son each £1k also for the interview at the embassy around £2.4k

these numbers sound to me big pls advice.

Regards

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christmasoompa

If your company is transferring you on a L1, then why are they not using their own immigration lawyer and paying the fees?

tubeoflondon

The company will make the payment, but we do not have an internal attorney thats why I am looking for the best options for my company.

Rete

Please note that those who have come before you on L visas and frequent these forums have not been forced to retain the serves of an immigration attorney for their company but rather that the companies were large enough to have already have immigration law firms on retainer. Since the individual does not pay for the visa, they would be unlikely to know what the immigration law firm charges their client, the company, for each process.

If money is the bottom line then you might not get the most experienced and knowledgeable of attorneys. Normally, fees are based on reputation and experience.

tubeoflondon

well said.

TheKingOfHearts

We use Fragomen in large volume, and pay around $3.5-4k per application, roughly (I know this as I've transferred myself and had direct employees transfer and had to budget in for this).

But, the large volume and blanket petition presumably reduces this quite significantly. I do agree that £15k (which is closer to like $19k) seems really quite high.

Maybe reach out to Fragomen? Unsure if they take one-off's, but can't hurt.

tubeoflondon

Perfect I will try to engage them when I am in DC next month. will update you guys if anyone interested.

Jerseygirl

Another vote for Fragomens. They handled our L visas and green card. I think most large companies use them.

tubeoflondon

thx

tht

As other have noted GBP15k seems expensive. I have experience from both sides as an employee being "transferred" on an L1a and now as an "employer" engaging the immigration attorneys for H's and L's etc.

First you need to unpack the total, it will be made up the USCIS fee, premium fee if applicable and fraud prevention fee that varies based on the size of the employer. These are all fees you would pay even if your employer filled the I-29 itself without a lawyer. Then there is there is the legal fees the lawyer charges for putting together the information that goes with the application. I only have experience with smaller firms, but the fee charged by them has been significantly less than you have indicated here, my own was back in 2010, but recent quotes I have gotten have been similar., and I have aways seen a fixed price quote for this type of work. On the L visa part of the submission is related to the individual and role, but a large part is related to the 2 firms (the one you have been employed by for more than 1 year excluding time visiting the US, and the one you will transfer to / establish). Accordingly you may see a higher fee for a first employe and then a discount for additional employees assuming the applications are close together. I am not sure what the dependent fees are for, I though they just submitted a DS-160 once the primary petition was approved, most of the USCIS forms are very simple / factual, I guess if someone had a dependent with a criminal history or something else non standard a lawyer may be needed. Larger Firms also have blanket petition which makes the process per individual employee more streamlined.

As others have noted it is your "employers" lawyer, not yours (unless you are also the owner of the company/employer), I found this to be an interesting read on the difference, while most of the time your interest and that of the employer are aligned, especially at the work visa stage, it has consequences for confidentiality e.g. if the employee has criminal background, and if you get your employer to filing for a Green Card your interests and the employers might diverge (around timing most likely). As an aside are you looking at an L1a or L1b? that can make a big difference in terms of the future process for a Green Card.

http://ailaoh.org/wp-content/uploads...n-Dual-Rep.pdf

Nutmegger

What do you mean by "each family members wife and son"? Just your own wife and son? Only your wife and child(ren) can benefit from your visa, and it is not clear that is when you mean.

tubeoflondon

well answered.
let me put it this way, no criminal background at all, it will be L1a, acting not as owner at all but as a small company we have a very close friendship.

I also curious why the attorney wanted to charge that much becaue its excessive money asking.

tubeoflondon

I meant for each member of my family which are my wife and son for each fees £1k x 2

The attorney asked for my L1 visa fees for £15 k plus for my wife £1k then again for my son £1k plus the other which already written above.

I know this is ridiculous but why would the attorney wants to charge something like this.

kateinbrooklyn

Excessively high, even for the best and most experienced lawyer. Maybe they don't want the case.

TheKingOfHearts

You have been gainfully employed by the company in the UK for more than 1 continuous year, right? Does the company also intend to continue operating in the UK, despite you being oversees?

Just checking this isn't a case of someone employing a buddy of theirs to allow them to qualify for an L1, you will be expected to show tangible evidence of both of the above, amongst other things.