Hiring an Attorney:

Retaining an attorney to represent you is an important decision.  You will be investing considerable resources in your case both - financial and personal.  Attorneys work in different ways and you should hire one you are comfortable with.   Here are some key aspects of my representation:

1. I regard you as my partner in this project.  You and I will work together to achieve your immigration goals. 
2. I apply my science and technology background  to understanding your work so that we can present a convincing case to the immigration service.
3. I take the time to explain the law and the policies behind the law - immigration is a complicated legal specialty and you are best served if you understand it.
4. I keep my overhead low so I can afford to maximize my time with you.  At the start of the case we will agree to a project management schedule with clear but flexible goals, benchmarks and deadlines.  We will have regular status meetings, normally an agreed weekly telephone call, to review our progress and address any questions, concerns or issues.
5. I commit to taking your telephone calls when possible and to returning your voice mail and e-mail messages personally and without undue delay.  I do not allow support staff to run interference for me. You hired an attorney not an assistant.

I am proud of my record in winning cases, but that is not why you should hire me.  If you decide to hire me it should be after you have given due consideration to the factors noted above and have taken the time to arrange a formal consultation. 

Consultations are not free and there is no reason they should be.  When you hire an attorney it is because you are confident in their knowledge, training and experience.  A reasonably priced consultation gives us the opportunity to meet and discuss the case and make an informed decision.  The meeting need not be in person, in fact I often complete a case having never met the client in person.  The important thing is that we have the opportunity to talk with each other and decide if we think we can work well together.

Free evaluations.  I don't offer them and here is why.  The only way to give you a free evaluation is to base that evaluation on a very superficial examination of your CV.  A superficial examination of your CV is just insufficient information to make an informed recommendation.  Over the years, including very recently, we have successfully filed many petitions where a superficial review of the CV would have been a mistake.  In these cases we were successful because we took the time to talk with the client and understand what it is they do and why their work makes them special.