I’m an EB-5 investor, and I initially worked with an immigration attorney for my I-526 petition. I paid them a legal fee of $23,000. After I received an RFE, they quoted a separate fee, significantly higher than what I’ve seen elsewhere, to respond to it. That made me uncomfortable, so I decided to hire a new attorney who’s more transparent and reasonable.
Now here’s the issue: the first attorney is demanding a $1,000 fee just to release the digital copies of my I-526 and I-485 application files. That seems excessive to me, especially considering I’ve already paid him a large sum.
Is this a standard practice? Am I obligated to pay for my own case files?
Answers
Bernard P Wolfsdorf
EB-5 Immigration attorneysDepends on what you agreed upon in your contract and also what the state bar rules are of the state where you and where he practices.
Lynne Feldman
EB-5 Immigration attorneysThat is not standard and you are entitled to a copy of your files. You can report to your state bar. He may argue that the $1000 is for additional work done which is different.
Rani Emandi
EB-5 Immigration attorneysThis is not standard practice and if you already paid the requisite fee, you should not be charged. Indicate this to the attorney and state that as you have paid the fees, the files must be released or you will contact the bar association.
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