How Much Does an Immigration Lawyer Make?

Immigration lawyers are some of the most sought-after attorneys given their subject matter expertise. Ranging from transactional legal work to strategic case management, salaries for immigration lawyers vary widely depending on geography, industry, clients and case loads.

Hourly Rates

At larger firms, immigration attorneys are able to bill around $300 per hour throughout much of the continental United States, including the metropolitan areas of New York, Boston and Los Angeles. Smaller firms may offer slightly reduced hourly rates of $200 an hour, but it is rare to see an attorney bill under this rate. Billing is typically done in either 6-minute or 15-minute increments, according to the American Bar Association.

Flat Rates

Given how competitive the legal services market has become, especially the immigration, visa processing and international assignments fields, it is growing more and more common to see specialized boutique firms charging flat rates for specific services. For example, the typical rate for an H-1B ("Specialty Occupation") Worker Visa in the United States is $5,000, whereas United States Permanent Residency can run $10,000 or more.

Customization

Immigration attorneys tend to focus on client-specific pricing. A smaller client with a strategic need may be billed at an hourly rate, whereas a larger client with high-volume cases may have per-transaction flat-fees associated with their visa processing. It is also common for complex clients to be billed in both flat-rate and time-billed rates.

Payment

It is common for clients to pay in accordance with industry best practices, a so-called "net-30" payment turnaround (or within 30 days after the invoice has been approved by the client's internal accounts payable team). Smaller legal firms may ask for a retainer up front to guarantee a supply of funds from which to draw down, or another type of declining balance account. Larger firms, on the other hand, can often simply bill a client; despite assurances, most clients tend to pay in net-60 or net-90 turnarounds.

The Bottom Line

Most Limited Liability Partnerships ("LLPs") in the United States require that all income (gross revenues minus gross expenses) be disbursed on a net basis to its employees, and that the firm itself not carry a balance of any sort. Salaries then tend to be distributed based upon the attorney's career level: first-year attorneys can typically receive $100,000 per annum, whereas fourth-year attorneys will receive in excess of $200,000 per annum in the New York, Boston and Los Angeles metro areas.