Who is not qualified for our Free Evaluation?

The following circumstances are not suitable for free evaluation:

1. People currently represented by other attorneys seeking a second opinion regarding their case. Professional ethics do not allow us to give free comments on a case currently represented by another attorney. However, it may be in your best interest to use our fee-based consultation services or to switch attorneys, especially when you have good reason to believe that your current attorney is incompetent to handle your case, or if there is a conflict of interest between you and your attorney.

Example One: Mr. Wu currently retains attorney John Smith to handle his Labor Certification case. Several weeks after he signed the retainer, Mr. Wu starts to  worry about Attorney Smith's lack of experience in handling LC petitions. He wants to obtain our opinion through a free evaluation. Attorney ethics do not allow us to provide free comments to Mr. Wu while another attorney is currently representing him. However, Mr. Wu is free to change attorneys.

Example Two: Dr. Chiu retains attorney Adams to handle his NIW case. Because of attorney Adams’ inexperience in handling NIW cases, he fails to present the strongest case possible. As a result, the USCIS issues a multi-page RFE. Dr. Chiu does not trust attorney Adams to answer the RFE. Still represented by attorney Adams, Dr. Chiu seeks a second legal opinion on his case. Under these circumstances, Dr. Chiu may use our fee-based consultation services to obtain legal advice from our experienced attorneys.

Example Three: Mr. Jia retains attorney Blackstone to represent him on a green card petition. After a filing deadline was missed while attorney Blackstone was on vacation in Hawaii, Mr. Jia does not trust attorney Blackstone's professionalism and seeks other options for filing his petition. Under these circumstances, Mr. Jia may change attorneys to avoid further delay of his case.

2. Applicants who have chosen do-it-yourself (DIY) filing. We respect the choice of DIY's who take a chance on filing their own petition. Also, we understand that DIY's may need legal assistance in their application process. Although we are happy to help everyone to achieve their immigration goals, our attorney resources are limited. We cannot draw an unreasonable amount of time away from our regular services, as it would be unfair to our clients who retain us for our professional services and entrust their case to us.

Example: Mr. Qian filed his I-130 petition pro se (DIY). He received an RFE from the USCIS. Uncertain about how to answer the questions on the RFE, he seeks a free evaluation of his case. Mr. Qian's request is beyond the scope of our free evaluation. He may choose to retain us to answer the RFE or to arrange a fee-based consultation.

3. People who are seeking free legal assistance. Although we are happy to take pro bono legal work as much as possible, our limited resources do not allow our attorneys to give free legal assistance to everyone in need. In fact, even the number of regular cases our attorneys handle can be overwhelming at times. If you are indigent, we will refer you to pro bono legal services available in your area.

Example: Ms. Yu is in deportation proceedings. She is indigent and cannot afford a private attorney. Ms. Yu seeks legal assistance through our free evaluation services. The free evaluation is not a substitute for legal assistance. We will refer Ms. Yu's case to the free legal assistance services available in her area.