What to Expect from a Consultation

Purpose of a consultation

• Determine what action or relief is necessary and available for the case. If it is a potential waiver case, the attorney will determine whether a waiver is necessary and whether the applicant is eligible to apply for one.
• Estimate the chances of success. This is especially important for any type of discretionary relief.
• Explain the options to the potential client and the general procedures for each option.
• Recommend for or against various options for the consultee.
• Decide whether the attorney would be willing to take the case.
• Provide the client with a fee quote, based on the facts of the case.

What will not take place in a consultation

• Explaining to the consultee how to conduct his/her case without an attorney.
• How to improve a case (or waiver packet or ‘letter’) prepared by the consultee that he/she is about to file on his/her own.
• What arguments to use in the consultee’s case and/or what documents to acquire.

Please do not pay for a consultation if what you really want is advice on how to improve your waiver packet on your own. You will be disappointed and your consultation fee will not be returned.

Sending documents to be reviewed
For most consultations, it is not necessary to send us any documents. However, sometimes there are documents that we really need to see as part of the consultation. They include, but are not limited to:

• An I-601 and/or I-212 denial narrative (if your waiver has been denied).
• Transcript of removal proceedings from an expedited removal at the airport or port of entry.
• Judge’s narrative denying an application for benefits, such as an asylum claim.
• Order for Removal or Deportation.
• Denial narrative for any application for immigration benefits or relief.
• Arrest records, including any police report, for the alien.

DO NOT send us any of the following as they will NOT be reviewed as part of the consultation, even if you send it to us:

• “Hardship letter”.
• Copies of previously-filed petitions.
• Evidence for a waiver packet.
• Copy of a previously denied waiver packet.

When legal issues arise that we cannot immediately answer

For the vast majority of the consultations we do, we do not need to perform legal research in order to give the consultee a legal opinion during the consultation. Rarely, however, we are not able to render a legal opinion during the consultation. When this occurs, we will render a legal opinion to the consultee by 5pm central time one calendar week after the consultation. For example, if the consultation takes place on a Monday and it is determined that we must perform legal research, the consultee can expect a legal opinion before 5pm central time the following Monday.

When the consultation will take place

Telephone consultations must be scheduled and are subject to availability. We are not always able to schedule a telephone consultation within 48 hours of payment. If a consultee requires an immediate consultation, he/she should call first to check availability before making payment.

Email consultations will take place before the end of the second business day after the consultee emails the necessary information.

In-person consultations must be paid for in advance and will be scheduled in the same manner as a telephone consultation. In-person consultations are discouraged for people who would need to travel more than 30 minutes to the office. Consultees living this far away are encouraged to arrange for a telephone consultation.

Time Zone

Consultation times are always Houston time, which is central time in the United States. We are two hours ahead of Los Angeles and one hour behind New York City. It is the consultee’s responsibility to accurately determine the time difference. We recommend the consultee search the internet to find out the time difference between their location and Houston. The current time in Houston is posted on the top right corner of our website. You may need to refresh your browser to get the exact time.

Lateness

Telephone appointment and in-person appointments are expected to begin on-time. Consultees calling or arriving more than 15 minutes after the appointed time, regardless of the reason, are considered to have missed their appointment and will be asked to reschedule. For this reason, telephone consultations are recommended even for consultees living in/near Houston so the consultee will not need to reschedule due to traffic congestion or difficulty finding the office.

What to be sure to tell the Attorney
We will endeavor to ask all the relevant questions, but in case we neglect to ask, it is extremely important for the consultee to accurately describe in detail:

• all of the alien’s entries and exits from the US and manners of entry,
• any arrests for the alien (or petitioner if it is a fiance(e) visa) anywhere in the world at any time even if there was no conviction,
• all current and prior marriages for both petitioner and beneficiary (alien) anywhere in the world, including common law marriages, "tribal" marriages, marriages that you are not sure were "legal", and marriages that ended in divorce, annulment or death of the spouse
• and any prior immigration history, such as a prior asylum claim or attempt to adjust status.

Credit for Consultation Fee

There is no promise that Scott and Associates will take the case. The consultation fee is not refunded if Scott and Associates does not take the case. If the firm does take the case, part of the consultation fee will be credited to the database fee and the remainder will be credited to the legal fee as long as the firm receives both the signature page of the contract and the down payment within 30 days of the consultation.

Intake Sheet
Consultee must complete the online intake at least half an hour prior to the scheduled consultation time.

Refunds

No refunds will be given once the consultation has taken place. Refunds requested one business day prior to the scheduled time of the appointment will generally be honored. If the client misses the appointment and requests a refund in lieu of rescheduling, the request for a refund must be made in writing with original signature (i.e. mailed, not faxed or scanned) and received in our office within 30 days of the date the payment was made.

Calling
The client will call the law firm at the scheduled time, rather than the reverse.