What to Expect from a Consultation
The purpose of a consultation is for a potential client to explain his or her immigration concerns to a qualified attorney, and for that attorney to give his legal opinion to the potential client about the potential case. The consultation may last up to one hour.
What to expect at the end of the consultation:
- the attorney will give his opinion about the case.
- the attorney will provide the potential client with an estimated financial quote for any legal services to be performed based on information provided during the consultation.
- the attorney will discuss the potential client’s options and likelihood of success.
- the attorney will decide whether Southern Star Immigration, P.A. would be willing to take the case.
- the attorney will explain what alternate legal options are available to the potential client.
- the attorney will discuss payment options.
- If the potential client decides to engage Southern Star Immigration, P.A., the consultation fee will be applied toward future attorney fees and expenses.
What will NOT happen as a result of a consultation:
- the attorney will not give an opinion about how the potential client should proceed on his or her own.
- the attorney will not provide advice if the potential client declines representation.
- the attorney will not review documents identified for immigration benefits or potential filings prepared by either potential clients or others for accuracy and completeness.
Payment for Consultation: Southern Star Immigration, P.A. accepts cash, personal checks, money orders, cashier’s checks and credit card transactions. If a personal check is returned for insufficient funds or a credit card is denied payment, a service charge will be added to the outstanding bill as allowed by law, and Southern Star Immigration, P.A. will not accept future payments by either of those methods. Payment for the consultation is required before the potential client meets with the attorney.
Time of Consultation: All offices of Southern Star Immigration, P.A. are located in the Central Standard Time zone and should begin at the designated time. If you will be more than 15 minutes early or late for a scheduled appointment, we may ask you to reschedule the consultation for a different time and/or date so that you can receive the full benefit of the scheduled consultation.
What the Potential Client Should Bring to the Consultation:
- copies of any petitions previously filed, along with all receipt notices, approval or denial notices and any immigration related documents to the consultation. If you have any these documents, but do not bring them with you for the initial appointment, the attorney may not be able to give a complete opinion and may ask the client to reschedule an appointment so that they can be reviewed.
- all passports, visas, permits, I-94 cards, birth certificates and marriage certificates (for family based cases).
- be prepared to discuss all prior entries into the United States and any deportations or removals from the United States, including dates and locations, at the time of the consultation.
- if you have ever been arrested or detained by any law enforcement agency, even for traffic tickets, you should also bring with you copies of any police reports, traffic citations, judgments and related court documents, and be prepared to discuss with the attorney the details of any such event.
- for family based immigration matters, be prepared to discuss all prior marriages and divorces of the parties, including the names of prior spouses, and the dates and locations of prior marriages or divorces.
In addition to the above, you will also be asked to complete a brief questionnaire before meeting with the attorney so he will have basic information about you and your potential case to use during the consultation.
Legal Opinions: In most situations, Southern Star Immigration, P.A. will be able to render an opinion, advise you on whether the firm is willing to take your case, and provide an estimated quote for services at the end of the consultation period. In some cases, however, we may not be able to provide this information without doing additional research about your specific situation. In the event further research is necessary, the attorney will advise you if there will be an additional charge for additional research before the information can be provided, and give a time frame within which to provide the information.
Telephone Consultations: In some instances, it may be difficult for you to travel to one of our offices to meet with an attorney. Southern Star Immigration, P.A. may agree to a telephonic consultation at a pre-scheduled time. The same information listed above applies. In these situations, we may ask that you email or fax certain information to us before the consultation so that we can review it prior to or during the telephone conference. For telephone consultations, payments must be made in advance by credit card, or we will accept a personal check, cashier’s check or money order by mail at least one week in advance of the scheduled consultation. For telephone consultations, the potential client should call Southern Star Immigration, P.A. at the scheduled time.
Attendance Policy: For all family-based immigration matters, the appropriate parties (spouses, parents and/or brothers/sisters) should attend the consultation with you. Please be advised, however, that small children or infants should not attend the consultation. Oftentimes, small children or infants can become fussy or disruptive, which will prevent you from obtaining the full benefit of a consultation. In the event that we are not able to proceed with a consultation because of disruption, we may ask you to reschedule the consultation for a different time and/or date where the full consultation can be completed.
Refunds: No refunds will be given once the consultation has concluded. In the event you have prepaid for a consultation and need to cancel the same, requests for refunds should be made in writing to Southern Star Immigration, P.A., 184 Eglin Parkway, NE, Suite 7, Fort Walton Beach, Florida 32548. Please be advised that no refund will be available for cancellations made with less than twenty-four (24) hours’ advance notice.
Thank you and we look forward to meeting with you soon.