Free Evaluations

1. Where and how to send us your information
2. What information you should send us
3. What our free evaluation covers
4. What our free evaluation does not cover
5. Why we offer free evaluations
6. Important reminders

Related topics

1. Scheduling a Paid Consultation
2. Hiring Peng & Weber as Your Immigration Lawyers
3. Frequently Asked Questions about Attorneys Fees & Costs

Where and how to send us your information

Via email (preferred method of contact):

              

Via mail, express mail, or hand delivery:

               Elizabeth Peng, Esq.
               Peng & Weber, PLLC
               3035 Island Crest Way, Suite 200
               Mercer Island, WA 98040

Via fax:

               (206) 382-0245

Note about phone calls:

Although we are happy to take your phone call at any time (including emergencies), we normally cannot give you a free evaluation until we receive your information via email, mail, etc. Unless you are a company representative, such as a Human Resources Director, we will ask you to provide us the necessary background information before we can provide a free evaluation. Also, as a general rule, we do not quote fees on the phone without first having had a chance to review your background information.

What information you should send us

What type of information we need depends on the type of help you need. The better the information you provide us, the better the evaluation we can provide you in the free evaluation.

If you are interested in obtaining a free evaluation related to any of the following types of cases . . .

1. H-1B Specialty Occupations
2. O-1 Aliens of Extraordinary Ability
3. L-1 Intracompany Transferees
4. EB-1A Aliens of Extraordinary Ability
5. EB-1B Outstanding Professors or Researchers
6. EB-1C Multinational Executives or Managers
7. National Interest Waivers
8. Labor Certification
9. J-1 Waivers
10. R-1 Religious Workers
11. Any other investment or employment-related matters

. . . please provide the following information:

1. Copy of your current resume (or the resume of your employee)
2. Brief explanation of your needs and any important facts not shown on the resume itself
3. Name and brief description (unless obvious) of U.S. employer

Special note regarding L-1 visas: If you are inquiring about the possibility of an L-1 visa, please also include:

1. Description of the foreign company
2. Description of existing or proposed U.S. company

If you are interested in any other services . . .

For family-based immigration, citizenship, political asylum, or other cases, please include in your email or fax a description of what you need and a list of questions or concerns you have.

What our free evaluation covers

This is what we provide free of charge:

1. Careful review of the information you provide.
2. Honest and objective assessment of whether your case has a reasonable chance of success.
3. Explanation of what we believe are your options for trying to achieve your immigration needs, including the relative advantages and disadvantages of each option.
4. Explanation of how much it would likely cost for us to provide the professional services you need.
5. Although uncommon, if during the free evaluation we find that the complexities of your case require us to spend substantially more than the normal amount of time to respond to your inquiry, we will ask you to schedule a paid consultation instead.
6. If you are interested in hiring Peng & Weber to assist you with your case, we will send you a retainer agreement to sign.

By "honest and objective assessment," we mean that we do not exaggerate your chance of success or create a false sense of hope as a means of soliciting your business. If we determine that your case has no reasonable possibility of success, we will tell you that up front. Please keep in mind, however, that this does not mean that we will not help you if your case is "difficult." In fact, our law firm is probably best known among our clients for solving difficult and complex immigration cases, especially in the area of achievement-based immigration.

If your case is "difficult," we would still be more than happy to help you and we will still do our very best to achieve your desired result. We work very hard for our clients and have a lot of confidence in our abilities. Before we allow you to invest your hard-earned money in a case that has a low chance of success, we first ensure that all three of the following factors are met:

1. You have no reasonable alternatives;
2. You understand the difficulties and risks of being unsuccessful;
3. You are willing to put your money at risk.

What our free evaluation does not cover

Our free evaluation is not a "consultation." It is not in our best interests or yours for us to give you a less-than-thorough evaluation just because it's "free." Based on our years of experience, we can quickly tell whether we can readily answer your questions, or whether the answer requires significant legal work to answer.

Specifically, we cannot answer complex legal issues or conduct significant legal research to answer your questions as part of the free evaluation. What we will be able to provide to you for free is whether we will be able to help you, whether your case is likely to be successful, how long it is likely to take, and how much it is likely to cost. If we are unable to determine these factors without substantial substantive work, we will tell you so. In appropriate cases, we will also give you the option of scheduling a paid consultation instead.

Why we offer free evaluations

We know that your immigration case is very important to you, and please be assured that it is also very important to us. We provide free evaluations for the following reasons:

• To make it easier for you to contact us for help;
• To ensure we understand your expectations and ultimately achieve the results you desire; and,
• To ensure that you do not waste your money pursuing a petition or application that has little or no hope of being approved (or worse, could cause you harm) -- even if you are willing to pay us to do so.

Important reminders

Better information results in better evaluations

No matter what your concerns or questions are or the type of help you need, please provide us with sufficiently detailed information, so we can conduct a more thorough evaluation of your case and provide you with better, more comprehensive information about what we feel are your best options and what are the primary risks of each option.

We cannot contact you if you don't leave a number

Please make sure that you include your phone number (both daytime and evening), so we can contact you to discuss your case after evaluating your information.

Please let us know if someone referred you to us

If you were referred to us by a satisfied former client of Peng & Weber, please let us know that in your materials, so we can thank them for the referral.

We do not become your lawyer until you sign our retainer agreement.

We do not become your lawyer until we decide to take your case and we have received a signed retainer agreement and deposit. Please see hiring Peng & Weber for more information.