The Immigration Law Office of Andrew Bartlett

San Rafael Palo Alto and Oakland

This is a community law office
Low fees, good advice and teamwork.
Evening and Weekend Appointments available

See reviews on Google+, Yelp and Avvo.

And the Marriage Green Card Checklist

Please note: the fee schedule for 2023 has increased marginally, and I am in the process of updating this page


Ask Me Anything Consultation, $60

Email
help@law191.org The consultation is a full hour in person, phone or skype session. No issue too small (or large). This is also my fee for tasks that take one session - for example most Green Card, DACA or EAD renewals.



Covid-19 arrangements

Since the beginning of the pandemic I have been working remotely over Zoom, Google Meet and other video conferencing systems. Screen-sharing makes active participation and explaining what needs to be done even easier. And I have been able to be more flexible with meeting times, sometimes in the evening.

I help many people in other states and in other countries, and I find that internet working and phone consultations are very effective.

So it is business as usual.

Stay safe, everyone.
Citizenship

$150

Is it time to take the final step and become a United States citizen?

I check you are safe to apply, help with the N-400 form, and prepare you with a practice interview

Marriage
Green Card
$570

We work together to prepare safe and complete applications for Adjustment of Status or Consular Processing.

If I need to work directly with a joint sponsor, please add $100. Also for out-of-area applications add $200 for the extra work involved.

Fiance Visa

$530

A good fiance visa application usually leads to a gentler interview at the embassy.

I reduce the follow-on adjustment fee by $250 after an I-129F fiance visa approval.


Family
Green Cards
$340

Adjustment of Status or Consular Processing for parents, children and step-children of US Citizens and children of permanent residents.

I will usually discount multiple applications. If I need to work directly with a joint sponsor, please add $100.

I-130

$150

Stand-alone I-130s (i.e not immediate relatives or category F2A).

This does not including NVC processing, since these applications usually take years to become "current."

NVC Processing

$275

Preparing the Affidavit of Support and Civil Documents packets for the National Visa Center.


If I need to work directly with a joint sponsor, please add $100

Joint Removal of Conditions
$375

Working with a couple on their joint I-751 application (or RFE) and the detailed evidence packet to lift the conditions on their two-year conditional green card.



Waiver Removal of Conditions
$600

Preparing an I-751 application with a divorce or abuse waiver(or RFE) and its detailed evidence packet. Please note that the evidence requirement is significantly higher than for joint applications.


National Interest Waiver
$600

I mentor postdocs and researchers who are applying for the EB2 NIW

E2 and business

capped fees

I also mentor those who wish to establish their business in the United States.

VAWA and U Visas

$600

Please note that psychological evaluations will be required and are not covered by my fee. Also U Visa applications are taking years as they are heavily over-subscribed.

Liberian Refugee Immigrant Fairness
$600

This is a fixed fee for adjustment of status for the whole family, principal, spouse and minor children. Since most principals will qualify for naturalization on LPR approval, I can add a citizenship application for an extra $75 each.


Ask, for

Waivers
NOID and Appeals
Employment Visas

 

The Immigration Law Office of Andrew Bartlett - (415) 234-0191 help@law191.org

Bay Area Immigration Lawyer, San Rafael, Palo Alto and Oakland

Three locations: Marin/North bay - the downtown San Rafael office, the East Bay - the Oakland office, near Jack London Square (close to Amtrak and I-880). and the South Bay - the Palo Alto office, on S. California (close to Caltrain and Page Mill Road).

Here is my California State Bar record.





 

What Immigration Help?
(and how much)

 

I help with many immigration issues and my fees are low. This is because my private practice is an extension of my nonprofit work, just available to everyone. Below, you will find some examples of areas I can help with, and the fees I charge.

Citizenship/Naturalization

[$150] I check that it is really safe for you to apply to become a US citizen, help with the N-400 naturalization form, include an attorney G-28 so I can be with you through the process, and give you a "practice interview" to make sure you are ready. I naturalized a few years ago, so I know first-hand about the experience.

Whatever you decide, please consult with a lawyer before applying. You don't want to find yourself going to Immigration Court instead of an Oath Ceremony.


Fiance Visas/Marriage Green Cards

[$570] For the marriage I-485 Adjustment of Status or the two-stage Consular Processing applications and [$530] I-129F fiance visa we prepare a full packet with good evidence giving the adjudicating officers exactly what they need from you. And guide you through a stressful time.

Because there is an overlap between the fiance visa and the marriage green card, I reduce the marriage adjustment fee if I help you with both.

Here is my Marriage Adjustment of Status checklist

Family Immigration and NVC

[$275] For Adjustment of Status or Consular Processing applications for parents (IR), under-21 children (IR and F2A), adult unmarried sons and daughters (F1 and F2B) married adult sons and daughters (F3) and siblings (F4).

Please note I do not charge extra for derivatives. The fee is only for the principal applicant.

If your application will wait years before it becomes "current" and can complete, my fee for helping you with the intial I-130 is [$150].

DACA

I believe in you. The DACA recipients I have met and helped are wonderful, inspiring people. Your families are brave. Please continue to believe in yourselves. The best advice I can give is in this blog post

no tenemos miedo

VAWA/U Visa

[$600] If I can help, I will. Victims of crime don't need the added stress of an immigration crisis. Because these cases require intensive effort, I only accept a few at any time.



Immigration Consequences of Criminal Convictions

[$250] Your criminal defense attorney or the public defender is welcome to contact me for a written analysis of your case and whether a plea deal or the likely outcome is safe or puts you at risk of removal.

Plea deals are usually designed for citizens. And the DA is not interested in your immigration status. Never accept a deal without taking advice on the immigration consequences of the conviction.


The J-1 Visa

The state department's J-1 exchange program works through agencies. But whether you are looking to spend time here either as an au-pair or through your profession, or you are trying to decide how to move to the next step once the program is over, my input can help.


F-1 Students and OPT

The F-1/OPT path can go very well, but it can also go disastrously wrong. Don't confide in your international student advisor. Confide, and discuss your plans and your issues only with a lawyer who will keep the confidence and work in your best interest, not the school's/


Business Immigration

I came to the US through the business route. And I understand that you often need more advice than you can get from an emmployer's attorney.

Also entrepreneurs (and students with dreams) find it very useful to discuss their plans and get a reality check about their concerns. Often this can take just a single consultation.

Check to see if your country has an investment or trade treaty with the US.




Where's the office?

(Please note new address)
1004 Irwin Street, Suite A
San Rafael, CA 94901
Get Directions...

 


I see new clients Weekdays, 9 to 6. Please call first. And Saturdays by appointment.
If you need to see me at another time, I will try to arrange something - particularly if it means you don't have to take time off work.


San Rafael has wonderful links with the rest of the Bay Area - connected to the east bay through the Richmond Bridge, San Francisco and the south bay via the golden gate bridge. And even Sacramento and Vallejo via route 37.

Here are detailed directions to the office from San Francisco, Oakland and the East Bay, the Peninsula, the South Bay and San Jose, and north from Vallejo, Davis and Sacramento

But if that is too far...

The Palo Alto Office

I have a Palo Alto outpost - a centrally-located office to meet clients on the Peninsula and in the South Bay. It is literally at the center of the Bay Area, if not the Universe. Minutes from Caltrain, Oregan Expressway I-101 and Page Mill Road I-280 on S. California Ave The office is by appointment only, but same-day appointments are possible.

230 S. California Ave, Suite 107
Palo Alto, CA 94306

Get Directions...

And for those in the East Bay and San Francisco...

The Oakland Office

My Oakland office avoids the busy-ness of downtown Oakland, and is located just minutes from the Bay Bridge, one block from I-880, a couple of blocks from Amtrak at Jack London Square. The office is by appointment only, but same-day appointments are possible.

318 Harrison St, Suite 102
Oakland, CA 94607

Get Directions...

 


And if that is still too far...


A Bay Area Immigration Lawyer can help Immigration Clients Worldwide



Most people come to the office. But if you are too far away to visit, much can be done remotely through phone/Skype, email and other internet communications. I cannot attend an interview with you, but most other tasks are possible.

Immigration is Federal Law. That means you can get advice from any immigration lawyer who is licensed in the United States. I give consultations over Skype to clients across the United States and beyond. From Europe through the Middle East to Hong Kong.

My fees are slighty higher for distance clients, since the work is usually slower and takes longer when clients can't just come in to the office. I recommend you only request a $60 consultation in the first instance. If more work is needed, I will roll that fee into the total cost of the work.

Full "ask me anything" Skype consultations can be just like coming to the office

Email help@law191.org




Frequently Asked Questions

My marriage is real, not a fraud

Of course it is. And the best way to show that is to involve family at every stage. At the wedding, with letters of support, and in the photographs you include with your application. Moms and dads, uncles and aunts don't get involved in immigration fraud.

Check my case status?

If you have a receipt number, then the status check tool on the USCIS home page should be your first destination. Sometimes it is not accurate - INFOPASS can help. And if everything seems lost, then you can make a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request.

Have I aged-out at 21?

If a "child" in your application has reached 21, all may not be lost. The CSPA may help. If you are a citizen, then a child immediate relative's age is frozen as soon as your application is in the system. Otherwise, work out how many days USCIS took to approve your case. Then add those days to the child's date of birth. And that gives you the "adjusted" birth date to use.

The Affidavit of Support

This requirement causes most people problems. You have to have income higher than the Federal Poverty Guidelines. If you need a joint-sponsor this explanation of the consequences of being a sponsor in California will probably help.

I have a Court hearing soon

If you (or the person with the hearing) is a child, feel free to call. Otherwise I'm sorry but I cannot help. You can check when your hearing is and your status by calling the EOIR hotline.

Can you help with my asylum or withholding?

I will talk with you about the merits of your case and whether you have other options. If you are in the Bay Area, your destination should be the Asylum Program at the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights in San Francisco.

Filing an I-130 for a family member

Before you pay money, either to the government or to a lawyer, be warned that some of the categories have long wait lists, and for some oversubscribed countries, that wait time is impossibly long. You need to consider both the date published in the Visa Bulletin, and how fast the date is moving forward. Here is one good online tool for checking when your date might become current.

I am a citizen. My spouse needs papers

If your spouse originally came on a visa, then you may be able to fix things in a few months and help him/her adjust status. If your spouse came across the border without inspection (EWI) then a waiver will be needed - and this is difficult but can be done. If your EWI spouse came here before age 16, then DACA and advance parole might let them adjust.

My EAD is expiring and my DACA renewal hasn't arrived

This is a diffcult and uncertain time. We have come a long way. Stay safe.




About Me

I am a San Francisco Bay Area Immigration Lawyer - an attorney based in San Rafael, California. And I am an immigrant. I came to the United States in 2000. 13 years later I became a citizen. I am licensed to practice law in California. And I am a member of the American Immigration Lawyers' Association (AILA).

I speak fluent French, a little Spanish and Portuguese, and even less Kreyol.

law191.org is my private practice. I believe in access to law for everyone, so my fee scale is carefully designed to reach everyone. Think of me as a legal GP.

I am also the immigration attorney at the Brazilian Alliance in San Rafael. You are welcome to work with me through them if you prefer. The fee structure is the same. The quality of the service is the same.


I graduated with a JD from King Hall, UC Davis School of Law in 2012 and passed the California Bar later that year. At law school I was nominated for the Martin Luther King Jr Service Award for my work with long-term women prisoners in Chowchilla. My blog is here. I am also the creator of a web version of the Immigration and Nationality Act and of the ill-fated Senate bill for Comprehensive Immigration Reform..