Trump change

#6 - Would you care to elucidate?

An immigration lawyer will charge you $300 just to look at your paperwork for an initial consult. Getting a waiver through a lawyer will cost you between $3000-$5000. Only the most severe and egregious cases would constitute that path and expense.

In Canada paralegals are allowed to do what lawyers in America can only do as per the statute and depending on the area of law. Many paralegals are actually more knowledgeable than lawyers as they deal with the minutiae of many cases that lawyers simply won't touch.

If your comment comes from your own PERSONAL frustration with a particular company by all means state that otherwise your opinion could be construed as misleading, dangerous and nonsensical.

#6, in most lawyer firms, the Paralegal is the one who actually does the Pardon and I-192 applications, as I work with several lawyers here in Saskatchewan and help them with the process. Now, if you have had an issue with a Pardon or Waiver Service, please provide details of your story, and the company name, as there are some out there that are not that good.

#9 @Canada

Yet you've offered no proof as to the SPECIFICS of which companies are not reputable in your estimation. Once again feel free to elucidate.

Furthermore you are not offering any discernment of nuance as to what the cost (attorney fees) for specific cases that require waivers.

People need waivers for a PLETHORA of things (overstays, misrepresentation, criminal cases, etc...) Trust that not ALL of these scenarios will fall within the $1200-$1500 cost as per attorney fees. FACT!

Your BLANKET STATEMENT thus is ill-informed and hence falls squarely under the auspices of being misleading which arguably is dangerous in and of itself.

Although attorneys charge flat fees for services for many immigration applications, many of them prefer to charge at an hourly rate to prepare a waiver application. That’s because it’s a much less predictable process than a standard application, for the reasons described above. The hourly rate is usually at least $100.

In total, however, most applicants can expect to pay between $5,000 and $11,000 for preparation of the waiver application. This does not include fees for other portions of the attorney’s services or for application fees and other related expenses. Sounds like a lot, doesn’t it? But if you’ve got a good attorney working for you, it can make all the difference in preparing a successful application – and ultimately be well worth the cost.

Source: Nolo website. Article written by:Ilona Bray, J.D.

@Canada I am not a lawyer and I charge a flat fee no matter what.

Your price would have been $600 including taxes. You would have gotten the same waiver.

I guarantee your lawyer has far fewer clients than I do, and I guarantee that the amount of people I talk to that I didn't even do the waivers for but tell me their results is much higher than your lawyer.

There are bad apples in the Pardon and Waiver specialists, I agree. There are bad apples in the 'Immigration Lawyer' ranks as well.

When I went to Pearson Airport I would see 50-60 packages EVERY time. That's 50-60 packages I DID NOT EVEN PREPARE. Plus the 5-10 a week I would prepare. Over a year that means I would see about 3000 packages.

Pardon and Waiver Packages would vary, and most times the client got stuck writing their own personal letter. But the fees varied from $400-$1500. The work was basic.

Lawyers were the worst. There were exceptions, but it was clear that for the $1500-$5000 they were charged, the lawyer felt he had to make a package 2 inches thick to prove it was worth it. IN some cases the lawyers had farmed it out to a company to do the work. In others they had the wrong documents, and even the wrong fee ($930 not $585) a dead giveaway that they had never done a waiver in the past few years. Also the instructions were vague. "Go the airport early and line up on Saturday" In the meantime it was now Tuesdays and had been for over a year.

Obviously Canada you have a person you are happy with, and your happy paying $1500 a pop. So continue.

I do not think it is fair by the way to make a client keep paying the full rate.

-If you can come in person I charged $650 which includes all taxes and fingerprints. ($600 if you can't come and need to pay separately for fingerprints)
-If you get a 1 year waiver the re-application is $450.00
-If you get a 5 year the re-application is $495.00

So for the same waiver, you are paying $3000 for two applications. My clients pay (apples to apples because your lawyer does NOT fingerprint) $1045.00.

Not only do you have to go pay extra for fingerprints because the lawyer can't do it, but you pay almost $2000 extra for the same result because he has a law degree and I do not.

#9, Canada - You are lucky that you found a lawyer for that cost and you got your waiver. However, you do not advise if the $1500 included the USA Filing fee or if that was additional. - If it was additional, the total cost is closer to $2200. Also, you do not advise if the lawyer did everything for you, or if you had to do some leg work....Yes, there were some TV stories about Pardon Scam companies...Like anything there r good and bad companies. It is up to the individual to research and check into a company before you pay them any money. There are many bad reviews about 1 company in particular, but people still use them..so not sure why... #11 Adelaide is correct in fees can vary depending on individual circumstances and what you are looking for. For example Ken charges a great deal more than John and I, but he provides / guarantees a September Letter, which I cannot do. I am upfront with my fees, a standard waiver cost $700 + Taxes for my fee (extra if Sexual Assaults, Attempt murder, extra for probation documents, ect.. and if an I-212 is required.) I always advise my clients before we start what process they are looking at and additional fees. USA Filing fee of $585 US Funds is always extra. I would like to hear a detail account of the process the lawyer used for you. Some lawyers here in Saskatchewan, make you do alot of leg work, such as fingerprinting, court documents, letter writing, ect. (I include this in my fee, especially if someone can attend my office, if not Fingerprint fees are extra).

Additional, John, you mentioned something I forgot about...Yes, I completely agree, with applications I have seen from lawyers. They are filled with useless paperwork. I have seen this with both Waivers and Pardons. A standard waiver does not need rental agreements, copies of utilities bills, bank statements, reference to other law cases, and the list goes on and on...I guess they have to justify the money they are charging...

@Michelle

**This post is about Companies that do Pardons and Waivers**

Well put. Generally when it comes to Pardon/Waiver companies, rule of thumb is how they get clients.

Top of the google search means they paid big bucks to get there, which means they make money by sales staff working the phones hard to convert those online queries into sales and pay commission. Those sales staff will never have to handle your case so therefore they will promise the moon and deliver very little. Pardons Canada on St Clair is an example. Bloated staff, slow slow service, and an awful location. (No parking, downtown Toronto) They are in a cycle of HAVING to make payroll so they need new clients every day. Horrible reviews online.

Then you get the Dominion Pardons of the world. The owner Richard, hides behind cameras and locked doors because of his tactics. If you just ASK for information, he will pretend you started the pardon/waiver and send you a bill. An inflated bill. Then he has a collection agency in Winnipeg who intimidates you into paying or "they will ruin your credit". Then when I confronted the credit agency, the woman he always uses avoided me. The Vice President "clarified" its not a "collection bill" but an "accounts receivables bill". I do not know the consumer laws in Manitoba but its pretty ugly that this guy can get away with this. Dominion Pardons is in Toronto. AVOID.

Trusted Pardons and Record Suspensions of Canada went out of business and so did a version of Federal Pardons, but a Federal Pardons still exists.

Scotia Pardons has an office in BC and one in Oakville and they are obviously not really the ame company, just a sort of loose relationship. The one on the west coast uses deceptive marketing (pretending pardons were going to go UP in price, not down) but because they are members of the BBB who pay, the BBB will not post anything negative about them.

ALLClear (used to be Pardon Services Canada) are in BC and at one time I ran their Toronto Office. They are EXPENSIVE. I would say they were fairly honest but their newsletter late last year started to give the impression that you STILL need a waiver even if you have a pardon. They know that is not correct.

I don't know the National Pardon Center (based in Montreal) very well other than to say that during the consultations about Pardons the owner Michael vigorously defended the Conservative Government and said my complaints were too "political". How he could think a process that was changed FOR political reasons is NOT political is beyond me. I don't really cross paths with them so I cannot comment on their quality of work. He was rude to me, so if I ever meet him in person we will chat in greater detail and see if he is as big a dick in person. I doubt it.

I am in Brampton Ontario, and I literally go by referrals. Its worked for me so far, and it keeps my feet to the fire in terms of making sure I do what I say i do.

Michelle is in Saskatchewan and as I have posted on her reviews, I know her to be honest and detail oriented. If anyone calls in the Saskatchewan area I refer them to Michelle. Michelle is also "full service" as she does her own fingerprinting. This also tells me her credit and personal information has been rigorously vetted. I have full confidence when I refer someone to her they will be well taken care of.

I have a colleague in Montreal, Manni Jason. We share the same company name but are separate entities. We are good friends, he also is full service (certified to fingerprint) and honest to a fault. Anyone in Quebec I refer to him.

There are some fingerprinting places that "also do pardons/Waivers". I usually see their work as shoddy. Pardons require a lot of organization. Waivers require expertise and a willingness to treat every client like its a new case.

#12 - @John Rogers and @Michelle

As per your comment - "There are bad apples in the Pardon and Waiver specialists, I agree. There are bad apples in the 'Immigration Lawyer' ranks as well."

John you are so correct in this assessment.

One of the reasons I'm in the "pickle" I'm in is because of a BAD immigration lawyer I had in America. She charged me a fee of $1500 US and didn't apprise me of the MULTITUDE of options and pathways I had in the visas I qualified for as a Canadian. Had she done so parts of my life would have turned out differently. I'm actually still really pissed about this.

I will take ownership on my overstay (I just got sloppy with it really)... So I'm not trying to make excuses here as I realize this forum is about providing information.
One of my pathways to a visa was that I qualified for an E-2 and this lawyer said I needed AT LEAST $100K to 150K US to go that route. This simply is NOT TRUE.

I have a dear friend (more on this below) who routinely gets E-2 visas for her clients with an investment of $15k -$30k.

One of my dearest friends (who I met years after the fact and we are friends regardless of her profession) is an immigration attorney in America (and worked for years with one of the top and most respected immigration law firms in America). She does not specialize in nor do waivers and even with her extensive knowledge of American immigration she has advised me to go with one of the specialists here in Canada. When I told her of my initial experience with the "bad" immigration attorney I had in 2004 my friend absolutely loses her mind and gets livid with how badly I was fucked over. She realized that this lawyer was playing the "long game" most likely in trying to soak me for unnecessary fees.

Part of her reasoning is that obviously she would feel badly if she prepared my waiver and I didn't get it but MOST IMPORTANTLY she has the sense to realize that the BEST PATH is to obviously deal with someone who has done a shit ton of waivers (Which I'm assuming you have if you have been in business for 20+ years) She could and would do my waiver pro bono but she has the integrity to understand that the BEST COURSE of action is to go with a WAIVER EXPERT.

One does not go to the best seafood restaurant in Canada and order a hamburger and expect to get an amazing burger. You want amazing seafood so you go to the place that SPECIALIZES in seafood.

Hence if you want a great experience with a waiver application then you go to the person/s who SPECIALIZE in waivers.

John do you charge conservative waiver applicants more? :)

@Adelaide well said. To be fair immigration law is a much different game than Pardons/Waivers. You have seen Michelle post that she won't do applications she isn't familiar with and I am the same. Its unfair to charge fees for something I know little about.

@Jazzsax1 I have 2 conservative packages. One has higher fees but I pretend the person is a compassionate Liberal and I do a good job. The other has the same fee but i put subliminal messages in the personal letter that antagonize Homeland Security. For example I will say "in conclusion I am very sorry for my actions, but not as sad as you probably feel reading this, knowing you lost in Vietnam."

Obviously I have a conservative "test", where I mention "Stephen Harper" and watch their reaction. Obviously the folder for such people is blue. I do them last because conservatives think they are more self reliant, and until oil prices go back up, they have no need to travel anyways. They always have a letter from a church they haven't attended i 20 years. The Liberal folders are red, and all clients must be bilingual to get this folder and have a selfie with the Prime Minister to prove their "loyalty". These people are always smiling. I have an orange folder for my NDP clients but of course they expect others to pay for it, have Olivia Chows cell number, and think minimum wage should be $30/hour.

(for those that do not know me, obviously I am kidding and teasing Jazzsax1)

So what colour is my folder? I'm a conservative, I work hard, I travel regardless of oil, and I do attend churches. Does that make mine less blue or more blue? Turqoise?

And Olivia Chow? She became so irrelevant when her husband died. Along with the NDP.... bye bye orange wave see you in 30 years!