Attorney–Client Fee Agreement — sample

This agreement is between Frederick Chernoff, doing business as Chernoff Legal Services (“Attorney”), an attorney licensed to practice law in the State of California who practices U.S. federal immigration law, and [Client name] (“you”). It explains the work Attorney will do for you, what it costs, and the terms we both agree to. Please read it carefully and ask Attorney about anything that is unclear before you sign.

1. What Attorney will do

Attorney will prepare and electronically file one Form I-192 (Application for Advance Permission to Enter as a Nonimmigrant) for you as an initial application, submitted through U.S. Customs and Border Protection's e-SAFE system. This is the only matter this agreement covers. The work includes:

• preparing your Form I-192 and a supporting personal statement;
• organizing the rehabilitation and character evidence that you provide;
• submitting your application electronically through e-SAFE;
• giving you written instructions for your biometrics (fingerprinting) appointment and for what to do at the port of entry;
• sending you routine reminders about the status of your matter; and
• preparing and submitting one written response to a single request from the Admissibility Review Office (ARO) for additional documents relating to your original application.

2. What this agreement does not cover

This agreement does not include:

• appearing with you or for you at your biometrics appointment or at any port of entry;
• any other immigration or legal matter;
• renewing the waiver after a granted waiver expires; or
• refiling a new application after a denial.

Each of these is a separate matter that would need its own written agreement.

3. The flat fee — how it is held and when it is earned

The flat fee for this work is $1,895. This pays for Attorney's professional services only; the costs described in Section 5 are separate and are yours to pay. You pay the flat fee in advance.

Where your fee is held. Because this is a flat fee paid in advance, Attorney will place it in Attorney's operating account rather than a client trust account. You have the right to require instead that the flat fee be kept in a client trust account until it is earned. You are also entitled to a refund of any part of the fee that has not been earned if this agreement ends or the work is not completed. By signing this agreement, you agree that the flat fee may be placed in Attorney's operating account.

When the fee is earned. The fee is earned when your completed Form I-192 is submitted through e-SAFE, because that is the point at which the work you are paying for has been done.

If you end this agreement before your application is submitted, you are entitled to a refund of everything you paid. Once your application has been submitted, the work is complete, the fee is fully earned, and no part of it is refundable.

In plain terms: you pay up front; if we stop before your application is filed, you get back everything you paid; once it is filed, the fee is earned.

4. No guarantee of the outcome

The Form I-192 waiver is discretionary. CBP's Admissibility Review Office decides each application on its own facts, case by case. Attorney does not and cannot guarantee that your application will be approved, that you will receive any particular result, or that a decision will arrive within any particular time. If your application is denied, there is no appeal in this process. The only option after a denial is to file a new application, which would be a separate matter under a separate agreement.

5. Costs are separate, and you pay them directly

The flat fee covers Attorney's professional services only. You are responsible for all government and third-party costs, and you pay them directly to the agency or vendor. These include:

• the CBP filing fee for the Form I-192;
• the RCMP Civil Product (the fingerprint-based criminal record check), which you must obtain before your application is submitted;
• any required translations of documents; and
• any courier or postage costs.

Attorney holds no money of yours in trust under this agreement.

6. Your responsibilities

You agree to:

• give Attorney complete and truthful information and documents;
• obtain your RCMP Civil Product;
• pay all government and vendor fees directly and on time;
• attend your biometrics appointment and the port of entry as instructed; and
• keep a current mailing address on file with the ARO.

7. How Attorney will communicate with you

Attorney works remotely and communicates mainly by [email / phone — insert]. Attorney will respond to your messages within [insert — e.g., two business days] in most cases. Please remember that some steps depend on government processing times that Attorney does not control.

8. If we disagree about fees

If a dispute arises about Attorney's fees, you have the right to have it resolved through non-binding arbitration under the State Bar of California's Mandatory Fee Arbitration program (Business and Professions Code sections 6200–6206). That arbitration is your choice, and it is not binding on either of us unless we both agree in writing, after the dispute has arisen, to make it binding. For any fee dispute that is not resolved this way, and for any other dispute under this agreement, California law applies and any action must be brought in California.

9. Ending this agreement

Either of us may end this agreement at any time by giving written notice. If that happens, the refund rules in Section 3 apply. Attorney may also withdraw from representing you in the circumstances allowed by the California Rules of Professional Conduct.

10. Other terms

Your copy. Attorney will give you a copy of this agreement signed by both of us.

A statement of the fee. You may ask Attorney for a written statement of the fee at any time, and Attorney will provide one.

Your file. Attorney will keep your file for [insert — e.g., five] years after this matter ends, and may destroy it after that.

Scope of advice. Attorney is licensed in California and provides U.S. federal immigration legal services only. Attorney does not advise you on Canadian law or on the law of any other country.

Entire agreement. This is the entire agreement between us about this matter, and it replaces any earlier discussions. Any change must be in writing and signed by both of us.

If part is unenforceable. If any part of this agreement is found unenforceable, the rest stays in effect.

Electronic signatures. We may sign this agreement electronically, and electronic signatures count as originals.

Signatures

Attorney
Frederick Chernoff, doing business as Chernoff Legal Services
Signature: _______________________   Date: __________

Client
[Client name]
Signature: _______________________   Date: __________