Do I need to prove I managed attorney fees well?

It is worth clearing up the premise first: in the EB-2 NIW, USCIS does not evaluate how you managed your attorney fees. The petition is judged on the merit and national importance of your work, not on how you controlled the costs of the process.

In other words, there is no formal requirement to ‘demonstrate sound cost management’ to the immigration authority. Keeping those expenses organized is a personal best practice, useful for your own planning and for your relationship with the professional you hired, but it plays no part in the adjudication of the petition.

If your goal is to maintain control and transparency with your own attorney, a few habits help:

• Keep contracts and itemized invoices with the agreed-upon services and amounts.
• Maintain a file of correspondence and any agreements made.
• Review progress in meetings and confirm there are no charges outside what was agreed.

This protects you as a client. For what truly matters in the petition, focus your energy on documenting the value of your work and verify updated requirements at the official source (USCIS) or with a specialist.

About the author

Victoria Harper

Editor-in-Chief

Meet the author

As a journalist and lead editor at Visto n’ Visa, Victoria helps ensure that immigration topics are covered in a clear, trustworthy, and easy-to-understand way. Her focus is on delivering useful, human, and relevant content for people exploring new paths abroad.