Questions Clients Ask Samper Law

Lidice Samper, founder and managing attorney of Samper Law, has more than a decade of experience in U.S. immigration matters and has been a licensed attorney since 2017. She is admitted in Massachusetts and before the federal district courts and U.S. Courts of Appeals. Her work spans employer sponsored petitions, EB-1 and National Interest Waiver self-petitions, E-2 and EB-5 investor visas, and federal lawsuits against the government when agencies delay or wrongly deny a case.

Immigration is the core of Samper Law's practice. Alongside it, we handle litigation: complex federal and civil litigation for plaintiffs and defendants, and family law, handled by a team that includes former district attorneys. The two practices reinforce each other. When USCIS, the Department of State, or ICE stalls or wrongly decides a case, our litigators take it to federal court.

Our immigration practice spans business and employment immigration, investor visas (E-2 and EB-5), founder and high merit petitions, family immigration, and humanitarian and detention matters, together with I-9 audits and federal immigration litigation.

No. Samper Law represents founders, executives, investors, researchers, employers, and families from every region, including Latin America, Brazil, South Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. We handle consular processing at U.S. embassies and consulates worldwide and meet clients by secure video, so a client's location is never a barrier.

Samper Law serves clients in English, Spanish, Portuguese, Hindi, Nepali, Urdu, and Punjabi. Consultations are available in English, Spanish, and Portuguese. Working in a client's own language matters most where precision counts: executive and investor interviews at U.S. consulates, sworn testimony, and litigation.

Our most memorable successes include federal court wins against the U.S. government, releases from immigration detention, and approvals for extraordinary ability and National Interest Waiver self-petitioners. We have won multiple federal lawsuits against the U.S. government, including cases naming the U.S. Attorney General, in several U.S. Courts of Appeals. We have secured numerous habeas corpus releases and bond grants for detained clients, and approvals for extraordinary ability and National Interest Waiver self-petitioners. Our former district attorneys have won complex litigation matters for private clients, and our family law team has achieved favorable outcomes for families. Past results do not guarantee a similar outcome in any future case.

The biggest challenges are shifting USCIS and State Department policy, Requests for Evidence, visa backlogs, and long processing delays. We address them by building complete, well documented petitions from the start. When an RFE does arrive, we answer with a targeted legal argument. When a case stalls beyond reasonable processing times or is wrongly denied, we sue in federal court to compel a decision or overturn it.

Samper Law tracks USCIS Policy Manual updates, Federal Register rules, the monthly Visa Bulletin, Department of Labor guidance, and federal court decisions. We publish plain language briefings in the Insights section of samperlaw.com for employers, investors, and individual clients. When a change affects an open case or a company's workforce, we contact the affected clients directly with a recommended course of action.

Samper Law's office is at 300 Unicorn Park Drive, Suite 402, Woburn, Massachusetts 01801, (781) 321-3700. Because immigration is federal law, we represent individuals and companies in all 50 states and abroad, meeting by secure video. Our litigation and family law work is handled in the Massachusetts courts and in the federal courts where our attorneys are admitted.

Yes. Samper Law serves clients every day in Spanish and Portuguese, and consultations are available in both languages. Our team also works in Hindi, Nepali, Urdu, and Punjabi. Executives, investors, and families can discuss their case, prepare for interviews, and review documents in their own language.

For executives, investors, and self-petitioners, an attorney prepares you for consular and USCIS interviews: we review your file, rehearse the questions officers ask about your role, business, or investment, and resolve any issue in your history in advance. For employers, we audit I-9 records before the government does. If ICE serves a Notice of Inspection, which gives an employer three business days to produce its I-9 forms, we manage the response from start to finish.

Timelines depend on the category, USCIS processing times, and your country's place in the Visa Bulletin. EB-1 and NIW petitions can be decided in weeks with premium processing, where available, while the green card stage depends on visa availability for your country of birth. E-2 applications at a U.S. consulate commonly take a few months, and EB-5 cases take longer. At your consultation, Samper Law gives you a realistic timeline for your category and country.

Yes: the L-1A visa for intracompany transferee executives and managers is one of the most direct routes to a U.S. green card, because an L-1A executive or manager usually qualifies for the EB-1C immigrant category, which parallels the L-1A standard and does not require a PERM labor certification. The employer files Form I-140 in the EB-1C category, and once a green card is available the executive files for adjustment of status or consular processing. EB-1C has no labor certification step, which makes it faster than most employment-based green cards, though the company must still show a qualifying relationship and a genuine executive or managerial role.

A startup should bring in immigration counsel early, ideally before making the first foreign-national hire or founder relocation, because the cap-subject H-1B lottery, PERM green card timelines, and E-2 or O-1 planning all work on lead times of months to years, and because I-9 obligations begin with the very first employee. Involving counsel at incorporation, fundraising, or the first international hire lets the company sequence visa filings, budget government and legal fees, and avoid the compliance gaps that surface in due diligence during an acquisition or financing.

Fees are agreed by case type in a master services agreement before work begins, so HR and finance can budget each filing.

Through a dedicated account lead, the client portal and periodic status reports.

Yes. We review the file, confirm deadlines and transition the matter without interrupting status.

L-2 and E spouses are authorized to work based on their status. H-4 spouses need an employment authorization document, available only in specific cases.

Interview waivers have narrowed, so many renewals now require an interview.

It mainly affects new H-1B petitions for workers outside the United States; the L-1 and O-1 are often better routes for executives.

EB-1A requires evidence that you meet at least three of ten USCIS criteria, such as major awards, published work about you, judging the work of others, original contributions of major significance, or high salary, or a single major internationally recognized achievement. The EB-2 NIW requires an advanced degree or exceptional ability, a proposed endeavor of substantial merit and national importance, and proof that you are well positioned to advance it. Neither requires an employer sponsor or a PERM labor certification. Samper Law evaluates your profile against both paths during a consultation and recommends the stronger filing.

Yes: a national interest waiver (NIW) lets you file your own EB-2 green card petition with no job offer, no sponsoring employer and no labor certification, provided you qualify as an advanced degree professional or a person of exceptional ability. You must then prove the three prongs of Matter of Dhanasar, 26 I&N Dec. 884 (AAO 2016): your proposed endeavor has substantial merit and national importance, you are well positioned to advance it, and on balance waiving the job offer benefits the United States.

File EB-1A if your record already shows sustained national or international acclaim at the top of your field, because the EB-1 category has shorter waits for Indian and Chinese nationals and a faster premium processing clock; file a national interest waiver (NIW) if you hold an advanced degree or exceptional ability and have a well documented plan of nationally important work, because its standard is easier to meet. If you are near the EB-1A line, or born in India or China, filing both is often the right answer.

The main U.S. immigration paths for a startup founder are the O-1A visa for founders who can document extraordinary ability, the E-2 treaty investor visa for nationals of treaty countries who invest a substantial amount in a company they control, and two green cards the founder can file without an employer sponsor: EB-1A extraordinary ability and the EB-2 National Interest Waiver (NIW). The right choice turns on nationality, track record, capital and whether the goal is to work in the United States now, to become a permanent resident, or both, and many founders use two paths in sequence, such as an O-1A or E-2 now and an EB-1A or NIW for the green card.

Independent evidence: major awards, press about you, judging the work of others, original contributions others rely on, and high compensation. Letters carry the most weight when they come from independent experts.

Yes. Founders often start with an O-1A or E-2 and move to EB-1A or NIW as their record grows.

There is no minimum dollar amount set by law for an E-2 treaty investor visa. The investment must be substantial in relation to the total cost of buying or creating the business, enough to make it viable, and generally not marginal, meaning it should have the capacity to generate more than a minimal living for you and your family. In practice, most approvable E-2 businesses involve an investment of at least $100,000 to $150,000, though smaller amounts can qualify for a low-cost business and larger amounts are expected for capital-intensive ones. The funds must be irrevocably committed and at risk.

The EB-5 immigrant investor program requires a minimum investment of $1,050,000, reduced to $800,000 if the investment is in a targeted employment area (a rural area or an area of high unemployment) or an infrastructure project, and the investment must create at least ten full-time U.S. jobs. After filing Form I-526E, an investor from a country that is not backlogged can generally reach conditional permanent residence in roughly two to four years, then files Form I-829 to remove conditions about two years later; investors born in backlogged countries such as China and India should plan for longer overall timelines.

The E-2 is a temporary, renewable visa for nationals of treaty countries who make a substantial, at risk investment in a U.S. business they will develop and direct. There is no fixed minimum, but the amount must be proportional to the business. The EB-5 is a green card: it currently requires an investment of $1,050,000, or $800,000 in a targeted employment area or infrastructure project, that creates at least ten full-time U.S. jobs. Investors from non-treaty countries often use EB-5, and some start with an E-2 and later move to EB-5. Samper Law structures both, including source of funds documentation.

By documenting a lawful origin and an unbroken path to the investment, whether from salary, a business, the sale of property, a gift or a loan, with records at every step.

Officers test whether the business is real, funded and more than marginal. The projections, hiring plan and capital budget must agree with each other and with the evidence.

Yes. Spouses and unmarried children under 21 can accompany the investor, and E-2 spouses are authorized to work.

Call immigration counsel the same day. A Notice of Inspection from ICE gives the employer three business days to produce its I-9 forms and supporting records. Do not backdate, alter, or create new I-9s for past hires. Samper Law reviews the forms before production, corrects technical errors where the law allows, negotiates the timeline, and represents the company through any Notice of Suspect Documents, Notice of Technical or Procedural Failures, or fine proceedings.

I-9 penalties fall into two tracks. Paperwork or technical violations, such as missing fields, unsigned forms, or missing I-9s, carry civil fines that are adjusted annually for inflation and currently run from several hundred to over $2,700 per form. Knowingly hiring or continuing to employ unauthorized workers carries much higher per-worker penalties, escalating for repeat offenders into the tens of thousands of dollars, and a pattern or practice of knowing violations can bring criminal liability. Fine amounts depend on the violation rate, the size of the business, good faith, and history, and are set on a schedule ICE applies after an audit.

Yes. Samper Law acts as outside immigration counsel for startups, growing companies, and established employers. We plan H-1B cap registrations, manage L-1 transfers and PERM green card sponsorship, maintain public access files, run periodic I-9 audits, train HR teams, and advise on hiring foreign talent and executives. Employers get one team that knows their workforce and their compliance history.

At least once a year, and after an acquisition, a period of rapid hiring or a change in HR systems. An audit directed by counsel helps keep the findings privileged.

Technical errors are paperwork mistakes an employer may be allowed to correct; substantive violations are fined without a correction period. Since March 2026, ICE treats several common errors as substantive.

Yes, if done properly: strike through the error, enter the correct information, then initial and date the change, or attach a signed explanatory memo. Never backdate or recreate a form.

It is required for federal contractors whose contracts include the E-Verify clause and for employers in states that mandate it. We advise on enrollment and ongoing compliance.

The employer. Federal rules require the employer to pay the attorney fees and recruitment costs of the labor certification.

It depends on Department of Labor and USCIS processing times and the employee's priority date in the Visa Bulletin; PERM review alone has recently averaged about eleven months.

Often yes, once the I-485 has been pending 180 days and the I-140 is approved, if the new job is in the same or a similar occupation.

The Department of Labor requests the recruitment documentation, which is why we build the audit file while recruitment happens.

EB-2 requires an advanced degree or exceptional ability; EB-3 covers skilled workers and professionals. The category affects the wait under the Visa Bulletin.

Yes. Depending on the decision, Samper Law files motions to reopen or reconsider, appeals to the Administrative Appeals Office or the Board of Immigration Appeals, lawsuits in federal district court under the Administrative Procedure Act, and petitions for review in the U.S. Courts of Appeals. Our attorneys are admitted in federal court and have won multiple cases against the government at the appellate level. Many appeal deadlines are 30 days, so contact us as soon as you receive a denial.

Yes. When an application or petition has been pending well beyond published processing times, Samper Law can file a mandamus lawsuit in federal district court, often combined with an Administrative Procedure Act claim, asking the court to order the agency to decide. In many cases the agency acts soon after the suit is filed. We also sue over wrongful denials and have won multiple cases against the government in the U.S. Courts of Appeals.

There are two main ways to seek release from ICE detention. Most detainees who are not subject to mandatory detention can ask for release on bond, either from ICE directly or from an immigration judge at a bond hearing, where the judge weighs flight risk and danger to the community. When detention is unlawful or unreasonably prolonged, or when no bond hearing is available, counsel can file a habeas corpus petition in federal district court. Acting quickly matters: gathering proof of community ties, a sponsor, and equities before the bond hearing has a direct effect on whether release is granted and on the bond amount.

Yes. Samper Law requests bond for detained clients before the immigration court and files habeas corpus petitions in federal court when detention is unlawful or prolonged. We have secured numerous releases and bond grants. Families should contact us immediately after a detention, since early action improves the options available.

Samper Law represents private clients and businesses as plaintiffs and defendants in complex civil and federal litigation, including business and contract disputes, claims against government agencies, and matters involving government investigations. Our litigation team includes former district attorneys with extensive trial experience. We handle cases in the Massachusetts state courts, the federal district courts, and the U.S. Courts of Appeals.

Samper Law handles divorce, child custody and parenting plans, child and spousal support, prenuptial and postnuptial agreements, and modifications of existing orders in Massachusetts. We are particularly suited to families with international ties or immigration questions, such as divorces involving conditional residents, sponsor obligations under an Affidavit of Support, or a parent living abroad. Our litigators are prepared to go to trial when a negotiated outcome is not in the client's interest.

Yes, in the F2A category, where the wait depends on the Visa Bulletin. Spouses of U.S. citizens are immediate relatives with no annual limit.

It depends on where each person lives, timing and travel needs; we compare both routes in the strategy session.

It may still be possible. Immediate relatives who entered lawfully can often adjust status despite an overstay; other cases may need a waiver.

Yes. One team manages both so filings and travel are timed together.

The cost of an EB-1A or national interest waiver (NIW) petition has two parts: attorney fees and government filing fees. Samper Law handles EB-1A and NIW self-petitions for a flat legal fee, quoted after we review your profile, so you know the full legal cost before we begin. On top of that you pay the USCIS filing fees for Form I-140, and optional premium processing if you want a faster decision, along with case-specific costs such as expert opinion letters, translations, and credential evaluations. At your consultation we give you an itemized estimate covering the flat fee and every expected government and third-party cost.

Most immigration petitions, including H-1B, L-1, EB-1, NIW, O-1, E-2, and EB-5, are handled for a flat fee, so clients and employers know the full legal cost before we begin. Litigation, family law, I-9 audits, and ongoing outside counsel work are billed hourly against a retainer. Consultations cost $125 to $250, depending on the type and complexity of the matter, and are separate from representation fees.

Yes. Individual clients can usually pay in installments: a down payment followed by monthly payments over three to six months, depending on the case type. Business clients can pay by milestone, tied to each stage of the petition. Every payment arrangement is set out in writing in the fee agreement before work begins.

Clients pay government filing fees to USCIS, the Department of State, or the Department of Labor, which the government sets and changes periodically. Depending on the case, other costs include premium processing, certified translations, foreign credential evaluations, the immigration medical exam, expert opinion letters for EB-1 and NIW petitions, business plans and source of funds documentation for E-2 and EB-5, and court filing and expert fees in litigation. We list every expected third party cost in writing before filing.

Every client receives a secure Clio client portal to upload documents, follow case status, and message the team. We answer portal and email messages within 24 hours on business days and schedule calls or video meetings whenever a conversation is needed. A Client Service Associate works alongside your attorney from consultation to completion, so you always know who to contact and what comes next.

Share your complete immigration, travel, and legal history at the start; issues we know about early can usually be managed. Self-petitioners should begin gathering evidence of their achievements, such as publications, awards, press, and recommendation letters, as early as possible. Employers should keep I-9 records and job documentation organized. Send requested documents within the deadline we set, normally 20 business days, since missing documents cause most delays.

Client files and communications are kept in Clio, a legal practice management platform that encrypts data in transit and at rest. Access is limited to the team working on each matter. Corporate financials, investor source of funds records, and personal histories are protected by attorney-client privilege and the professional confidentiality rules that govern every lawyer at Samper Law.

Book online at samperlaw.com or call (781) 321-3700. Consultations cost $125 to $250, depending on the type and complexity of the matter, and are held by video or in person in English, Spanish, or Portuguese. Each consultation pairs an attorney, who analyzes your case and recommends a strategy, with a Client Service Associate, who explains the process, timeline, and fees.

Every matter has an attorney led strategy, a dedicated Client Service Associate, replies within one business day, real time status in the client portal, and fees and a payment schedule confirmed in writing before work begins.

Yes. An attorney leads your strategy and supervises every filing; your Client Service Associate manages day to day communication.

Samper Law works in collaboration with Kloss Martino, a separate business advisory firm, on business structure, business plans and the source of funds record. Kloss Martino is not a law firm; its engagements and fees are independent of Samper Law's, and legal advice comes only from Samper Law attorneys.

Yes. We represent clients in all 50 states and U.S. territories, and internationally.