An honest walkthrough of how a Denver immigration case review at Novo Legal works — the 30-minute expedited review, the 60-minute consultation, and what to prepare.
Introduction
You are not looking for a sales pitch. You are looking for a straight answer: what happens when you call a Denver immigration lawyer, how long the meeting lasts, what it costs, and what you actually leave with.
This page tells you that. It describes how Novo Legal Group's immigration case reviews and full consultations work — the shorter expedited review for a specific question, and the longer attorney-led consultation for a matter that needs full issue-spotting. Other Denver firms structure their meetings differently; we can only describe ours.
This is general information about the case-review and consultation services we offer. It is not legal advice about your specific case, and reading it is not a substitute for talking to a lawyer about your facts. Scheduling or attending a case review does not by itself create an attorney-client relationship with Novo Legal Group; the attorney-client relationship begins when both sides sign an engagement agreement.
Already know you want to talk to us?
Call our intake team. They will explain the case-review options, quote the fee for your case type, and book you with the right attorney.
Call (888) 746-5245How a case review at Novo Legal works
Novo Legal offers two attorney-led options for your first meeting with us. Which one fits depends on how much ground your matter needs to cover. Our intake team will help you pick when you call.
Expedited case review — 30 minutes, reduced fee
The expedited case review is a 30-minute attorney-led meeting at a reduced fee off the full consultation rate. It is built for clients who have one specific question — a notice they just received, a status question, a decision they need to make this week — and who want attorney-level triage without booking the full hour.
The expedited review is not a full case strategy session, and it does not attempt to be. Thirty minutes is enough for an attorney to look at the immediate question, tell you honestly whether it points to a bigger issue, and tell you what the next step should be. The reduced fee is quoted to you before booking. There is no surprise pricing at the meeting.
Full consultation — 60 minutes, standard fee
The full consultation is a 60-minute attorney-led meeting for a matter that needs real issue-spotting and options analysis. This is the right choice when your situation has documents to review, a filing history to walk through, or more than one path forward that needs comparing.
Sixty minutes is not arbitrary. At Novo Legal, our full consultation is built to leave room for the attorney to hear the facts, look at the documents you bring, identify the legal issues in your matter, and explain your realistic options. For matters with real complexity, we do not compress that work into a shorter meeting.
The full-consultation fee varies by case type — a marriage-based green card matter, a removal-defense matter, and a U-visa matter take different preparation. The fee is quoted to you before booking.
Not sure which fits? Say so on the phone. Our intake team walks callers through the choice every day and will not push you toward the longer option if the shorter one is the right call for your matter.
What happens in a case review or consultation
Both the expedited review and the full consultation follow the same predictable arc. The 30-minute review moves through the arc faster and stays anchored to your specific question; the 60-minute consultation has room for deeper issue-spotting and options analysis. Most meetings move through these stages in roughly this order:
Intake review. Your attorney opens the file with what you already told our intake team at booking — your name, your country, your immigration history, the basic shape of the matter. You do not start from scratch every time.
Facts conversation. The attorney asks specific factual questions. You bring documents — USCIS receipts and notices, prior filings, passports, court records if the case touches criminal history. Specific facts drive specific advice; vague facts only get vague advice.
Issue-spotting. The attorney identifies the legal questions in your matter and the procedural posture — where you are in the immigration system right now, and what the next steps could be from this point.
Options conversation. The attorney explains the realistic relief and filing options for your situation. This includes honest framing of likelihood and obstacles. It does not include outcome guarantees. Outcome guarantees in a first meeting are a red flag — no immigration lawyer can honestly promise you a result before reviewing your file and the government's file.
Cost and engagement discussion. If the case is a fit for Novo Legal and you want to move forward, the attorney explains how representation would be structured — flat-fee vs. hourly, what is included, what would be billed separately. You are not obligated to retain us at the end of the meeting.
What a case review or consultation is not: it is not a full case strategy session, it is not a guarantee of representation, and it is not a complete legal opinion. It is enough time for an experienced immigration attorney to look at your situation honestly and tell you what the path forward could look like.
What it costs and why
Both the expedited case review and the full consultation are paid, attorney-led services. Our intake team quotes the fee before you book, so you know the number before you commit.
Why the fees vary: the expedited review runs at a reduced rate off the standard consultation fee — it is a shorter meeting anchored to a specific question. The full 60-minute consultation is priced at the standard rate for the case type, and the case type matters. A marriage-based green card consultation, a removal-defense consultation, and a U-visa consultation require very different preparation by the attorney, and the fee reflects the real time a competent meeting takes for each category.
What the review or consultation fee covers: the attorney's time, their advance review of documents you upload before the meeting, their issue-spotting, their honest framing of options, and a clear answer to the question "should I hire counsel for this, and at roughly what scope."
What it does not cover: filing services, document drafting, future representation in your matter. Those live under a separate engagement agreement if you choose to retain us.
If the fee for your case type does not work for you, tell the intake team when they quote it. They can talk through options with you before you decide whether to book.
How to prepare for your case review or consultation
An attorney-led meeting goes much further when you arrive prepared. A few hours of prep on your side is the single biggest difference between meetings that produce real direction and meetings that mostly fill the time with facts the attorney could have read in advance.
Documents to gather:
- Any USCIS notices and receipts you have received (I-797s, RFEs, NTAs, decisions)
- Prior filings if you have copies (I-130, I-485, I-589, I-918, N-400, etc.)
- Passport and travel history records
- Any state-court criminal records if your case touches crimmigration
- Prior counsel's case file if a previous lawyer worked your matter
Write down before the meeting:
- Your family or case history in chronological order — dates matter
- The questions you most need answered
- Timeline pressures — hearing dates, document expirations, work-authorization gaps
Tell us your language preference at booking. Every attorney and staff member at Novo Legal Group is bilingual in English and Spanish — we are a Spanish-first immigration practice. Your case review or consultation can be in either language; many of our clients prefer Spanish.
Book early enough for prep. Last-minute meetings work, but the attorney's review time is constrained. If your case has documents, schedule with enough lead time that we can actually look at them before you join the call.
After the case review — what comes next
There are three honest possibilities after a typical case review or consultation:
- The attorney offers representation. You receive a written engagement letter laying out the scope of representation, fees, and how the matter will be handled. You decide whether to retain. Engagement is your call, not ours.
- The attorney determines the case is a better fit elsewhere. Novo Legal does not retain every case that walks in. Sometimes the right answer is a referral to a different specialty; sometimes a very simple matter is better handled pro se with USCIS than under counsel. We tell you when that is true.
- You take time to decide. The attorney outlines the options and you take a week, talk to family, and come back when you are ready.
On engagement letters. A written engagement agreement spells out what we are doing for you, what we are not doing, how fees and trust-account deposits are handled under the Colorado Rules of Professional Conduct and the Washington Rules of Professional Conduct, and how the relationship can end. If you want a deeper read on how full representation differs from form-prep services, our piece on what full legal representation means in family immigration walks through it.
Common questions about Denver immigration case reviews
How long is a Novo Legal case review or consultation?
The expedited case review is 30 minutes. The full consultation is 60 minutes by default. Some case types — complex crimmigration matters, multi-petition family cases — may schedule a longer block; the intake team will tell you before booking.
How much does an immigration case review cost at Novo Legal?
The expedited case review runs at a reduced fee off the standard consultation rate. The full 60-minute consultation is priced at the standard rate for your case type. The fee for either option is quoted to you before booking, so you know the number before you commit.
What is the difference between the expedited review and the full consultation?
The expedited case review is 30 minutes and is built for a specific, focused question — a notice you just received, a status question, a decision you need to make this week. The full 60-minute consultation is for a matter that needs real issue-spotting and options analysis. Our intake team will help you pick when you call.
Can I do the case review or consultation in Spanish?
Yes. Every attorney and staff member at Novo Legal Group is bilingual in English and Spanish — we are a Spanish-first practice. Your case review or consultation can be in either language; many of our clients prefer Spanish.
Is the case review by phone, video, or in person?
By phone or video by default. In-person meetings are available on request when that fits the matter; the intake team will work it out with you.
Do I have to hire Novo Legal after the case review?
No. The case review and the full consultation are stand-alone services. Whether to retain counsel after the meeting is your decision, not ours, and not every case we meet on ends in representation.
What if the case review fee does not work for my situation?
The fee for either the expedited review or the full consultation is quoted before booking, so you will know the number before you commit. If it does not work for you, tell the intake team when they quote it — they can talk through options with you before you decide whether to book.
Why Novo Legal Group
Novo Legal is a bilingual, community-rooted human rights firm. We represent immigrants and refugees in front of USCIS, in immigration court, and on appeal. We take the time at the start of the relationship because, in our experience, immigration cases often turn on facts that get missed early — and because the people sitting across the table from us are usually deciding whether to trust a lawyer with their family's future.
That is why our first meeting is a real attorney-led review, not a sales screen. That is why we tell you the fee before you book. The honest version of how we work is the version we are willing to publish. In immigration matters, the government does not provide counsel; whoever you hire is the one in the room with you, which is why we treat the case review itself as serious work.
Ready to talk to a Denver immigration lawyer?
Call Novo Legal Group. Our intake team will walk you through the expedited case review and the full consultation, quote the fee for your case type, and book you with the right attorney.
Call (888) 746-5245Denver office: (303) 335-0250 · You can also reach us through our contact page.
Related reading
- Denver immigration practice at Novo Legal — how we work with Denver families and the full process from intake through active representation.
- Our immigration law practice — practice areas we handle, from family immigration to removal defense to citizenship.
- What full legal representation means in family immigration — the difference between licensed attorney representation and form-prep services, and why it matters.
- ICE detained a family member in Colorado: what to do now — the first-72-hours companion piece for families calling about a detention.
- How to choose a Denver immigration lawyer — the next-step read once you have decided to hire counsel.