Chicago · Immigration Guide
Illinois carries more than 220,000 pending immigration court cases, and since August 2026 a USCIS officer can deny a filing without asking you for more evidence first. Both facts change what you should want from a lawyer. We compared three immigration lawyers serving Chicago on state bar licence records, the case types each one actually handles, the fee terms each one publishes and the client reviews we could read, and set out who each suits and where each falls short.
DJA Editorial · Legal Directory Research
Checked against state bar licensee records, court sources and public review platforms · Last updated September 2026
The short answer
Three firms, each leading for a different kind of Chicago immigration problem. This is a shortlist rather than a ranking. The firm in the top slot does not have the largest Chicago review base of the three, and one of the three has no Chicago office at all.
1
Kasturi Law, LLC
Best for a case USCIS has already questioned or denied
2
Murthy Law Firm
Best for an employer-sponsored work visa or employment green card
3
Panteva Law Group LLC
Best for a Chicago case that may reach a federal judge
At a glance: Immigration Lawyers in Chicago, compared
| Firm |
Best for |
Focus |
Bar record |
Fees |
Rating |
| Kasturi Law, LLC |
Best for a case USCIS has already questioned or denied |
RFEs, NOIDs, appeals, family cases, naturalization, student status |
Illinois 1997, Indiana 1998, both active |
Not published; 30 and 60 minute consultations bookable online |
5.0 · 353 Avvo |
| Murthy Law Firm |
Best for an employer-sponsored work visa or employment green card |
H-1B, L-1, EB-1, EB-2, EB-5 and employer compliance |
Sheela Murthy: New York, Maryland, U.S. Supreme Court. Not Illinois |
$250 to $350 for a 20 minute consultation, published |
3.8 · 185 Google |
| Panteva Law Group LLC |
Best for a Chicago case that may reach a federal judge |
EB-1A, EB-2 NIW, O-1, H-1B, family cases, removal defence |
Iskra Panteva, Illinois 2013, plus N.D. Ill. and Seventh Circuit |
Retainer on every matter; a reviewer reports $150 for 30 minutes |
4.7 · 70 Google |
Immigration in Chicago: the local picture
$2,115
Government fees before a lawyer is paid
A marriage green card filed from inside the United States starts at $675 for the I-130 on paper plus $1,440 for the I-485. That money goes to USCIS, not to the attorney. Naturalization is $760 on paper or $710 online. Filing online saves $50 on most forms but not on the I-485.
30 days
The deadline that decides most denials
A Notice of Intent to Deny gives you 30 days at most. A Request for Evidence can give up to 84 days, or 87 with mailing time. USCIS guidance issued on 5 August 2026 lets officers set shorter periods case by case, and lets them deny some filings without sending either notice at all. Extensions are not available.
$0
If you cannot afford any of these firms
Chicago residents can get free representation from the National Immigrant Justice Center, World Relief Chicagoland and The Resurrection Project’s legal clinic, all staffed by attorneys or DOJ-accredited representatives. The statewide hotline is 855-435-7693. If your household income is at or below 400% of the federal poverty guidelines, the naturalization fee drops to $380, requested inside the N-400 itself.
What clients in Chicago say: Read the reviews across these three and the praise is almost never about legal argument. It is about whether somebody answered. Reviewers name the paralegal who called back more often than they name the statute that won the case, and the firms that get this right get it right consistently. The complaints follow the same shape in reverse: a paid consultation where the question went unanswered, a quote that never arrived, silence after the retainer cleared. Ask how you will be updated, and how often, before you sign anything.
How we chose these Immigration Lawyers in Chicago
We looked at firms that Chicago immigrants are actually pointed towards, then compared them on things you can check yourself: the state bar licence record for the named attorney, the case types each firm lists rather than the ones it advertises, whether it publishes any fee at all, where its offices physically are, and the client reviews visible on Google and Avvo. Immigration is federal, so a lawyer admitted in any state may represent you before USCIS and the immigration court here. That is why one firm on this list is licensed in Maryland and New York rather than Illinois, and why we say so plainly rather than quietly leaving it out.
The three are a shortlist, not a ranking, and each leads for a different situation. Placement was not earned by any score we calculated. Firm details come from each firm’s own website, cross checked against Google Business Profile listings, Avvo licence records and directory entries, and against public USCIS, DOJ and court sources. Where a firm publishes a figure about itself, we label it as the firm’s own figure. Anything we could not confirm during this update is flagged on the page rather than filled in, and no case result appears here unless the firm publishes it.
1. Kasturi Law, LLC
Best for a case USCIS has already questioned or denied
★★★★★ 5.0 / 5 · Avvo · 353 reviews
The pick when a notice has already arrived. Shobhana Kasturi runs separate service pages for Requests for Evidence, Notices of Intent to Deny, N-336 naturalization appeals, I-290B motions, and F-1 status reinstatement, which is an unusual amount of post-denial work for a small firm to advertise. She has also written for AILA on answering a NOID. If you are looking for an immigration lawyer in Chicago for USCIS denials and appeals because USCIS pushed back rather than because you are starting a filing, that narrower problem is what this practice is arranged around.
Identity and footprint
Chicago office332 S Michigan Ave, Suite 900, Chicago, IL 60604
Chicago phone312-374-6952 (fi
Chicago hoursMonday to Friday, 10am to 5pm
Other Illinois officesNaperville headquarters at 29 S Webster St, Suite 370 on 630-392-8101, and Schaumburg at 1821 Walden Office Square, Suite 400
Lead attorneyShobhana R. Kasturi, founder and sole named attorney
LanguagesEnglish, Hindi and Urdu
ConsultationsIn office, by phone or by Zoom, bookable as 30 or 60 minute slots through the firm’s online calendar
Practice and scope
Only practice areaImmigration and nationality law. No other area of law is listed on the site
Post-denial workRequest for Evidence responses, Notices of Intent to Deny, N-336 naturalization appeals, I-290B motions to reopen and reconsider
Student statusF-1 reinstatement, B-2 to F-1 change of status, reduced course load questions and the phaseout of duration of status (f
Family and humanitarianI-130, adjustment of status, I-751, K-1, VAWA, U visa, 601A provisional waivers, humanitarian parole
Criminal crossoverCrimmigration opinion letters on how a charge or conviction affects status, which the other two firms here do not list
Not listedRemoval defence and employer-side corporate compliance do not appear as practice areas
Published writingAILA pieces on combatting a Notice of Intent to Deny (2017), T visas (2016) and humanitarian parole (2015)
Credentials and licensing
Illinois licenceAdmitted 1997, active and authorized to practice law, no misconduct found
Indiana licenceAdmitted 1998, active in good standing, no misconduct found
EducationJD, University of Iowa College of Law, 1995. BA, Loyola University Chicago, 1992
AILAMember since 2014, APAC Chapter Secretary from 2024, Co-Chair of the Indian Sub-Continent Interest Group 2025 to 2026, National Distance Learning Committee
Chicago Bar AssociationMember since 2013, Immigration and Nationality Committee
Career before immigrationPartner at Macey Bankruptcy Law from 1998 to 2013 and associate at Peter Francis Geraci from 1997 to 1998. Kasturi Law opened in 2014, so the immigration-only practice is roughly 12 years old while the licence is 29
Years claimedThe firm site says 23+ years in one place, 26+ in another and more than 27 on the Chicago page. The Illinois admission date of 1997 makes it 29
Board certificationIllinois does not certify attorneys in immigration law, so nobody on this page holds one
Directory recognitionAvvo Rating 9.8, Three Best Rated Top Lawyers 2023, Avvo Clients’ Choice in several years
Fees and consultation
StructureNot published anywhere on the site
ConsultationBookable as a 30 or 60 minute slot through the firm’s calendar. The price is not stated, and Avvo records no fee information
Free consultationThe firm does not advertise one. Do not assume the first call is free
What clients say
✓ Replies quickly
✓ Explains the options plainly
✓ Turned around denials and student status problems
· Only 14 reviews on the Chicago listing
The recurring note across the Google and Avvo reviews we read is speed of reply and being told plainly what the options are. Several reviewers name a specific fix: a NOID converted to an approval, a daughter’s student status taken up directly with her university, a stalled case escalated to a senator’s office. One anonymous reviewer in September 2026 said she talks more than she listens, and she answered publicly on the same day.
Why they fit Chicago: The clearest fit of the three when USCIS has already raised a problem, because the post-denial work is set out as its own practice rather than buried inside a general immigration page, and because the 30-day NOID clock does not reward shopping around. Two caveats worth knowing. First, the reputation sits in the suburbs: the Chicago Google listing carries 14 reviews while the Naperville listing carries 327, and the Chicago office keeps 10am to 5pm weekday hours, so ask which office your meetings and your interview prep will actually happen at. Second, this is a one-attorney firm that does not list removal defence, so if your case turns into a court matter you may be referred out.
2. Murthy Law Firm
Best for an employer-sponsored work visa or employment green card
★★★½ 3.8 / 5 · Google · 185 reviews
The firm to weigh when your employer is paying and the case is H-1B, L-1 or an employment-based green card. Murthy Law Firm runs close to 100 lawyers and staff out of Owings Mills in Maryland, with a Seattle satellite and affiliate offices in Chennai and Hyderabad, and it publishes a free library of visa bulletins, processing times and rule changes that Chicago HR teams already read. It is not a Chicago firm and does not present itself as one. It takes clients anywhere in the United States remotely.
Identity and footprint
Head office10451 Mill Run Circle, Suite 100, Owings Mills, MD 21117
Chicago officeNone. The firm states it can consult with and represent clients anywhere in the United States or abroad
Phone and hours410-356-5440, Monday to Friday, 8:30am to 5:00pm Eastern, which is 7:30am to 4:00pm in Chicago
FounderSheela Murthy, founder and president, firm opened 1994
SizeNearly 100 lawyers and staff, the firm’s own figure, which cannot be checked independently
Other locationsSeattle satellite office, plus affiliate offices in Chennai and Hyderabad, India
Client accessOnline case management portal, live chat with client service representatives, free e-newsletter
Practice and scope
Core workEmployment-based immigration for both employers and employees
NonimmigrantH-1B, L-1, J-1 exchange, other work categories, F-1, J-1 and M-1 student status, B-1 and B-2 visitor
ImmigrantEmployment-based and family-based green cards, EB-5 investor, diversity lottery, naturalization
Federal litigationMandamus actions to force a decision on a stalled case, offered as a standalone service
Also listedEmployer investigations, port of entry assistance, USCIS representation, consular assistance, medical professionals, travel issues
Not listedRemoval defence does not appear as a practice area
Free resourcesVisa bulletin, processing times, news briefs and a question archive updated several times a week, all public and free
Credentials and licensing
Sheela Murthy admissionsNew York, Maryland and the U.S. Supreme Court. Illinois is not among them
Why that is still permittedImmigration is federal law, so an attorney admitted in any one state may represent you before USCIS and the immigration court in Illinois. State admission matters for state court, not for your green card
Where to check the licenceThere is no ARDC record to look up for this firm’s leadership. The licence sits with the Maryland Judiciary’s Attorney Information System and the New York court system
EducationLL.M., Harvard Law School, 1987. LL.B., University Law College, Bangalore
Bar serviceChair of AILA National’s InfoNet Advisory Committee, previously Chair of the AILA liaison committee to the Department of Labor for Maryland, Virginia and Washington DC, and a member of the ABA Immigration Law Subcommittee
Directory ratingThe firm states it holds an AV Preeminent 5.0 rating from Martindale-Hubbell. That is the firm reporting a third party rating about itself
Prior careerWhite & Case in New York, then Baltimore firms, before founding this practice in 1994
Fees and consultation
Consultation price$250 to $350 for 20 minutes, depending on the attorney chosen. This is the only published consultation price of the three firms here
ExtrasThe firm states additional fees may apply for document reviews or matters involving criminal issues
DiscountsThe firm says client service representatives can say whether any consultation discount applies
Case fees
Who usually paysOn employer-sponsored work, the employer is normally the client and pays. Ask your HR team who the firm actually represents, because it may not be you
What clients say
✓ Mandamus moved a stalled case
✓ Process discipline on complex filings
✗ Paid consultation left the main question unanswered
✗ Billing disputes after an error
· 3.8 average across 185 reviews
The Google reviews on the Owings Mills listing split sharply, and the 3.8 average is the lowest of the three firms here. The positive ones describe careful process and one describes a five-year pending I-485 approved after the firm filed a mandamus action. The negative ones repeat two complaints: a paid consultation where the attorney could not answer the main question and nobody followed up, and charges to correct a problem the reviewer says the firm caused.
Why they fit Chicago: The strongest of the three on employer-sponsored work, where volume genuinely helps: a firm processing thousands of H-1B and employment green card cases a year has seen your RFE before, and the mandamus practice is a real answer to a case that has simply stopped. But go in knowing what you are buying. The rating covers a Maryland office, not a Chicago one, and it is 3.8. Nobody in the firm’s leadership is admitted in Illinois. Every meeting is remote, and the phone line closes at 4pm Chicago time. If your case is family-based, humanitarian or heading for the court at 55 East Monroe, this is the wrong shape of firm for it.
3. Panteva Law Group LLC
Best for a Chicago case that may reach a federal judge
★★★★½ 4.7 / 5 · Google · 70 reviews
The only one of the three with a downtown Chicago office and an attorney admitted to the Northern District of Illinois and the Seventh Circuit, which is what a case needs if it stalls into a mandamus suit or ends up in front of a judge at 55 East Monroe. Iskra Panteva came out of Dentons, then ran the immigration department at a Chicago firm, before founding Panteva Law Group in 2018. The practice leans towards EB-1A, EB-2 national interest waivers and O-1, with family work and removal defence alongside.
Identity and footprint
Chicago office444 W Lake Street, Suite 1700, Chicago, IL 60606, in the West Loop
PhoneThree numbers are in circulation: 312-210-0741 on the firm site, 312-423-4990 on Google, and 312-471-0083 on Facebook, Yelp and Justia. Use the number on the firm’s own site
Founding attorneyIskra G. Panteva, firm founded 2018
TeamReviewers name paralegals and staff by first name rather than dealing only with the attorney
LanguagesAvvo lists Bulgarian, Spanish and English for Panteva herself. The firm site advertises Bulgarian, Spanish, Mandarin and French as services offered, which implies staff or interpreters rather than the attorney
Service areaChicago plus Naperville, Cicero, Oak Park, Evanston and Schaumburg, and the firm also takes clients nationwide
HoursThe Google and Yelp listings both say open 24 hours, which is a listing default rather than real staffing. Call during business hours
Practice and scope
Employment basedEB-1A, EB-1B, EB-2 national interest waiver, EB-3, EB-5, H-1B, L-1A, O-1, TN and E-2 investor
Family basedI-130 petitions, marriage cases, fiance visas, adjustment of status, removal of conditions
CitizenshipNaturalization and citizenship applications
Removal defenceListed as a practice area and backed by the federal court admissions, which is the difference between saying it and being able to appear
Employer sideCorporate compliance and nonimmigrant visa programme management for multinational companies
Stated intake policyThe firm states it does not take a case unless it is convinced the case will be approved. Ask what that means for a hard case, because it may mean a no
Credentials and licensing
Illinois licenceAdmitted 2013, active and authorized to practice law, no misconduct found
Federal admissionsU.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois and U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. Neither of the other two firms here lists these
EducationJD, Loyola University Chicago School of Law, 2013. BA, Loyola University Chicago, 2008
CareerAssociate at Dentons, formerly Dacheng Law Offices, in Chicago from 2014 to 2016, then head of the immigration department at Johnson, Blumberg & Associates from 2016 to 2018
Bar serviceAILA member since 2016, AILA National Pro Bono Liaisons, Chicago Volunteer Legal Services committee member, Women’s Bar Association of Illinois, co-chair of the National Association of Minority and Women Owned Law Firms 2017 to 2019
RecognitionThe National Advocates Top 40 Under 40, 2017. That is a paid-membership directory honour, not a bar award
Avvo Rating9.4, with 18 client reviews, all at five stars
Board certificationIllinois does not certify attorneys in immigration law
Fees and consultation
StructureAvvo records a retainer on every matter. Cash, cheque and card accepted
ConsultationNot free. A Google reviewer describes being asked to book a paid 30 minute consultation at $150 before the firm would quote on a single form. The firm replied publicly that it takes the facts of a case before confirming a quote
Published pricesNone on the firm’s own site
What clients say
✓ Fast H-1B and L-1A turnarounds
✓ Staff named personally by clients
✗ Clear pricing only after a paid consultation
· 4.7 across 70 Google reviews
Reviewers on Google describe quick outcomes on H-1B, L-1A and marriage-based adjustment, and they name paralegals rather than only the attorney, which usually means the support side is doing real work rather than routing everything upward. The one detailed complaint is about pricing: a caller who wanted an estimate on a single form was asked to pay for a consultation first. The firm answered it publicly instead of ignoring it.
Why they fit Chicago: The most Chicago of the three, and the one to call if there is any chance your case ends up in front of a judge or in federal district court, because the Northern District and Seventh Circuit admissions are on the record rather than implied. The West Loop office is a twenty minute walk from the immigration court. The caveats are scale and disclosure: this is a small firm with one named attorney, the Avvo review base is 18 while the Google base is 70, three different phone numbers are published across its own listings, and it will not quote you a price until you have paid for a consultation. Ask what the consultation costs before you book it.
What to check before hiring an Immigration Lawyer in Chicago
✓ Check the licence yourself, it takes two minutes
The Illinois ARDC runs a free lawyer search at iardc.org showing registration status and any public discipline. Search the individual attorney who will handle your file, not the firm name. If the attorney is licensed in another state, as one firm here is, use that state’s bar instead. Anyone who cannot tell you which bar they belong to is not someone to hire.
✓ Ask whether you are hiring an attorney or an accredited representative
Only licensed attorneys and DOJ-accredited representatives working for a DOJ-recognized nonprofit may give immigration legal advice. A notario, a consultant or a form-filling service may not, and a bad filing by one of them can create a record that follows you. This is the single most common way people in Chicago lose a case they should have won.
✓ Get the fee in writing, and ask what is not included
None of the three firms here publishes a case fee. Ask for the flat fee or hourly rate for your specific case type, whether the consultation fee is credited if you hire them, whether USCIS filing fees are included or billed separately, and what happens if USCIS issues an RFE or a NOID. Those responses are often billed as new work.
✓ Ask who answers when you call, and how often you will hear from them
Across every review base we read, the complaints were about silence and the praise was about somebody calling back. Ask for the name of the person who will handle your file day to day, whether that person is an attorney or a paralegal, and what the firm’s own standard is for returning a call. Get the answer before the retainer clears.
✓ File a change of address within five business days of moving
If you have a case in immigration court, form EOIR-33 must reach the court within five business days of any move. If the court sends a hearing notice to an old address and you do not appear, the judge can order you removed in your absence. Change your address with USCIS separately using form AR-11. The two systems do not talk to each other.
✓ Treat the date on your USCIS notice as fixed
A NOID gives 30 days at most and a Request for Evidence gives 84, or 87 if mailed. Extensions are not available and the mailbox rule does not apply, so your response has to physically arrive by the date printed on the notice. Since August 2026 officers can also set shorter periods, so never assume you have the maximum.
Immigration Lawyers in Chicago: frequently asked questions
How much does an immigration lawyer cost in Chicago?
None of the three firms on this page publishes a case fee, which tells you something in itself. Only Murthy Law Firm publishes a consultation price, at $250 to $350 for 20 minutes. A Panteva reviewer reports being quoted $150 for 30 minutes. Kasturi Law offers 30 and 60 minute slots without stating a price. Separately from any attorney fee, USCIS charges $1,440 for an I-485, $675 for a paper I-130 and $760 for a paper N-400.
Does my immigration lawyer have to be licensed in Illinois?
No. Immigration is federal law, so an attorney admitted and in good standing in any state may represent you before USCIS, the immigration court and the Board of Immigration Appeals anywhere in the country. That is why Murthy Law Firm, licensed in Maryland and New York, can take a Chicago case. Where state admission does matter is federal court: suing USCIS to force a decision on a stalled case is filed in the Northern District of Illinois, and only an attorney admitted there can appear.
What happens if I miss my immigration court hearing in Chicago?
The judge can order you removed in your absence. The Chicago Immigration Court sits at 55 E. Monroe Street, Suite 1500, with a second courtroom at 536 S. Clark Street, and it hears cases for Illinois, Wisconsin and part of Indiana. Illinois had 220,455 pending cases as of March 2026, and mass scheduling has pushed absence rates sharply higher, so an old address on file is a genuine risk. File form EOIR-33 within five business days of any move.
I got a Request for Evidence. How long do I have?
Look at the date printed on the notice and work backwards from it. The regulatory maximum is 12 weeks, which is 84 days, or 87 when the notice is mailed. A Notice of Intent to Deny gives 30 days at most. USCIS guidance issued on 5 August 2026 lets officers assign shorter periods case by case and lets them deny some filings without issuing either notice first, so a 30-day RFE is now common where 87 days used to be standard. Extensions are not granted.
Where can I get free immigration legal help in Chicago?
The National Immigrant Justice Center provides free legal services to Chicago residents and runs a helpdesk for unrepresented people in the Chicago Immigration Court. World Relief Chicagoland and The Resurrection Project’s Immigrant Justice Legal Clinic both offer free or sliding-scale help staffed by attorneys and DOJ-accredited representatives. The Illinois hotline is 855-435-7693. The Department of Justice also publishes a roster of recognized organizations by city.
Can I reduce the government filing fee?
For naturalization, yes. If your household income is at or below 400% of the federal poverty guidelines, the N-400 fee drops from $760 to $380, and you request it in Part 10 of the form itself rather than filing a separate Form I-942. A full fee waiver on Form I-912 is available for some other applications, including where you receive a means-tested benefit. Reduced and waived fees apply to the government fee only, not to anything a law firm charges.
DJA Editorial
Legal Directory Research
Compiles Distinguished Justice Advocates city guides from state bar licensee records, court and agency sources, and publicly visible client reviews. Firms appear as a shortlist rather than a ranking, and placement is not earned by any score DJA calculates. Figures a firm publishes about itself are labelled as its own, and anything that could not be verified is flagged on the page rather than estimated.
