This tool provides general cost estimates for informational purposes only. It is NOT legal advice. Costs vary significantly based on individual circumstances. Consult a licensed attorney in your jurisdiction for specific guidance.
2026 cost estimates for immigration in Pennsylvania, including attorney fees, court costs, and other expenses.
As of June 29, 2026, a immigration in Pennsylvania costs on average $5,050, typically $3,050-$8,100 for a moderate-complexity case, based on sourced attorney-fee and court-cost data. Typical attorney rates run $205 to $385 per hour. A moderate-complexity case typically takes 6-12 months to resolve.
Data verified: June 29, 2026
| Complexity | Low | Median | High | Typical Duration |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Simple | $1,150 | $2,250 | $3,400 | 3-6 months |
| Moderate | $3,050 | $5,050 | $8,100 | 6-12 months |
| Complex | $8,000 | $11,000 | $15,000 | 12-24+ months |
Last verified: June 2026
$205 – $385/ hour
Median: $285/hr
6-12 months
For moderate complexity cases
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</script>Immigration legal costs form around two separate line items that are easy to conflate: the attorney's fee for their work, and USCIS (or other federal agency) filing fees, which are set nationally and apply no matter which attorney — or no attorney — handles the case. A straightforward family-based petition with no complicating history is the lowest-cost scenario and is often billed as a flat fee. Employment-based petitions, waivers, or removal defense involve substantially more attorney hours preparing evidence and responding to government requests, which is reflected in the moderate and complex figures on this page.
Because filing fees are federal and state-independent, cost differences between states for immigration matters come almost entirely from local attorney market rates rather than from any difference in the underlying legal process. Cases that draw a Request for Evidence, involve a prior denial, or require appearing before an immigration judge add attorney hours (and sometimes additional filing fees) well beyond the base petition cost.
Take a moderate-complexity immigration matter in Pennsylvania. The recorded median total is $5,050, with reported quotes clustering between $3,050 and $8,100. Each statutory line below is sized against that median.
Added together the itemised lines come to $1,075–$2,740, which leaves roughly $2,310–$3,975 of the Pennsylvania median as professional time — the part that differs between quotes. 2 further recorded fees are not itemised above and are not in that total.
At $5,050, the median immigration cost in Pennsylvania is in line with the $4,938 national average across all 50 states and DC.
Pennsylvania carries 3 rows — simple, $1,150–$3,400 at $155–$310/hr over 3-6 months; moderate, $3,050–$8,100 at $205–$385/hr over 6-12 months; complex, $8,000–$15,000 at $260–$465/hr over 12-24+ months — on 4 shared citations. They put it above the midpoint, short of the top quarter.
$5,050 is a median, not the middle of the band — $2,000 above the $3,050 floor, $3,050 under the $8,100 ceiling. Every rank below is out of 49.
At 22nd of 49, Pennsylvania sits above the midpoint of the immigration table: $300 more than the $4,750 median state, or 6%, with 21 states recording a higher median.
In the immigration table Pennsylvania falls between Wisconsin at $4,850 and Virginia at $5,250, $200 above the first and $200 below the second.
Within three percent of Pennsylvania's $5,050 there is no other tracked state at all, so the figure is not part of a cluster and small changes to it would move the state several rows.
Pennsylvania ranks 19th of 49 on hourly rate at $285 an hour and 22nd on total cost — 3 places apart, enough that the rate is a slightly optimistic guide to the total.
| Rank | State | Median | Against Pennsylvania |
|---|---|---|---|
| 16 | Minnesota | $5,400 | +$350 |
| 17 | Maryland | $5,350 | +$300 |
| 18 | Nevada | $5,350 | +$300 |
| 19 | Maine | $5,300 | +$250 |
| 20 | Oregon | $5,300 | +$250 |
| 21 | Virginia | $5,250 | +$200 |
| 22 | Pennsylvania | $5,050 | — |
| 23 | Wisconsin | $4,850 | −$200 |
| 24 | Arizona | $4,750 | −$300 |
| 25 | Michigan | $4,750 | −$300 |
| 26 | Tennessee | $4,700 | −$350 |
| 27 | Montana | $4,500 | −$550 |
| 28 | Idaho | $4,450 | −$600 |
Within ten percent of the Pennsylvania figure there are 7 states above and only 4 below. $200 up or $200 down moves Pennsylvania a row, which means the ranking has far more room to improve than to slip: the immigration field is dense overhead and sparse underneath.
Climbing five places would mean passing Maryland, Nevada, Maine, Oregon, Virginia and adding $300 to the $5,050 recorded here.
Five places down means passing under Wisconsin, Arizona, Michigan, Tennessee, Montana: $550.
$2,100 short of Hawaii ($7,150), $1,700 clear of Kentucky ($3,350).
At $285 an hour, the $5,050 median represents about 18 hours of attorney time — a matter measured in days of work, not weeks. That rounds to the same 18 hours as the peer median, so on workload Pennsylvania is indistinguishable from the middle of the table at this precision.
The escalation is comparatively shallow on hours. A complex immigration costs 4.9x a simple one in Pennsylvania, but the implied workload only rises 3.1x — 10 hours at $230 becomes 31 hours at $360 — meaning the senior-rate premium of 1.57x carries an unusually large share of the increase.
From $3,050 to $8,100 the moderate band is $5,050 wide, close to the $4,750 peer median. End to end that is 18 hours at $285.
Across the 6-12 months the sources record for a moderate matter, the $5,050 median is roughly $561 a month of elapsed time.
By implied hours Pennsylvania falls to 29th of 49 at 18 hours, 7 places below its 22nd on cost — the immigration total arriving on less recorded work.
34% up the $3,050–$8,100 band sits the $4,750 table midpoint, buying 17 hours at $285 against the 18 the local immigration median implies — 1 hour apart.
| Measure | Pennsylvania | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| Moderate median | $5,050 | 22nd |
| Hourly median | $285 | 19th |
| Implied hours | 18 | 29th |
| Simple median | $2,250 | 14th |
| Complex median | $11,000 | 22nd |
$285 an hour puts Pennsylvania between Texas ($290) and Utah ($285) — not the immigration cost pairing.
Utah records the same $285: rate cannot separate them, totals do.
$5,050 buys 22 hours at $230, 18 at $285, 14 at $360.
| Rank | State | Median rate |
|---|---|---|
| 17 | Oregon | $295 |
| 18 | Texas | $290 |
| 19 | Pennsylvania | $285 |
| 20 | Utah | $285 |
| 21 | Arizona | $280 |
Ranked tier by tier, Pennsylvania slides 8 places downward: 14th at the simple tier, 22nd at moderate, 22nd at complex. Its headline moderate position sits between the two extremes rather than summarising them.
$2,250 is 14th of 49 on a straightforward immigration, under District of Columbia ($2,250) and over Massachusetts ($2,200), $350 over the $1,900 tier midpoint.
$11,000 is 22nd of 49 once contested, between Minnesota ($11,050) and Michigan ($10,950), $250 off the $10,750 tier midpoint.
The three bands are continuous in Pennsylvania: the simple tier reaches $3,400 where the moderate tier starts at $3,050, and the moderate tier reaches $8,100 where the complex tier starts at $8,000. A single quoted figure can therefore belong to two different tiers, and the tier label — not the number — is what identifies which.
| Tier | Pennsylvania | Rank | Tier midpoint | Implied hours |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| simple | $2,250 | 14th | $1,900 | 10 |
| moderate | $5,050 | 22nd | $4,750 | 18 |
| complex | $11,000 | 22nd | $10,750 | 31 |
$2,250 puts Pennsylvania 14th of 49 on straightforward matters, 8 up on its moderate position, and $350 (18%) over the $1,900 tier midpoint.
10 implied hours at $230: 56% of the moderate tier's 18, over 3-6 months.
District of Columbia ($2,250) and Massachusetts ($2,200) bracket it — a $50 window.
8 states record a simple-tier median within three percent of $2,250, denser than the 0 around the moderate row.
$11,000 keeps Pennsylvania at 22nd on contested matters, the same place it holds on the headline figure, $250 (2%) over the $10,750 tier midpoint.
31 implied hours at $360: 172% of the moderate tier's 18, over 12-24+ months.
Minnesota ($11,050) and Michigan ($10,950) bracket it — a $100 window.
5 states record a complex-tier median within three percent of $11,000, denser than the 0 around the moderate row.
| Rank | State | Median |
|---|---|---|
| 12 | Colorado | $2,250 |
| 13 | District of Columbia | $2,250 |
| 14 | Pennsylvania | $2,250 |
| 15 | Massachusetts | $2,200 |
| 16 | Minnesota | $2,200 |
| Rank | State | Median |
|---|---|---|
| 20 | Georgia | $11,350 |
| 21 | Minnesota | $11,050 |
| 22 | Pennsylvania | $11,000 |
| 23 | Michigan | $10,950 |
| 24 | Texas | $10,850 |
In Pennsylvania a immigration is 4th of 8 at $5,050, between DUI / DWI and Personal Injury. At 48% of Criminal Defense ($10,450).
Across practice areas Pennsylvania ranges from 17th of 49 for Personal Injury to 31st for DUI / DWI — a 14-place spread, with its 22nd on immigration inside it.
Pennsylvania is not equally priced in every practice area. Measured against each matter's own midpoint, Immigration runs 6% above its own midpoint while DUI / DWI runs 7% below its own midpoint — a 13-point spread between the extremes.
The largest tracked median in Pennsylvania is 5.2x the smallest, effectively the 5.1x that the typical state records: the internal spread is ordinary even where the levels are not.
1 of 8 matter types rank Pennsylvania in the upper third, 0 in the lower, 7 between; immigration is 22nd.
In percentile terms it sits at the 56th percentile of the 49 tracked states.
| Matter | Simple | Moderate | Complex | Hours | Rank | vs mid | Above |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Criminal Defense | $3,300 | $10,450 | $29,650 | 34 | 23rd | +2% | Illinois |
| Divorce | $2,800 | $8,400 | $22,600 | 27 | 27th | −2% | Arizona |
| DUI / DWI | $3,700 | $6,950 | $16,050 | 24 | 31st | −7% | Montana |
| Immigration | $2,250 | $5,050 | $11,000 | 18 | 22nd | +6% | Virginia |
| Personal Injury | $1,600 | $5,000 | $15,900 | — | 17th | −4% | Michigan |
| Bankruptcy | $1,650 | $3,800 | $4,800 | 15 | 19th | +6% | New Jersey |
| Real Estate Closing | $1,050 | $2,300 | $4,800 | 9 | 21st | +3% | Nevada |
| Estate Planning / Probate | $650 | $2,000 | $5,900 | 7 | 27th | −4% | Minnesota |
Simple tier. $2,250 ÷ $230 = about 10 hours, spread over 3-6 months at roughly $500 a month. The $2,800 step to the moderate tier is 8 more hours at that rate.
Work against price. $5,050 to $11,000 is a $5,950 step, mostly work: 13 more hours at $285 is $3,705, while moving to $360 across 31 hours adds $2,325. Work carries 61%.
Borrowing the wrong row. Budgeting from Wisconsin ($4,850) lands $200 under Pennsylvania; from Virginia ($5,250), $200 over; from the $4,750 table midpoint, $300 out.
Both ends, in time. $3,050 is 11 hours at $285; $8,100 is 28. Over the 6-12 months recorded for a moderate immigration, that is 1 to 3 hours a month — the difference between an occasional file review and continuous work.
Contested against simple. At Pennsylvania's own recorded figures, $11,000 buys 4.9 matters at the $2,250 simple median — or, counted in time, 31 implied hours against 10, a factor of 3.1 — the two ratios differing because the rate rises with the tier.
Verified June 2026. Filing fees change on the Pennsylvaniacourt's own schedule; billing models are covered in the legal fees guide.
This tool provides general cost estimates for informational purposes only. It is NOT legal advice. Costs vary significantly based on individual circumstances. Consult a licensed attorney in your jurisdiction for specific guidance.