When businesses and high-skilled professionals need U.S. employment immigration support, choosing the right legal partner can determine the difference between seamless approval and costly delays. Two options—Vialto Partners and Alma—represent fundamentally different approaches to immigration services. While Vialto operates as a global mobility giant with integrated tax and relocation services, Alma's business immigration platform offers specialized U.S. employment visa expertise with technology-driven speed and transparent pricing. This comparison reveals why Alma's focused approach delivers superior results for startups, tech companies, and individuals seeking H-1B, O-1, L-1, or employment-based green cards.
The U.S. immigration system presents significant complexity for employers sponsoring foreign talent and individuals pursuing work visas or green cards. Processing times can stretch for months—PERM labor certification can take a year or more, with processing times available from the Department of Labor—making provider selection critical for companies competing for global talent.
For most U.S.-focused employers and individual applicants, the specialized approach delivers better outcomes. Generic global mobility services often lack the depth needed for complex U.S. visa categories like O-1 extraordinary ability or EB-2 National Interest Waiver petitions.
Alma combines attorney expertise with AI-powered technology to streamline the immigration process. Launched in 2023 and headquartered in Palo Alto, Alma has built its platform specifically for U.S. employment immigration—not as an afterthought to broader mobility services.
This focused approach means Alma attorneys handle U.S. employment cases daily, developing deep expertise in USCIS requirements and trends that generalist providers cannot match.
While Vialto spreads resources across 150+ global locations and multiple service lines, Alma concentrates entirely on U.S. employment immigration. This specialization translates to:
For companies managing foreign national employees, Alma's business immigration platform delivers enterprise-grade capabilities without enterprise-level complexity.
Each plan includes up to three free attorney consultation calls per matter, white-glove vendor migration, and one free refile for initial denials on Growth and Enterprise tiers.
Beyond corporate clients, Alma's individual services provide personalized support for founders, professionals, and recent graduates pursuing U.S. work authorization.
For entrepreneurs and founders, Alma offers special pricing through partnerships with Y Combinator, Techstars, and other accelerators. In an interview, Alma's CEO stated they have secured O-1 visa approvals in as little as two months.
Vialto Partners emerged in 2022 as a spinoff from PwC, inheriting 50+ years of heritage in international workforce management. With ~6,000 professionals across 150+ locations, Vialto operates at a massive scale.
However, this broad scope comes with trade-offs. Vialto's generalist approach means less specialization in U.S. employment immigration categories, and their enterprise-focused model creates pricing opacity that frustrates smaller companies.
The differences between Alma and Vialto become stark when examining specific performance metrics.
Alma publishes flat-rate fees for every visa category:
Vialto Partners does not publish pricing. Public sources confirm no detailed fee structure is available—clients must engage in enterprise quote processes to receive pricing.
Customer reviews reveal meaningful differences:
Traditional immigration law firms and global mobility providers often rely on manual processes, email chains, and fragmented systems. Alma's purpose-built platform eliminates these inefficiencies.
For HR teams managing multiple foreign national employees, this integration saves hours weekly compared to managing cases through traditional firms using email and spreadsheets.
Beyond base fees, understanding what's included determines true cost-effectiveness.
The decision between Alma and Vialto Partners depends on your specific needs:
For most startups, tech companies, and individuals focused on U.S. employment authorization, Alma's specialized approach delivers superior outcomes. The combination of transparent pricing, guaranteed speed, claimed high approval rates, and direct attorney access creates a value proposition that traditional global mobility providers cannot match.
Ready to experience immigration reimagined with technology? Get started with Alma and see why leading companies trust our attorney-led platform for their most important immigration cases.
Alma differentiates through technology integration, transparent pricing, and processing speed guarantees. While traditional firms often rely on hourly billing, email-based communication, and manual processes, Alma provides flat-rate fees published online, a proprietary AI-powered platform with real-time case tracking, and a guaranteed 2-week turnaround. Clients also receive direct attorney access, which accelerates decision-making on complex cases.
Alma's business platform provides compliance dashboards, automated expiration alerts, HRIS integration with systems like Workday and BambooHR, and audit-ready record keeping. HR teams gain a single source of truth for all immigration cases, eliminating scattered email threads and spreadsheets. The platform also offers spend projection tools for budgeting and real-time status updates that reduce time spent on case follow-ups.
Yes, Alma's individual services provide personalized immigration support for founders, professionals, and recent graduates. Each client receives a free consultation to explore visa options, followed by tailored strategy development for categories like O-1A or EB-2 NIW. Flat-rate pricing ensures cost predictability, and clients track their case progress through secure online portals.
Service fees are refundable only if requested before the case is filed, with refunds adjusted based on legal work already completed by Alma Legal Services, P.C. USCIS filing fees are refunded in full, and third-party costs (education evaluations, translations) are returned as charged. Platform and marketing services provided by Almaca, Inc. are not subject to this policy, and all administrative charges including FedEx, printing, and postage are included in published fees.
Alma handles all major employment-based green card categories with published pricing including EB-1A, EB-1B, and EB-1C at $10,000; EB-2 NIW at $10,000; EB-1/EB-2 NIW with an approved O-1 at $7,000; PERM labor certification at $8,000; I-140 (PERM-based) at $4,000. Adjustment of status bundles are $2,000 for adults and $1,500 for children under 14, with fees covering attorney time, platform access, and administrative support (USCIS government fees billed separately).
