- Alma combines expert attorneys with a software-enabled system for companies and individuals pursuing U.S. immigration pathways.
- Alma reports a 98%+ approval rate and ~2-week case preparation, helping high-skilled professionals and companies move cases forward with speed and clarity.
- Alma provides transparent per-visa pricing, including published fees for H-1B, O-1, EB-1, EB-2 NIW, L-1, TN, E-3, and PERM-related matters.
- Employment-based immigration is especially relevant in North Carolina, where technology, research, finance, healthcare, and education employers often rely on H-1B, L-1, PERM, and EB visa pathways.
- Digital case management reduces geographic friction, allowing North Carolina residents and employers to work with specialized immigration teams without being limited to a nearby office.
North Carolina's Research Triangle, Charlotte's banking sector, and growing tech ecosystem attract skilled professionals, founders, researchers, and employers from around the world. Whether the matter involves a researcher pursuing an EB-2 NIW, a tech professional seeking an H-1B visa, or a company sponsoring multiple foreign nationals, North Carolina residents and employers benefit from immigration support that combines legal expertise with clear workflows, transparent pricing, and reliable case visibility.
This overview is informational and high-level. Immigration eligibility, strategy, and filing requirements depend on the facts of a specific matter and attorney review.
1. Alma Immigration - Nationwide Immigration Service
For North Carolina residents balancing demanding work schedules with immigration filings, Alma combines expert attorneys with a software-enabled system for companies and individuals. Alma focuses on high-skilled and employment-based immigration pathways, including O-1, H-1B, L-1, EB-1, EB-2 NIW, TN, E-2, E-3, PERM, and adjustment-related matters. Alma reports a 98%+ approval rate and supports clients through a streamlined digital experience with real-time visibility into case status, timelines, and progress.
What Sets Alma Apart:
Alma gives clients clarity and control throughout the immigration process. Alma centralizes documents, messages, case updates, and compliance information in one place, helping individuals, founders, HR teams, and legal teams understand where each matter stands throughout the process. Alma also uses case intelligence from thousands of prior outcomes to guide stronger strategy from the start.
North Carolina's tech professionals, researchers, startup founders, and employers can use Alma for employment-based categories such as O-1 extraordinary ability visas, EB-1A petitions, EB-2 NIW petitions, H-1B visas, L-1 visas, TN visas, and E-2 investor visas. Alma keeps each case moving through an attorney-led model from assessment through approval, with paralegal support, platform access, and employee communication included in the case fee.
Service Philosophy:
- Transparent per-visa pricing, charged upfront, so clients know the cost of each case before filing
- ~2-week case preparation supported by expert attorneys and a software-enabled system
- Real-time visibility into status, timelines, progress, documents, messages, and compliance
- Attorney-led case management with fast, reliable support
- Platform access, compliance tracking, RFE response, administrative charges, and employee communication included in the case fee
Specialties:
- H-1B specialty occupation visas for technology, finance, healthcare, education, and other specialty roles
- O-1A and O-1B visas for individuals with extraordinary ability or achievement
- L-1 intracompany transfers for multinational managers, executives, and specialized knowledge employees
- EB-1A, EB-1B, EB-1C and EB-2 NIW green card pathways
- TN, E-2, E-3, PERM, I-140, and adjustment-related matters
Business Solutions:
For North Carolina companies, Alma runs immigration end-to-end so teams can hire faster and manage every case with full visibility. Alma gives businesses one place for case status, documents, messages, compliance, cost visibility, and reporting. For growing companies, Alma supports volume discounts and preferred rates for partners such as portfolio companies of Y Combinator, Techstars, and Pear VC.
Cost: Alma publishes flat fees, including $500 for H-1B lottery registration, $3,500 for H-1B Cap/Cap-Exempt, $8,000 for O-1 New, $6,000 for L-1 Initial/New Office, $3,000 for TN New, $10,000 for EB-1A/EB-1B/EB-1C, $10,000 for EB-2 NIW, $8,000 for PERM, and $4,000 for PERM-based I-140 matters. The case fee includes attorney expertise, paralegal support, platform access, compliance tracking, employee communication, RFE response, administrative charges, and up to 3 free consultation calls between attorney and employees per matter. USCIS filing fees are separate.
Availability: Alma serves North Carolina residents and employers through an online platform, with expert attorneys handling cases for individuals and businesses.
Contact: Alma offers free consultations and educational visa information through its visa guides.
2. Garfinkel Immigration Law Firm - Charlotte
Garfinkel Immigration Law Firm is a Charlotte-based immigration practice included here for North Carolina readers comparing local and nationwide options.
What Makes Them Stand Out:
The firm is part of North Carolina's local immigration-law market and handles immigration matters for employers and individuals.
Service Focus:
- Employment-based immigration matters
- Business immigration support
- Family and individual immigration matters
- Charlotte-based immigration representation
3. Edgerton Immigration Law - Raleigh
Edgerton Immigration Law is a Raleigh-based immigration practice included for readers comparing options in the Research Triangle.
What Makes Them Stand Out:
The firm serves clients in the Raleigh area and handles business immigration matters.
Service Focus:
- Business immigration matters
- Employer-sponsored visa support
- Employment-based permanent residence matters
- Raleigh-based immigration representation
4. McKinney Immigration Law - Greensboro
McKinney Immigration Law is a Greensboro-based immigration practice included for readers comparing North Carolina immigration counsel.
What Makes Them Stand Out:
The firm focuses on immigration law and serves clients from Greensboro. Its practice includes both employment-related and proceedings-related immigration matters.
Service Focus:
- Employment immigration matters
- Immigration proceedings and litigation-related matters
- Family and individual immigration matters
- Greensboro-based immigration representation
5. Queen City Immigration Law - Charlotte
Queen City Immigration Law is a Charlotte immigration practice included for readers comparing local options in the Charlotte area.
What Makes Them Stand Out:
The firm serves individuals and families as well as employment-related immigration clients.
Service Focus:
- Employment-based immigration support
- Citizenship and status-related immigration matters
- Family and humanitarian immigration matters
- Charlotte-based immigration representation
6. Gardner Gordon - Raleigh
Gardner Gordon is a Raleigh immigration practice included for North Carolina readers comparing local immigration firms.
What Makes Them Stand Out:
The firm handles a range of immigration matters and serves clients from Raleigh.
Service Focus:
- Business immigration matters
- Employment-based immigration support
- Investor-related immigration matters
- Family and proceedings-related immigration matters
7. Allen & Pinnix, P.A. - Raleigh
Allen & Pinnix, P.A. is a Raleigh-based immigration practice included for readers evaluating North Carolina immigration counsel.
What Makes Them Stand Out:
The firm is part of the Raleigh immigration-law market and handles employment-based, family-based, and nationality-related matters.
Service Focus:
- Employment-based immigration matters
- Nonimmigrant visa and permanent residence filings
- Naturalization and nationality-related immigration matters
- Raleigh-based immigration representation
8. Fay Grafton Nunez - Raleigh, Charlotte, Asheville
Fay Grafton Nunez is included for readers comparing immigration practices with North Carolina office coverage.
What Makes Them Stand Out:
The firm serves clients across multiple North Carolina locations and handles a range of immigration matters.
Service Focus:
- Deportation defense and humanitarian immigration matters
- Visa petitions, green cards, and citizenship-related filings
- Immigration matters involving prior immigration history
- Raleigh, Asheville, and Charlotte office presence
9. Neelam Bhardwaj Immigration Law Offices - Greensboro
Neelam Bhardwaj Immigration Law Offices is a Greensboro immigration practice included for readers comparing Triad-area options.
What Makes Them Stand Out:
The practice serves employers, institutions, professionals, and individuals from Greensboro.
Service Focus:
- Corporate immigration matters
- Employment-based immigration support
- Immigration and nationality matters
- Greensboro-based immigration representation
10. Brown Immigration Law - Durham
Brown Immigration Law is included for readers comparing immigration practices with a North Carolina presence in the Raleigh-Durham area.
What Makes Them Stand Out:
The firm handles employment-based and individual immigration matters and serves clients in North Carolina.
Service Focus:
- Employment-based immigration matters
- Adjustment of status and permanent residence filings
- Immigration services for companies and individual professionals
- Raleigh-Durham-area immigration representation
Making the Right Choice for North Carolina Immigration
When evaluating immigration legal services, North Carolina residents face several high-level considerations:
Technology Advantage: North Carolina's Research Triangle tech culture makes digital transparency especially valuable. Alma gives clients real-time visibility into status, timelines, and progress, with one place for documents, messages, and compliance.
Specialization Matters: North Carolina employers in technology, research, finance, healthcare, and education often rely on employment-based immigration categories such as H-1B, L-1, PERM, and EB visas. Alma focuses on high-skilled and employment-based pathways, including extraordinary ability, national interest waiver, H-1B, L-1, TN, E-2, E-3, PERM, and related matters.
Time Value: Attorney preparation time is separate from USCIS processing time. Alma offers ~2-week case preparation, helping completed filings move through the attorney-led preparation process efficiently before filing.
Cost Transparency: Alma provides a flat-fee structure with clear per-visa pricing, including $500 for H-1B lottery registration, $3,500 for H-1B Cap/Cap-Exempt, $8,000 for O-1 New, and $10,000 for EB-1 and EB-2 NIW matters. Alma includes attorney expertise, paralegal support, platform access, compliance tracking, employee communication, RFE response, administrative charges, and up to 3 free consultation calls between attorney and employees per matter.
Geographic Reality: North Carolina stretches from Asheville to Wilmington, making remote collaboration useful for many clients. Alma serves North Carolina residents and employers through an online platform that supports document submission, messaging, tracking, and case visibility from anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Immigration law is federal, meaning immigration attorneys can represent North Carolina residents before USCIS even when the attorney is not physically located in North Carolina. Alma provides employment-based immigration support through a nationwide, attorney-led platform for individuals and businesses.
After intake and attorney review, Alma guides clients through strategy, document collection, case preparation, and filing support through a centralized platform. Alma gives clients real-time updates on status and next steps, one place for documents and communication, and attorney-led support from assessment through approval.
USCIS processing times are not based only on the applicant's North Carolina residence. The USCIS processing-times tool provides current estimates by form and category; where USCIS lists a service-center-related form under Service Center Operations, the time is presented uniformly rather than as a location-specific estimate. Attorney preparation time is separate from USCIS processing time, and Alma offers ~2-week case preparation for eligible matters.
Costs vary by case type, filing category, and engagement structure. Alma publishes transparent per-visa pricing, including O-1 New petitions at $8,000, H-1B Cap/Cap-Exempt matters at $3,500, L-1 Initial/New Office matters at $6,000, TN New matters at $3,000, EB-1 matters at $10,000, EB-2 NIW matters at $10,000, PERM at $8,000, and PERM-based I-140 matters at $4,000. USCIS filing fees are separate.
Yes. Alma supports businesses with case visibility, centralized documents and messages, compliance tracking, cost visibility, reporting, and attorney-led immigration support. Alma helps companies manage immigration end-to-end so HR, legal, and leadership teams can keep every case under control.
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