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Business & farm
Fees charged by accountants and attorneys that are ordinary and necessary expenses directly related to operating your business are deductible as business expenses.
This above reference is from the Professional and Legal Fees section of Publication 535.
To be deductible, a business expense must be both ordinary and necessary. An ordinary expense is one that is common and accepted in your trade or business. A necessary expense is one that is helpful and appropriate for your trade or business. An expense does not have to be indispensable to be considered necessary.
As Champ tagteam has previously mentioned, the post by Lee M is not current and likely referring to the deductibility and limitations of an employee's deduction on a personal tax return.
Personal legal fees for USCIS matters are not deductible on a personal tax return, but business-related legal fees are deductible. Your accountant and others may have not considered them ordinary and necessary, but as state above, Pub 535 uses fairly flexible language.
From the previously quoted USCIS website - As an employer, you may require the services of an alien to work at your company or business. If the individual is already a permanent resident (green card holder), you may hire that individual, but you must comply with the employment verification requirements.
If the alien is not already a permanent resident, you will need to file a petition so that the individual may obtain the appropriate immigrant or nonimmigrant classification. You may choose to file an immigrant petition (permanent) or a nonimmigrant petition (temporary) on behalf of that employee.
The expenses of the above requirements can be considered both ordinary and necessary expenses.
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