Can we start the process without an immigration lawyer?

[luvknowsnoborders 0]

Hey everyone!!

My husband is on a student visa and is about to graduate (YAY!!), so unless we start our green card application he will be forced to leave the country Yesterday we went to see an immigration lawyer to talk about the green card AOS process, and she told us it would cost us just under $6000 to file everything through the law firm ($4200) and to pay the immigration fees ($1600).

SIX THOUSAND DOLLARS?!?! We don't have that kind of money!! Is a lawyer absolutely necessary to start the process or can we do it on our own? We've been doing research on what forms to file and what to send in, but we're afraid immigration won't accept the application because we didn't use a lawyer...

I don't want my husband to go back to Europe!!

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!!!!

Also, how long does it take to get him a work permit? He's been getting employment offers but he can't accept them because he's not allowed to work... it's frustrating!!!

Thank you so much

Edited September 2, 2009 by luvknowsnoborders

[Otto 83]

That is a very large amount.

Why do you think you will need an attorney?

(Is there some history that needs to be gone over? Visa overstays - previous denials/removal proceedings? illegal entries? that sort of thing)

Most folks here have done most/all of this process on their own and having an attorney does not give you an advantage over doing it yourself if you have a straightforward case and can read and interpret the instructions (with the added benefit of our Guides and tips).

[Anh map 2,098]

A lawyer is not required. Many here on VJ have completed the entire journey straight through to US citizenship without an attorney.

Do some reading in the Guides section to familiarize yourselves with the options available and requirements.

He will not be able to work legally with the proper visa or immigrant status. Best to get started as soon as you can.

Welcome to VJ

[JlovesC 0]

Hey everyone!!

My husband is on a student visa and is about to graduate (YAY!!), so unless we start our green card application he will be forced to leave the country Yesterday we went to see an immigration lawyer to talk about the green card AOS process, and she told us it would cost us just under $6000 to file everything through the law firm ($4200) and to pay the immigration fees ($1600).

SIX THOUSAND DOLLARS?!?! We don't have that kind of money!! Is a lawyer absolutely necessary to start the process or can we do it on our own? We've been doing research on what forms to file and what to send in, but we're afraid immigration won't accept the application because we didn't use a lawyer...

I don't want my husband to go back to Europe!!

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!!!!

Also, how long does it take to get him a work permit? He's been getting employment offers but he can't accept them because he's not allowed to work... it's frustrating!!!

Thank you so much

Hi,

I'm not a specialist, but I have my personal experience and I just want let you to know that you don't need a lawyer to prepare your paperwork. It can take a while, but if you pay attention to all the steps, you can be successful. I prepared all my forms with a lot of reading and help from this forum (check my timeline out). There are a lot of important information here. You only need to 'understand' all the process. I received my work permit two weeks before my green card interview, that happened 3 months after sending the I-485. They will not deny your application because you don't have a lawyer. From my understanding, what lawyers do is to fill out all the paperwork. You can do it yourself.

Good luck!

[cuteboysmom 0]

This forum is a great resource, and people here are so helpful !! I just got approved , with no lawer .

To give you an examle my husband spent a lot of money when applying for his citizenship- he is a citizen by naturalization (that years ago , he had some issues there, so he thought he needed a lawer and had to pay ) and still it took him years , the lawer were not really helpful, so in his case that was a complete waste of money!

So we were not even considering getting a lawer for filing my AOS .

If you try to do it yourself it may seem overwhelming first but take it step by step , ask questions, it is very doable !!! And many people here will agree with that.

Good luck to you!!

Edited September 2, 2009 by cuteboysmom

[ABENITEZ 0]

OMG dont get a lawyer, we wasted so much money on ours. Lawyers do nothing but slow down your process and stress you out more! You can deffinetely do this on your own. Read through the guides on here and familiarize yourself with the steps and required paperwork. It's so easy and it will save you alot of hassle...good luck

[Peter&Jaime 1]

Hey everyone!!

My husband is on a student visa and is about to graduate (YAY!!), so unless we start our green card application he will be forced to leave the country Yesterday we went to see an immigration lawyer to talk about the green card AOS process, and she told us it would cost us just under $6000 to file everything through the law firm ($4200) and to pay the immigration fees ($1600).

SIX THOUSAND DOLLARS?!?! We don't have that kind of money!! Is a lawyer absolutely necessary to start the process or can we do it on our own? We've been doing research on what forms to file and what to send in, but we're afraid immigration won't accept the application because we didn't use a lawyer...

I don't want my husband to go back to Europe!!

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!!!!

Also, how long does it take to get him a work permit? He's been getting employment offers but he can't accept them because he's not allowed to work... it's frustrating!!!

Thank you so much

Unless you have a problem with your case such as Otto und Karin said then you don't need a lawyer. The paper work is not that complicated and if you have problems you just ask on the forum and you will get many people who are willing to answer your question. This forum is full of people who have applied for a visa without a lawyer. My husband just got to the USA in April and we used ONLY visajourney as our source of information for filling out these forms. I can tell you that using the information here especialy the guides for the NVC significantly shortened my time waiting. I also felt more confident when I went to the interview with my husband because we filled out everything ourselves so I was certain I could answer any questions regarding our applications. Good Luck!

[luvknowsnoborders 0]

That is wonderful news! Thank you so much!

He's a good man and he has never violated immigration laws so I think we can do this on our own. I was so scared that not having a lawyer would mean they wouldn't take our case seriously... Who knew that falling in love with a foreigner would turn out to be so stressful?!

Thanks!!

[sherpa 0]

Like others have said, as long as you do not have any weird situations to fix, you definitely should do it on your own! $6,000 is a lot of money for something that can easily be done on your own. Good luck!