Attorney Necessary for AOS?

[DBnearSF 0]

We did the visa application on our own and successfully obtained the visa.

We are now being told that the AOS is much trickier and even attorneys will hire immigration attorneys to do their AOS applications for them.

Would appreciate hearing from people who have actually been through the AOS process. Thank you!

[tracyandoksana 0]

I hired an Attorney for my wifes and stepdaughters AOS. Now that I look back at it I am not sure why. It took soooo many times for their office to get all the papers filled out properly. Mostly misspelling of names and so forth. An attorney really does not speed up the process or anything else. Just pay attention to all the guides here on VJ and the advice from the people who have and are going thru the same process and You will be fine without an attorney.

TRACY

[sean2000 0]

I do not think hiring an attorney will make any difference. I applied for my wife's K-3. And now we are waiting for the final result of her AOS interview. The applications are not hard to fill out. You just have to put your time and effort. The one thing I will suggest is to fill out all the forms by typing. Try to be as neat as possible. Also ask questions here on the board and people will definitley be able to help you.

[sptruck 0]

My impression of the immigration process so far is that it is an exercise in following instructions. If you're meticulous about doing exactly as you're told, you should be fine. That means reading the USCIS pages about completing and filing forms; carefully reading the instructions on the forms themselves (black pen, not blue; "none" when "N/A" won't do); using the most current forms available; and checking with your local office for any special AOS filing instructions. In terms of forms and requirements, everything you need is available online.

VJ is invaluable for interview experiences, timelines, quick advice, and the pick-me-ups you need when you think the process is never going to end. It does, eventually, for everyone, and most endings are happy ones.

Some things you can't control. The nurse or doctor who fills out the wrong form. The loss of a job or co-sponsor. All you can do is be dilligent with the people you're depending on to do the right thing.

As for the attorney, save your dough unless you sense that you have a complicated situation. You'll bring far more passion and urgency to your case than any lawyer will, and you can use the money on a weekend away or a party once the green card arrives.

Good luck.

[RichardS 0]

You can easily do it yourself .. savings tons o' dollars!

As others have said, just follow the directions here.

Attorneys do the same thing you would do and charge out the ying-yang for it!

Good luck....

[Hilarious Clinton 452]

Yes. DIY. I have read many times about lawyers making mistakes. You can make mistakes without a lawyer too... but it's a heck of a lot cheaper.

[Kajikit 65]

All you have to do for AOS is to fill out the forms correctly and write some checks... I honestly don't see why anyone would need a professional to do it - I'm paperwork-phobic and even I could get our forms filled out without a problem, following the example templates here on VJ to make sure I was putting the right number in the right box. It's not that hard!

[Jasman0717 9]

We are doing Claudeth's on our own. All we did was follow the AOS guide here on VJ. So far so good

[blue eyes 0]

We did everything ourselvs.We presently have an April interview date for the AOS.We have never had any problem with any of our paperwork.Except for us presently trying to get the Appendix A for the I-693 filled out by a cival surgen for a resonable price.But an attorney could do nothing except raise the price of that Just read,read and read again as you fill out your paperwork to make sure that everything is filled out proper.Make sure that you send all relivent documents copies or origanals where and when asked for.

If you get an attorney you will still have to get everything yourself and hand it to the attorney.It just seemed like a real wast of money to us.But our case is pretty strait forward nothing complecated.Like I said we did not use an attorney but that is a personel decision that the two of you need to make on your own.Just my one cent of words.

[pax 0]

If there's anything in your case that could cause problems, it's not a bad idea to consult with and retain an attorney. That said, if the visa has already been received, nothing could possibly be that bad!

I think it's more important for folks who are adjusting via marriage from tourist visas, VWP, work/student visas, and the like to have some legal consult. But we have folks like that here, and I don't believe any of them actually had a lawyer from beginning to end.

So, in short, if you're panicky about anything, talk to an attorney. If you're fairly confident in your ability to fill out forms and in your having done the visa process correctly, you can probably save your money. I didn't use an attorney for Ewen's K-1 and don't plan to use one for his AOS. As always, your mileage may vary.

[sptruck 0]

Yes, the posting here are very helpful, but I can't stress enough the need to thoroughly read the "official" USCIS procedures and the requirements of your local office. The Seattle office, for example, has specific instructions about filing I-693 and Affidavit of Support docs that may differ from what other offices require.