Is lawyer recommended for my petition?

[tiang5102 0]

My husband (usc) and i are not sure if we should hire a lawyer for my case or just wing it.

I came here on f1 visa and accidentally got pregnant. After finding out, I dropped out with the intention to go back to my home country for an abortion. That now has changed as we decided to get married and keep the pregnancy. We got a courthouse wedding last month with no witness, and are expecting our son this June. 

We’re afraid it will be hard to prove our marriage to officers as our relationship is pretty new (little under a year,) and we only have shared utility bills starting feb. We’ve been living together since november, however only his name is on the deed since we were not married and I was already out of status. We have insurance together, he is an air force officer, so I’m in deers and have tricare for 9 months (the longest period allowed without a ssn, just enough time for my delivery). We’re looking into obtaining an itin for me so that we can open a joint bank account, and for him to add me as authorized user on his credit cards. Friends and family are aware of us so testimonies are not a problem, but we are not sure if these are enough to prove anything.

[OldUser 6,650]

File for AOS with everything you have and build as much evidence as possible for the interview.

 

Circumstances change, and as long as you're honest in your interview, as long as school you attended was legitimate and not a shady one, you should be OK. Just build your married life and take care of the baby.

 

Here are all the steps for AOS:

 

 

As far as lawyer, it's up to your comfort level. If you can afford it and feel like need moral support, sure, hire one. A lot of them do consults, so interview a few and see if you like working with them before hiring.

 

This should be doable DIY if:

- you and your husband don't have convictions

- he never sponsored any other lady before for visa / GC

- you were never sponsored before

- both of you either never were married before or were, but divorced properly

 

 

Edited March 17, 2023 by OldUser

[TBoneTX 45,285]

Welcome to the forum.

---

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Note:  I have no conflict of interest in making this recommendation.

[pushbrk 12,882]

For a proper recommendation, it's critical to know how much time passed between your entry and your marriage.  If your marriage was more than 90 days after your entry, you'll be needing to file the I-130 along with all the adjustment of status paperwork.

 

Whether you do it yourself or hire a professional, definitely don't "just wing it".

 

Edited March 17, 2023 by pushbrk

[Chancy 6,241]

*** Moved from IR1/CR1 Process & Procedures to AOS from Work/Student/Tourist Visas forum ***

 

[tiang5102 0]

10 hours ago, OldUser said:

File for AOS with everything you have and build as much evidence as possible for the interview.

 

Circumstances change, and as long as you're honest in your interview, as long as school you attended was legitimate and not a shady one, you should be OK. Just build your married life and take care of the baby.

 

Here are all the steps for AOS:

 

 

As far as lawyer, it's up to your comfort level. If you can afford it and feel like need moral support, sure, hire one. A lot of them do consults, so interview a few and see if you like working with them before hiring.

 

This should be doable DIY if:

- you and your husband don't have convictions

- he never sponsored any other lady before for visa / GC

- you were never sponsored before

- both of you either never were married before or were, but divorced properly

 

 

Thank you for your answer! We are afraid that our proofs do not have long enough history: even though our names are on everything as spouses (water, gas, internet, energy, trash, healthcare, life insurance, dental, authorized user on credit cards), they are dated back to feb 2023 the earliest with the exception of our checking/saving account, which will take 3-4 more months (itin takes longer to get during tax season), so it will only have a history of a month or two max. 

May I ask what makes a school shady? If this matters, I’ve been in the us for 2-3 academic years for highschool, one semester at a big public college in florida, then I started at my most current school (private and small) before stop registering for last fall semester. I’ve always departed accordingly to my visa terms, traveling back to my country every summer to visit.

 

The lawyer recommended to us quotes around 3-5k (fees not included) for filing the petition, which we can afford but with our baby coming soon, buying me a car once i can renew my driver license, and for me to start school again after birth, we would want to try doing this ourselves if our case is not too complicated to save money for other goals. 
 

Afaik, both of us have never gotten in trouble with law enforcements or traffic violations, this is our first marriage, he has never petitioned for anyone nor have i ever got sponsored.

[tiang5102 0]

7 hours ago, pushbrk said:

For a proper recommendation, it's critical to know how much time passed between your entry and your marriage.  If your marriage was more than 90 days after your entry, you'll be needing to file the I-130 along with all the adjustment of status paperwork.

 

Whether you do it yourself or hire a professional, definitely don't "just wing it".

 

I entered the country january 2022, got married last month so it’s been more than a year. 
 

We surely would spend a lot of efforts and go through our packages carefully because we don’t want our family to be separated, or for my husband to miss out on the first year or two of our son, thank you for your advice!

[OldUser 6,650]

2 hours ago, tiang5102 said:

May I ask what makes a school shady? If this matters, I’ve been in the us for 2-3 academic years for highschool, one semester at a big public college in florida, then I started at my most current school (private and small) before stop registering for last fall semester. I’ve always departed accordingly to my visa terms, traveling back to my country every summer to visit.

Examples that will complicate you case:

 

- You paid the school money to get status in the US and didn't really study.

- You studied very unrelated fields and jumped from one learning path to the other. Makes USCIS think you were just trying to prolong your stay.

 

At first sight shouldn't be a problem for you, as I assume you got a high school diploma from a US school? What made you switch from big public college in Florida to private and small school before you dropped out? Don't answer here, but these questions may be asked during AOS interview.