Should I just use a lawyer? Complicated history but not messy... if that makes sense

[momo83110 0]

I have gone thru the Green Card process once before. I was married to my ex about 25 years ago and we have been divorced for 16 years. Since that time... I have been married 2 times after to American citizens.

My second husband was a college sweetheart and we have 2 children together. My third husband and I were together for 3 years but only married for 1 year and mainly got married for health insurance (although we were a real couple- I just didn't want to be married but his compnay requires marriage and not just common law, which is what we were).

I recently got married again (so marriage number 4) to someone from my own cultural background. He is from Cambodia and I myself am 1st generation Cambodian-American. I met my now husband at a family friends' party when he was visiting his sister on a B1 visa this last summer. We met and married within 3 months of meeting and have now been married for 7 months and it's been great so far.

We are about to file but I am unsure if I should use a lawyer or not. My ex husband (the first one) is remarried and has kids- we are still friendly and keep in touch. I went thru the process with him but neither one of us has the paperwork still. We are both having a hard time finding our case files and even our divorce decree. There seems to be no online query that I can find on my own. I never really thought I would go thru the GC process again. I am wondering if I should hire a lawyer to do all this since it seems a bit... complicated.

Or should I file on my own and submit any information that they need moving forward?

 

Posted as a reccomendation from Reddit.

Edited March 18 by momo83110
Clarification

[nastra30 2,284]

Just to clarify. You got citizenship through your 1st husband?

You'll need all your divorce decrees from the previous 3 marriages. Can't you get a divorce decree from the county clerk?

Edited March 18 by nastra30

[Dashinka 24,487]

Even hiring a lawyer will require you to do the legwork with respect to gathering the documents needed to file.  You will need all the divorce decrees to file for new spouse.  As to your first husband if he knows his A Number that should be fine, you shouldn't need all the documents you used to file for him all those years ago.

 

Good Luck!

[momo83110 0]

2 minutes ago, nastra30 said:

Just to clarify. You got citizenship through your 1st husband?

You'll need all your divorce decrees from the previous 3 marriages. Can't you get a divorce decree from the county clerk?

No- I was born and raised in America.

My first huband was already in America for a few years with a work visa bey the time we met.

My next 2 husbands are both American citizens

My current husband came on a B1 visa and is currently overstayed

Edited March 18 by momo83110
grammer

[OldUser 6,624]

Nothing will be decided without paperwork. You need to get all the divorce decrees, get all dates for all marriages and divorces etc etc. You can certainly hire a lawyer, but will still have to do a lot of work yourself.

Edited March 18 by OldUser

[nastra30 2,284]

7 minutes ago, momo83110 said:

No- I was born and raised in America.

My first huband was already in America for a few years with a work visa bey the time we met.

My next 2 husbands are both American citizens

My current husband came on a B1 visa and is currently overstayed

Ok. First generation American could mean a couple things so thanks for the clarification. But as I already alluded to, you'll need those divorce decrees. If you are able to get all your docs in order you could do this yourself because you already have experience doing it. Good luck.

Edited March 18 by nastra30

[millefleur 5,046]

8 hours ago, momo83110 said:

I went thru the process with him but neither one of us has the paperwork still.

I wouldn't worry about the old paperwork as USCIS and the embassy will have access to that. If you yourself are curious to get it again, you can file a FOIA request and USCIS should be able to pull all of it for you. 

 

As for the divorce decree, you need to contact the court where it was filed and request a new copy. If you can't find anyone to contact online, trying calling. The record is there it's just a matter of getting someone to pull it for you and paying for a new copy.

[powerpuff 6,697]

*** Topic moved from Progress Reports to US Citizenship General discussion ***

[Boiler 45,466]

They will not like this one, red flags a flying, strongly recommend a good lawyer. I see a Stokes.

Edited March 27 by Boiler