Have you ever took on adjustment of status without a lawyer?

[curiouscat]

Has anyone successfully gone through the whole process of adjustment of status & getting approved for a green card without a lawyer? Me and my fiancé don't have the amount of funds to hire one and he knows a few couples that have done so by themselves..
Any tips for it going successfully?

[Adrian Gruber]

Attorney

Has anyone successfully gone through the whole process of adjustment of status & getting approved for a green card without a lawyer? Me and my fiancé don't have the amount of funds to hire one and he knows a few couples that have done so by themselves..
Any tips for it going successfully?

There are a number of circumstances that may require an attorney based on your needs and conditions.
There are many couples/individuals who have gone thru the process sucessfully without the use of an attorney.
So far my personal experience has me going thru the procedure solo.

[juand25]

Has anyone successfully gone through the whole process of adjustment of status & getting approved for a green card without a lawyer? Me and my fiancé don't have the amount of funds to hire one and he knows a few couples that have done so by themselves..
Any tips for it going successfully?

A lawyer was going to charge me 3000 for my case, i decided to do it myself. I was very proud of the package i sent, it was very completed and organized. I think it was so well put that is why it only took 3 months from the day i sent it to the day i got my green card. At first it was a bit overwhelming putting everything together, but if yours is also a real marriage there is nothing to worry about and definitely no need for a lawyer unless your spouse has been under deportation proceedings or has had legal problems. Best of luck!

[rayb]

Curiouscat,

There are only five forms need to be completed for the Adjustment of Status procedure, which take about 2 hours to complete:

1. I-485
2. G-325A for applicant
3. I-765
4. I-131
5. I-864

Start the first form, and work right through until #5 is completed. Add supporting documents, fee and passport-style photos. If a K1, add vaccination update. If a conversion from another visa, add I-130 and full medical exam.

The trick is to do this package one form at a time, then have someone who has done it before review your package.

--Rat V

Has anyone successfully gone through the whole process of adjustment of status & getting approved for a green card without a lawyer? Me and my fiancé don't have the amount of funds to hire one and he knows a few couples that have done so by themselves..
Any tips for it going successfully?

[Scorpio78]

My husband and I did the aos without a lawyer, we did pay an immigration lawyer $50 for an hour of her time initially so we knew what to file and when though.

[BlackSteed]

Has anyone successfully gone through the whole process of adjustment of status & getting approved for a green card without a lawyer? Me and my fiancé don't have the amount of funds to hire one and he knows a few couples that have done so by themselves..
Any tips for it going successfully?

Unless you or your spouse has been under deportation procedings or don't have clean records, hiring an attorney, in my opinion, is a waste of money.
Go online to the Uscis.gov website and spend time reading. Also check out some online forums like immihelp. After that, you will feel very confident about doing it yourself.

I did everything myself without spending a penny in legal fees.

[indexplus]

Curiouscat,

There are only five forms need to be completed for the Adjustment of Status procedure, which take about 2 hours to complete:

1. I-485
2. G-325A for applicant
3. I-765
4. I-131
5. I-864

Start the first form, and work right through until #5 is completed. Add supporting documents, fee and passport-style photos. If a K1, add vaccination update. If a conversion from another visa, add I-130 and full medical exam.

The trick is to do this package one form at a time, then have someone who has done it before review your package.

--Rat V

Hi Rat V, If it is so easy, what makes people go to attorneys? Does the sponsoring spouse also need to send tax returns? Is there a link that shows all the supporting documents needed? Thanks!

[gaps0214]

Curiouscat,

There are only five forms need to be completed for the Adjustment of Status procedure, which take about 2 hours to complete:

1. I-485
2. G-325A for applicant
3. I-765
4. I-131
5. I-864

Start the first form, and work right through until #5 is completed. Add supporting documents, fee and passport-style photos. If a K1, add vaccination update. If a conversion from another visa, add I-130 and full medical exam.

The trick is to do this package one form at a time, then have someone who has done it before review your package.

--Rat V

curiouscat we also did ours by putting time into understanding requirements and instructions for each form, it may take longer than the suggested time, ours took 1 day per form because we have other things going on like a job, then when all the forms are done, we invested $250 to consult a highly recommended immigration lawyer (30 years in practice) to look over the forms for review and other suggestions, not only did we get the forms cleared for submission we also got a recommended evidence list that should go with each form, and a practice GC interview, in the end we filed about a month after we started the first form because it took time to get stuff like insurance, utility bills, bank accounts and credit cards sorted out to provide evidence of the marriage.

I guess you’ll just need time and lots of patience to save tons of costs associated with an immigration lawyer.

[gojev93]

We filed our AOS, I-485, I-131, and I-765 without an attorney, and if there is nothing unusual about your case than a lawyer is not necessary. At first it seemed overwhelming, but this website and YouTube videos helped a lot. Our oacjsge was beautiful when we sent it off! Good luck!

[rayb]

If you fill out the forms yourself, at very least have a third party with experience check your documents and package.

--Ray B

[love21_]

We did ours by ourselves but it took lots/months of research and ensuring everything was right. Like gojev93 said, If there’s nothing complicated about your case then I don’t think you need a lawyer but if it’s too overwhelming for you and you’re not willing to go through the route we did then a lawyer might be best to avoid mistakes.