Form I-130. Is a lawyer needed

[Qstate]

Hi

Could anyone please guide me on if it is advisable to hire a lawyer to file the I-130 forms?

Also, what is a reasonable amount on average that a lawyer may charge to file the I130 forms and assist during the process. I just want to ensure my lawyer is not ripping me off. He quoted $6000.

[Adrian Gruber]

Hi

Could anyone please guide me on if it is advisable to hire a lawyer to file the I-130 forms?

Also, what is a reasonable amount on average that a lawyer may charge to file the I130 forms and assist during the process. I just want to ensure my lawyer is not ripping me off. He quoted $6000.

Good morning Q, First off I am not an attorney!
My answer is based on actual experience and I did not use an attorney.
The process to obtain "Adj. of Status" AKA AOS is a 2 step process and costs appx. $2000
You have 2 options, first is the "Petition for Immediate Relative" AKA I-130 and it costs $420 NB: Fees go up in a matter of a few weeks.
The I-130 is a petition that proves a US Citizen or Perm. Resident has an immediate family member that wants to live in the US.
Documentation is needed to prove the relationship between the US Citizen AKA "Petitioner", and the immigrant AKA "Beneficiary"
Processing times may vary but my petition took 5 months.
I said previously that you have 2 options: You can do whats called "CONCURRENT FILING", meaning you can file the I-130 along with your AOS application which is more detailed and requires the identical documentation but you must also get checked out by a certified USCIS approved physician.
I did not file concurrently due to lack of resources, but because I filed my I-130 in 1/2/2016 I received a "Priority Date" 1/5/2016 which USCIS used for my I-485 which I sent July 4
Whats a Priority Date you should ask? USCIS assigns you an Alien# and a PD at the time of receipt and they work your app based on that date.

Good luck.

[Lmz]

Hi

Could anyone please guide me on if it is advisable to hire a lawyer to file the I-130 forms?

Also, what is a reasonable amount on average that a lawyer may charge to file the I130 forms and assist during the process. I just want to ensure my lawyer is not ripping me off. He quoted $6000.

Well to be honest I looks pretty expensive to me, I also have to say that according to my experience it also depends on your location and your case, but the more expensive lawyer-fee I found for my case was 3000 for the whole process. However I decided not to use one, so I don't have more information about how the process is.
I hope you find out what is the best for you,

[DELIVERT2016]

I paid a paralegal $700 to do the whole thing. If your case isn't that complicated then try one of those immigration services. Lawyers are rip offs.

[TarCas]

You do not need either. DO some reading yourself and file it yourself. A lawyer is not needed unless you have some issues with your case.

[africanqueen11]

I did not use a lawyer and I got my GC in 5-6 months.
I asked relatives and friends who went thru the process.

[Belloshore]

Like others have expressed in this thread a lawyer is not needed to prepare and file the forms. In fact, I did everything myself for my husband and we were approved for the 765 & 131. We're now just basically waiting for our biometrics letter to take the fingerprints. Don't waste money on a lawyer unless you run into difficulties with your case. Other than that, best of luck.....

[Khrystyna Butyuk]

We hired an attorney to prepare everything for us. Our case is pretty straightforward but we didn’t want to mess up and cause delays. We’re in Chicago, and attorney fees were just over $6000 (that included filing fees as well) and that guarantees attorney guidance throughout the entire process of getting a green card. Our PD is 2/4/20. We had no RFE at all, EAD in hand since late June and have been ready to be scheduled for interview since 3/27/20.

[txip]

The filing fees will run you a few thousand. To pay $6000 on top would be insane.

You should ask what that covers - is it just the initial filing, or will they review any immigration RFEs, and attend any and all interviews with you?

My lawyer charges a scaling fee depending on family income/ability to pay and we ended up paying $3000 (towards top of the scale) and that covered the initial filings and everything else (attending interview, additional documentation) up until final adjudication.

[danny32]

This post is from 2016 ????????

[kippenpox]

The filing fees will run you a few thousand. To pay $6000 on top would be insane.

You should ask what that covers - is it just the initial filing, or will they review any immigration RFEs, and attend any and all interviews with you?

My lawyer charges a scaling fee depending on family income/ability to pay and we ended up paying $3000 (towards top of the scale) and that covered the initial filings and everything else (attending interview, additional documentation) up until final adjudication.

I agree, $6,000 sounds pricey. I paid $3,200 for "full service" (i.e. lawyer handles all RFEs, comes to the interview, etc) and I thought it was quite expensive already. But the firm had very good reviews and I thought it was better not to risk it.