Selecting the Right Lawyer to Adjust Status

[kmark3633]

My fiance and I are searching for a lawyer to guide us through the adjustment of status procedure through marriage. We are not yet married but expect to be in a few months.

Neither of us have worked with a lawyer before and want to make sure we pick the right one that'll get our case approved. Can someone share wisdom on how to go about this?

We are both in our early 20s. She is a USC and I am undocumented and on DACA. We have been together for a few years but do not live together yet. We'll move in together shortly and get married at city hall and then do a ceremony later on. I entered legally several years ago with a visa (have an i-94). To my understanding, my case is straightforward - we get married, file paperwork, interview to prove our marriage is real.

Still, as this is a life-changing, we are being very cautious about picking a lawyer. We spoke to a few that own their own firm and we are comfortable with them. One works with the startup I work at and the other was referred to us by a friend.

Then, we found one in NYC (Wildes & Weinberg) who seem reputable. Their name gives us a bit of ease. I guess you can say, their name automatically adds a level of trust that we'll get approved without hiccups. They are also in NYC where we reside whereas the other 2 are in Washington and Texas. However, they are more reputable and bigger and I worry that we're just paying a premium ($3500) compared to $1500 or $2500 for the other 2 lawyers. Also, is it correct to assume that since they are a bigger firm and that the partner is a politician as well that he'll have others just do the work anyway and he'll just sign off on them?

Can anyone share word on Wildes & Weinberg is you have experience with them and is it worth it to go with them?All we care about is that we get approved without any issues. Any help would be great.

Thanks!

[rayb]

The Adjustment of Status procedure is all about paper and is relatively simple. Only six or seven forms need to be completed and signed and USCIS fees of $535 and $1,225 submitted.

So why would one attorney charge $1,500 and another $3,500?

"Because people will pay these fees."

The $1,500 charge by an attorney for this procedure is about as low as a legal professional can charge and make a reasonable profit, and usually if he does the paperwork personally, OR IS JUST RUNNING A PAPER MILL AND PAYING LOW WAGES TO HIRED STAFF OR TO A THIRD-PARTY SERVICE.

The $3,500 you have been quoted (in addition to government fees?) can be justified only if personal representation at hearing(s) are expected. Also, if you are paying this above-average fee to a big company, clerical staff (paralegals or clerks) will be filling the forms for you.

My advice is to use a recognized paralegal who specializes in immigration-related work, and insist that you have a final review of paperwork before submittal and that all government responses come directly to you.

-Ray B

My fiance and I are searching for a lawyer to guide us through the adjustment of status procedure through marriage. We are not yet married but expect to be in a few months.

Neither of us have worked with a lawyer before and want to make sure we pick the right one that'll get our case approved. Can someone share wisdom on how to go about this?

We are both in our early 20s. She is a USC and I am undocumented and on DACA. We have been together for a few years but do not live together yet. We'll move in together shortly and get married at city hall and then do a ceremony later on. I entered legally several years ago with a visa (have an i-94). To my understanding, my case is straightforward - we get married, file paperwork, interview to prove our marriage is real.

Still, as this is a life-changing, we are being very cautious about picking a lawyer. We spoke to a few that own their own firm and we are comfortable with them. One works with the startup I work at and the other was referred to us by a friend.

Then, we found one in NYC (Wildes & Weinberg) who seem reputable. Their name gives us a bit of ease. I guess you can say, their name automatically adds a level of trust that we'll get approved without hiccups. They are also in NYC where we reside whereas the other 2 are in Washington and Texas. However, they are more reputable and bigger and I worry that we're just paying a premium ($3500) compared to $1500 or $2500 for the other 2 lawyers. Also, is it correct to assume that since they are a bigger firm and that the partner is a politician as well that he'll have others just do the work anyway and he'll just sign off on them?

Can anyone share word on Wildes & Weinberg is you have experience with them and is it worth it to go with them?All we care about is that we get approved without any issues. Any help would be great.

Thanks!

[DELIVERT2016]

I agree with RayB. I used a paralegal, $600 that was it.

[newacct]

You don't need a lawyer. Your case is very simple to do yourself. No point in paying someone so much just to fill out forms with information you provide them. Unless you really hate filling out forms that much.

[kmark3633]

The Adjustment of Status procedure is all about paper and is relatively simple. Only six or seven forms need to be completed and signed and USCIS fees of $535 and $1,225 submitted.

So why would one attorney charge $1,500 and another $3,500?

"Because people will pay these fees."

The $1,500 charge by an attorney for this procedure is about as low as a legal professional can charge and make a reasonable profit, and usually if he does the paperwork personally, OR IS JUST RUNNING A PAPER MILL AND PAYING LOW WAGES TO HIRED STAFF OR TO A THIRD-PARTY SERVICE.

The $3,500 you have been quoted (in addition to government fees?) can be justified only if personal representation at hearing(s) are expected. Also, if you are paying this above-average fee to a big company, clerical staff (paralegals or clerks) will be filling the forms for you.

My advice is to use a recognized paralegal who specializes in immigration-related work, and insist that you have a final review of paperwork before submittal and that all government responses come directly to you.

-Ray B

Sorry I should've mentioned that the lawyer that quoted me actually charges $2000 (charged our friends that much) and initially quoted us 2000 as well. However, after meeting with us in person, she agreed to 1500 since we're younger than most.

[Adrian Gruber]

My fiance and I are searching for a lawyer to guide us through the adjustment of status procedure through marriage. We are not yet married but expect to be in a few months.

Neither of us have worked with a lawyer before and want to make sure we pick the right one that'll get our case approved. Can someone share wisdom on how to go about this?

We are both in our early 20s. She is a USC and I am undocumented and on DACA. We have been together for a few years but do not live together yet. We'll move in together shortly and get married at city hall and then do a ceremony later on. I entered legally several years ago with a visa (have an i-94). To my understanding, my case is straightforward - we get married, file paperwork, interview to prove our marriage is real.

Still, as this is a life-changing, we are being very cautious about picking a lawyer. We spoke to a few that own their own firm and we are comfortable with them. One works with the startup I work at and the other was referred to us by a friend.

Then, we found one in NYC (Wildes & Weinberg) who seem reputable. Their name gives us a bit of ease. I guess you can say, their name automatically adds a level of trust that we'll get approved without hiccups. They are also in NYC where we reside whereas the other 2 are in Washington and Texas. However, they are more reputable and bigger and I worry that we're just paying a premium ($3500) compared to $1500 or $2500 for the other 2 lawyers. Also, is it correct to assume that since they are a bigger firm and that the partner is a politician as well that he'll have others just do the work anyway and he'll just sign off on them?

Can anyone share word on Wildes & Weinberg is you have experience with them and is it worth it to go with them?All we care about is that we get approved without any issues. Any help would be great.

Thanks!

As you can see most of the members here recommend proceeding without an attorney!

My recommendation is that you get married quickly and establish a domicile. My reason is based on what we are hearing from the Trump Administration which takes office in less that 3 weeks.
Trump has stated several times he will rescind DACA and its easy for him to do by "Executive Order". Logic dictates that he needs to do something quickly because it was a campaing pledge, 1 of many he made concerning immigration. Face it the so called wall was bullshit, deporting 6 million undocumented aliens is also bullshit.
So do it now and file as soon as you can.
We are all here if you need help.