AOS on my own or hire a lawyer?

[olyaB]

Should a lawyer be hired or do the process myself?

I have a specialized position at the university (may even qualify in the national interest to by-pass the Labor Certification) I graduated with a Masters degree and have been employed by the same university for a few years (now with a work visa I just received). I hear horror stories on getting an Employment Green Card which makes me want to just hire a lawyer for this process.

A friend of mine did the paper work for his wife on a Family based Green Card and is willing to help me. He is recommending I try by myself and then only hire a lawyer if rejected after several attempts (I may qualify for any quota including EB1 and EB2) and the university is willing to go through the Labor Certification.

If you have a similar experience please advise.

[kw177]

AOS on my own or hire a lawyer?

Hire A lawyer.

>He is recommending I try by myself and then only hire a
>lawyer if rejected after several attempts

If you are rejected for a Labor Cert then you have to wait one full year before you can reapply. So every rejection costs you a year.

>A friend of mine did the paper work for his wife on a
>Family based Green Card

So what? All he has to do for that is produce a Marrigage Certificate. An Employment based GC is a lot more complicated (Especially the Labor Cert process which is handled by the Department Of Labor and NOT the Immigration Service).

The Labor Cert is the trickiest part and it pays to get it right first time. After that you file an I-140 (Which is a lot different from the family based I-130).

Get a lawyer. Get A good one.