Is lawyer really necessary or waste of money?

[stefsj]

Hi,

I have read around this forum and web site and found a lot of very useful information and am very grateful I found this site!

One question I can't seem to find an answer to is whether a lawyer is necessary to submit your AOS application or it can be done by simply following the instructions?

I am getting married to my girlfriend, 1 month before her student visa expires. I am naturalized citizen (won the GC lottery 7 years ago) and am from the same country as her.
We are completing the I485 along with the affidavit of support (i864), the copies of passports, INS transcripts, i-94, my naturalization certificate, medical exams, etc.
Also she is filing the i131 for parole and i765 for employment since they are free of charge and good to have if the process is delayed.
Along with the i864 I filled out the i130 with necessary joint bank statements, lease agreements, pictures of us on various of places, marriage certificate and couple of bona fide sworn statements from 2 people present on our wedding.
Am I missing anything? Is the process very complicated if there is no lawyer present? I still have time to give the completed paperwork to someone and pay $500-$2000 to submit them for me, but was just wondering if it will really help in any way? The only concern I have is that her status will expire 3-4 weeks after the original mail date.

Feedback is appreciated! I would love to hear your experience if you did it on your own.

Thanks

[daru786]

As for what you need to file, check out https://www.immihelp.com/i-485-adjustment-of-status/ and you will get all the information. If you have no complication and is a straight forward case, DIY.
Using a lawyer is not waste of money but peace of mind and security.
Good Luck!

[wuselino1412]

i am doing the same thing

seems like you and I are doing the same thing. Except that i am an f-1 student from germany and my husband is a born us citizen. weve been together for 2 years and just got married a few days ago.
Now i have no clue what forms we have to file. I also dont know if i fill it out with my maiden name or my new last name since i couldnt officially change it yet hence to not having a social security card yet.
I just posted a thread about it all earlier, so if you guys could help me with all of this thatd be awesome.
we are trying to do it oursevles too, its not like we have thousands to give to a lawyer

[wuselino1412]

it doesnt matter when her student status expired, she can stay another month after it expires and since youve gotten married they wont send her home to bring her back. if you got married before it all expired its fine. Dont worry about it

did you file the i-130 and i-485 together? i think its possible since shes got the student visa and i want to do the same

[stefsj]

The forms will be sent together since the person changing status is in the country. Since you are filing and paying for I-485 it is good also to apply for parole and for work authorization while you can because this process will be long I assume.

I know exactly what forms to submit and as it is clearly explained on the immihelp web site (as daru says), I was just wondering if lawyer is needed.

[wuselino1412]

it is not necessary

the lawyer is not necessary. it will simply give you some support since they have done the whole thing several times, but i know a bunch of people whove done it all by themselves and got approved too. So it is neither a waste of money nor is it necessary to have a lawyer. he or she just will be some support.

[wuselino1412]

did you add the police report stuff. I read you only have to submit things youve done, since i dont have any police reports can i skip the whole thing or do i have to get some paper that states i didnt do anything?

[stefsj]

Unlike my home country where every such procedure needs to be accompanied with police reports, in the US it seems that the immigration authorities want such reports only if such offenses occurred. At least from the i485 instructions I don't see a reason to submit a "clean report". Besides, I think USCIS have much more information on such arrests abroad that we can even imagine