ottotheboar

I am a Brit my wife is a USC, we did it by ourselves. I was on a 10 year multiple entry visa (was indefinate orginally) and we were married with 2 children. We were asked why we did not apply earlier and responded that we were told by the legal dept of my wifes'c company that as she travelled frequently they may deny my green card. We were told that was incorrect.

ljaw2002uk

I am currently working on my AOS having come to the US in April on a K1, my now wife and myself have done everything ourselves up to this point. The AOS part of the process has been pretty overwhelming, and had it not been for the material and support on this forum, we probably wouldn't have been able to get as far as we have. I probably would have considered using a lawyer if I hadn't found this site... (Thanks )

lostlove

Going for services of an immigration counselor is an individual one. But always make sure your counsel is:
1. AILIA certified.
2. Not a consultant, these are like the street miracle snake oil salesmen, crafty and cunning with grandiose promises.
3. Of good repute with years of experience.
4. Not the Jack of all, master of none type - These are lawyers who do all but nothing. They handle all kinds of law but master none.

Noorah101

I just want to point out that just because an attorney is a member of AILA, it does not have a bearing on his skill. Any attorney can pay the membership fee and be a member of AILA, even a bad attorney. There are good attorneys out there who are not members of AILA.

Rene

Rete

What is a legal aid???

Do you mean a paralegal? Or perhaps just her assistant f.k.a secretary

lostlove

I never commented on skill in my response. Skill has nothing to do with memberships. An AILA membership opens up a plethora of latest immigration law education to keep counselors up to date which is paramount in today's fast changing immigration law.

Thanks for your comment. A skilled lawyer does not have to be a AILA member.

Rene, can you point out good immigration lawyers who are not AILA members?

Noorah101

Not me, personally, no. I'm just saying you said "always make sure your counsel is AILA certified", and I'm just saying that if someone finds a good lawyer who is not AILA certified, that shouldn't be a reason to discount the lawyer completely.

Rene

lostlove

Same here, I have yet to find an immigration lawyer who is not with AILA. All the top immigration lawyers in the country are AILA from what I have seen.

I will ask Mr F. to educate us about AILA and its importance to lawyers. I will wait for the cat to jump on this one.

Rete

It is an organization which is open to all attorneys who specialize in immigration law. What it does is updates the members with the latest information on immigration policies, advises them of court decisions and how those decisions change the working of a particular case structure. It is, essentially both a networking/social organization and an educational venue for its membership.

I've found that each category of the law, i.e. commercial finance, bankruptcy, etc. have an organization which does the same for its members.

Membership is voluntary and costs a fair amount of change.

CLE = Continuing Law Education is also another type of organization for attorneys to continue their education while practicing.

redv

He's a young law graduate. They also have a pool of assistants.

lyonsden1193

We din't use a lawyer. We found that INS as it was, were much more helpful and less defensive. One time when I was in their office for appointment I saw why they hate lawyers. very pushy, rude. Courtesy and respect to the people we dealt with got us a lot of help.

Noorah101

Interesting experience. The problem is, USCIS (no longer INS) is not always correct in their advice, and are by no means giving anyone legal advice. If USCIS had given you incorrect information and you acted on it, they wouldn't have take responsiblity for it. On this forum, we never tell folks to get information directly from USCIS personnel (only to go to the USCIS website to research and download the most current forms and instructions.

Also, when you were in the USCIS office for an appointment, I take it this was via InfoPass?

Rene

lyonsden1193

They had sent me an appt on a related matter. But the upshot was, The gentleman behind the counter was getting fed up with the loud comments coming from lawyers sat there waiting with their clients. Asked myself and the wife if we had a lawyer. sighed with obvious relief when we said no and proceeded to give us loads of help on where to go and get all what we needed for them and went through the paperwork explaining in lay terms their requirements. Although it was never said, I really got the impression that he was grateful not to have to deal with someone who was scrutinising his every word or move to gain an advantage.

No lawyer is not appropriate for everybody, but in my case they saved us a bundle of cash by not needing the third party, and in all my dealings with them over the years they have always been polite and helpful. I certainly don't envy their job of sorting the genuine ones from the frauds.

UltraViolet007

Hey there,
My husband and I decided to use a lawyer because we're pretty young (20 and 23 years old), and really had no idea what to do! The cost for his services was $950, where he gave us all of the forms we needed, checked them for accuracy, mailed them to the USCIS and will give us a mock interview before the "final scary one"

I think it certainly helped us a lot and gave us reassurance, but generally, if you can figure it out by yourself, then there's no need for a lawyer.