A Survey : How much did you pay your lawyer(s)?

M

meLIBERTY2

Registered Users (C)
Hello. I'm new here, but I've been a silent observer (till now)

A little about me :
I started work and research on my application in Summer of 2001
Filed in Dec 2001
Fingerprint Jan 2002
Interview late Jan 2002
Approved Feb 2002.

I've been told that I'm extremely lucky, and thank the powers that be for my good luck, and wish it on others.

Lawyers fees for my case was $3000, (bear in mind I live in a large east coast city, my lawyer originally wanted $5000).
I am still paying it off.

Anyway, I'm about to file for 485, and I'm wondering what's the going rate for Asylum based 485 is, and whether you think it's worth the money.

I think the $3K I spent on my case was well worth spent. My asylum case went so smoothly.
 
Do it yourself

I paid my lawyer $2,500 --$1,500 upfront and $1,000 on the day of the asylum interview.

If your record is not complex (like no criminal convictions or immigration fraud etc) and you can understand English reasonably well, I would strongly advise you to file the I-485 form yourself. I did that and used the attorney fee for a nice vacation.

The adjustment packet is tedious but not hard to fill out. And you can get help from people in this board if you are stuck here or there. Besides, since asylee adjustment takes so so long, it is possible by the time the INS finally decides your application, the attorney you hired might no longer in business and you have paid most of the legal fee.

So I do not see a point in using a lawyer for adjustment.
 
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legal fee

meLIBERTY2,

The fee really depends on location and even more on the particular lawyer. In my area it ranges from $1,000 to $2,000 per person.

Unlike the asylum application which has many legal traps that are hard for the layperson to fathom, the adjustment portion of the process is smooth and mechanical (other than the time it takes to receive approval which no lawyer can help you overcome). So if you have the time and inclination to do a little research on the web and elsewhere, I would ask you to save yourself some bucks and file the case yourself.

Good luck and stay in touch.
 
I had 2 lawyers. The first lawyer took 500 dollars and messed up my files. I fired and got a better lawyer who, so far charged me $3000.
 
I spent $2000 just in the I485 filing for me and my family (4 members) but now I know that I could do it my self, so my recommendation is use that money in something different. There is no risk in this stage of the process.
 
Hey thanks everyone.

I think I will do it myself. I am famlliar with the law, and can read and understand legal code. Unlike my asylum application, there is not a as complex legal argument to be made on a 485 application

I still think the 3K i spent on my lawyer for my asylum application was so worth it. Approved in 3 months, can't beat that.

So I'm doing the 485 myself. Getting on the waiting line folks... Thanks for the advice.
 
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damn, I paid a totol of $8000 to get my asylee approved... now I know it's too expensive for me, I485 is easy to file, everyone can fill it out without lawyer
 
Originally posted by dangdang


Make sure you can understand the directions, kid.
Click to expand...

make sure u can shut up ur shitty mouth and no longer call other ppl kids! considering u even dont know what mutual respect is!damn!:mad:
 
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