Average cost to hire a lawyer ?

To cut long story short, I got married and spent about a week collecting all the required documents. With some thinking and help from responses here, I made up my mind to not use a lawyer and apply myself.

I am married to a USC (my wife) and these are the list of forms I am submitting –

I-130 - Petition for Alien Relative (Filled by my wife)
I-864 - Affidavit of Support (Filled by my wife)
I-765 - EAD (Filled by me)
I-485 – Adjustment of Status (Filled by me)
G-325A - (2 forms each filled by me and my wife)

I have some questions on filling the form and some general questions. I looked in the forums and got answers to some, others, I didn’t.


On the Form I-130

16. Has your relative ever been in Immigration Proceedings?
- My employer has filed for my GC. Is that related with the “Immigration Proceedings” they ask? So should I say “Yes” on this question? Because then they ask for where, when and a bunch of other options I am not sure on.

20. Your relative will apply for AOS in City/State ?
- I am not sure what I should answer here. Should I fill the City/State where I live?


On the Form I-765

16. Eligibility Categories Eligibility under 8 CFR 274a. 12
- Is (c)(9) right for me?

On the Form I-485

Part 3.
Were you inspected by an immigration officer? Y/N
Have you ever applied for permanent resident status in US – give date and place of final disposition? – Does that I say Yes, since my employer has applied for my GC? What does the “give date and place of final disposition?” mean?

General Questions

1. Do I need to notarize all the copies?
2. Should I package ALL the above Forms in one single package and mail it?
3. Where should I apply? Some forms say NE Lincoln, others say Chicago. Sometimes even the same form says Chicago and then at the bottom says NE, Lincoln (for Ohio)
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services
P.O. Box 805887
Chicago, IL 60680-4120
4. When should I send Form I-693. Do I need to send in the package along with the other forms or I can wait and send it later when they ask for it?

Sorry for the long and (maybe repetitive) post. I would appreciate if someone can respond back with some answers. :confused:

Thanks,
A. D.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Anyone ..?

AmitD said:
To cut long story short, I got married and spent about a week collecting all the required documents. With some thinking and help from responses here, I made up my mind to not use a lawyer and apply myself.

I am married to a USC (my wife) and these are the list of forms I am submitting –

I-130 - Petition for Alien Relative (Filled by my wife)
I-864 - Affidavit of Support (Filled by my wife)
I-765 - EAD (Filled by me)
I-485 – Adjustment of Status (Filled by me)
G-325A - (2 forms each filled by me and my wife)

I have some questions on filling the form and some general questions. I looked in the forums and got answers to some, others, I didn’t.


On the Form I-130

16. Has your relative ever been in Immigration Proceedings?
- My employer has filed for my GC. Is that related with the “Immigration Proceedings” they ask? So should I say “Yes” on this question? Because then they ask for where, when and a bunch of other options I am not sure on.

20. Your relative will apply for AOS in City/State ?
- I am not sure what I should answer here. Should I fill the City/State where I live?


On the Form I-765

16. Eligibility Categories Eligibility under 8 CFR 274a. 12
- Is (c)(9) right for me?

On the Form I-485

Part 3.
Were you inspected by an immigration officer? Y/N
Have you ever applied for permanent resident status in US – give date and place of final disposition? – Does that I say Yes, since my employer has applied for my GC? What does the “give date and place of final disposition?” mean?

General Questions

1. Do I need to notarize all the copies?
2. Should I package ALL the above Forms in one single package and mail it?
3. Where should I apply? Some forms say NE Lincoln, others say Chicago. Sometimes even the same form says Chicago and then at the bottom says NE, Lincoln (for Ohio)
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services
P.O. Box 805887
Chicago, IL 60680-4120
4. When should I send Form I-693. Do I need to send in the package along with the other forms or I can wait and send it later when they ask for it?

Sorry for the long and (maybe repetitive) post. I would appreciate if someone can respond back with some answers. :confused:

Thanks,
A. D.
Click to expand...
 
A shot at answering in bold

AmitD said:
To cut long story short, I got married and spent about a week collecting all the required documents. With some thinking and help from responses here, I made up my mind to not use a lawyer and apply myself.

I am married to a USC (my wife) and these are the list of forms I am submitting –

I-130 - Petition for Alien Relative (Filled by my wife)
I-864 - Affidavit of Support (Filled by my wife)
I-765 - EAD (Filled by me)
I-485 – Adjustment of Status (Filled by me)
G-325A - (2 forms each filled by me and my wife)

I have some questions on filling the form and some general questions. I looked in the forums and got answers to some, others, I didn’t.


On the Form I-130

16. Has your relative ever been in Immigration Proceedings?
- My employer has filed for my GC. Is that related with the “Immigration Proceedings” they ask? So should I say “Yes” on this question? Because then they ask for where, when and a bunch of other options I am not sure on.
They mean "removal" proceedings... meaning deportation, if you have say Yes, if not, say No.

20. Your relative will apply for AOS in City/State ?
- I am not sure what I should answer here. Should I fill the City/State where I live?
Chicago, Illinois. That is where you need to send the completed forms


On the Form I-765

16. Eligibility Categories Eligibility under 8 CFR 274a. 12
- Is (c)(9) right for me?
Yes

On the Form I-485

Part 3.
Were you inspected by an immigration officer? Y/N Were you? Did you come to the US legally? through an airport, boat, bus. Went through Immigration? if so, YES
Have you ever applied for permanent resident status in US – give date and place of final disposition? – Does that I say Yes, since my employer has applied for my GC? What does the “give date and place of final disposition?” mean?
Have you been granted that employment based GC? if not write "pending" and the place where your application is being processed. Your district office

General Questions

1. Do I need to notarize all the copies? No. Only the Marriage Certificate. Any copies in a language other than english must be translated. You should include the attached form with the copies though. You certify that they are copies without alterations
2. Should I package ALL the above Forms in one single package and mail it?
Yes. But you need to separate them in packets. With clips or rubber bands: i-130, i-485, i-765, i-131. All four packets with their supporting documents in one envelope.
3. Where should I apply? Some forms say NE Lincoln, others say Chicago. Sometimes even the same form says Chicago and then at the bottom says NE, Lincoln (for Ohio)
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services
P.O. Box 805887
Chicago, IL 60680-4120
Apply to the Chicago Lockbox:

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services
P.O. Box 805887
Chicago, IL 60680-4120
4. When should I send Form I-693. Do I need to send in the package along with the other forms or I can wait and send it later when they ask for it? If you have it go ahead and send it in the I-485 packet. If not they will very likely send you an RFE (Request for Evidence) asking for it and it will delay the processing times of your case. So, send it if you have it and if you do not. Try getting it before you send it all.

Sorry for the long and (maybe repetitive) post. I would appreciate if someone can respond back with some answers. :confused:

Thanks,
A. D.
Click to expand...

No Problem. Hope it all goes well :cool:
 
pipitastro said:
If u get an RFE, then you should ask for your $1400 back :D
Click to expand...

LOL, I wish. We got a RFE but to be honest, it wasn't the lawyer's fault. He sent the exact same documents he sent the first time and USCIS was happy with that.

He charged 1000 from start to finish(did not include Forms), a flat fee and we were very happy with his help. Perhaps we could have done everything by ourselves, but, it did help us be less anxious and nervous, as we knew a pro was working on it.
 
AmitD said:
G-325A - (2 forms each filled by me and my wife)
Click to expand...
You need two G-325A for you, one - for your wife.
20. Your relative will apply for AOS in City/State ?
- I am not sure what I should answer here. Should I fill the City/State where I live?
Click to expand...
I noticed, this question was answered wrong by PraetorianXI. He said: "Chicago, Illinois. That is where you need to send the completed forms". You do send the forms to Chicago, Illinois. However, you go thru AOS in your local District Office. You should enter the city/state of your local DO.
 
Thanks a lot PraetorianXI and Anahit this has been a HUGE help for me. I think you have answered everything I needed. Thanks again, I appreciate this !
- A.D.
 
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