Adjusting of Status with no lawyer?
 

Is this a bad idea? I feel like I could do it on my own but I don't want to risk anything if it's complicated. I've heard it's not that bad but I wanted to see if anyone could share their own experiences.

I am a visa overstay with DACA and an EAD. I have never left the country since I was brought here. I am married to a USC and we have been together for five years.

Thank you!

ETA: I just noticed there's a thread for aos for daca.. sorry about that! I noticed that people mentioned if you are close to 2 years of marriage, you should wait until after 2 years so you can skip conditional and just go to permanent gc? We are four months away from 2 years of marriage (long story as to why we didn't try to adjust before). Should we just wait until after our 2nd anniversary has passed? I've read they can be more strict because it's the 10 year card, which, even though our marriage is real, seems kind of scary. Not sure how to figure out removing conditions while applying for adjustment at the same time..

Re: Adjusting of Status with no lawyer?
 

Go for it! I also am a visa overstay, DACA recipient twice, self filed both DACA and Adjustment of status; have been married less than 2 years and Adjusted through my US Citizen spouse. Come over to the AOS thread, there is more information there.

Re: Adjusting of Status with no lawyer?
 

Never do this without a lawyer. You'll be sorry, do it right the first time.

Re: Adjusting of Status with no lawyer?
 

Don't listen to this guy. Your case is pretty straightforward and if you consider yourself somewhat bright and thorough with your work research from these threads and meticulous detail when submitting your applications should be enough. If you do start facing some complications you can always contact a lawyer and I'm sure they will be happy to take over your case.

There were so many DREAMers that were scared to initiate this process when it first started, and in all honesty it didn't end up being that complicated but many chose the lawyer route and ended up paying thousands of dollars for a very simple request.

Best of luck in whatever option you choose.

Re: Adjusting of Status with no lawyer?
 

I agree with afloo12345, my brother is doing that for his wife without a lawyer since their case is fairly simple and you can always do one-time consultations if you get stuck or to know where to begin. Immigration lawyers are a waste of money in these cases, and even in cases when you do need one sometimes (long story).

The whole process takes months so if you want to wait, that's fine, but if not, then I'd advise you to do it ASAP... you never know what mess is coming with the elections, it's better to normalize your status as soon as you can.

Good luck!

Re: Adjusting of Status with no lawyer?
 

I applied without a lawyer and did the work all by myself. Currently waiting for interview to be scheduled now. :-)

Re: Adjusting of Status with no lawyer?
 

I also did the entire package myself. Give yourself a full month to research, prepare and prep your documents. Below are all the links I used. Each case is obviously different, but you can piece together gaps by looking and researching everything! As I cross referenced my situation with various others, I could piece together what I was missing or if I filled out a question wrong(there are some questions that confused me on whether I was supposed to put my information or my petitioners, trust me it is trickier than it looks!)

It also helps to Google EVERYTHING. I frequently googled things like "Mistakes on I-130" "mistakes on I-485" also googled specific key words such as avoiding delays on aos, easy mistakes to make on green card application, etc. I guarantee you will come out with a much more detailed case for yourself than going through an immigration attorney asking for $3k for filling out paperwork for you. Then again we have the luxury of feeling comfortable with the technology available to us and knowing how to use the internet to out advantage.


http://www.immihelp.com/greencard/ad...plication.html
http://www.visajourney.com/content/k1k3aos


These last two were especially helpful:
http://www.mrspresson.com/immigratio...nts-checklist/

https://law191.org/marriage-green-card.html

Re: Adjusting of Status with no lawyer?
 

If the case is straightforward, no red flags, etc... then perhaps not doing it with a lawyer is fine. You can save some money. My case for example does not fall into that category and I invested in getting a lawyer to maximize my chances of a smooth process. As many have commented here, it can be done. It also depends on your skill in filling out these forms.

Re: Adjusting of Status with no lawyer?
 

I know plenty of people who didn't use an attorney, including my brother. It was pretty straight forward for him. I was doing it myself at first but have decided to get an attorney. It's not like DACA where it's not confusing, I did DACA myself and have been approved. With AOS, it's very important so there's no room for error, IMO. However, each their own. Good luck!

Re: Adjusting of Status with no lawyer?
 

Thank you everyone! I'm going to look into it myself first but will definitely keep a lawyer in mind in case I feel I am in over my head.