Started our Journey

[maryireland 0]

Hi All,

Today Myself and my spouse met with an Immigration Lawyer .I was prepared to do the forms myself but he(my spouse) wanted to have a Lawyer I see his point but I wanted to do the forms myself ,sO we have one now I Filed the I-130 as a LPR in April 2012 for my spouse on April 2nd 2012 we got the receipt in the mail a few weeks later. Then I became a US citizen June 12th 2012 so I called and USCIS and sent them my certificate etc to upgrade the petition to reflect the change in my status . Has anyone else being on a similar journey recently and can share with me I really would appreciate it .I am excited to begin the process with my husband and the Lawyer was recommended to us by a close friend so we know hes okay .Plus when I met him I got a good vibe also hes older seems like a nice man also and his wife is from Peru as is my Husband.Hes a bit expensive but at least he can guide us we gave him $700.00 deposit today and the balance to be paid over the next few months. So again advice appreciated .

Thanks Mary Josephine :-)

[Cathi 5,886]

There is no reason to hire an attorney for this process unless you have a complicated case, and it doesn't seem that you do. The lawyer is doing exactly what you can do yourself. It's a waste of money.

[Kathryn41 3,205]

Topic has been moved from US Citizenship forum to AOS from Work, Student & Tourist Visa as OP's husband is in the US already.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

First, congratulations on your citizenship!

Second, you said that your husband is already in the US. What is his status? If he entered legally then he is eligible to apply for Adjustment of Status with your co-submission of the I-130 at the same time. That would mean his green card application would be processed within the US instead of him having to return to Peru to be processed and interviewed for an IR-1/CR-1 visa.

[maryireland 0]

There is no reason to hire an attorney for this process unless you have a complicated case, and it doesn't seem that you do. The lawyer is doing exactly what you can do yourself. It's a waste of money.

I agree but we were worried in case someting could go wrong my husband is a very by the book kind of man , I was scared that if I did the paperwork and there was issues he would be upset etc . PLus this friend who he values her friendship highly recommended this lawyer .

THen my spouse would be disappointed and you know how it is .. Oh my Husband came to the US legally but obviously out stayed his Visa by many years .. never in trouble with the law or anything like that a real good person thats why hes my spouse :-)

[maryireland 0]

Topic has been moved from US Citizenship forum to AOS from Work, Student & Tourist Visa as OP's husband is in the US already.

hi he came here in 2001 on a tourist Visa with his ex wife they divorced she remarried both his children and ex wife have green cards now and well now I am sponsoring my spouse .. He deserves it hes a great man ..

As i said his Visa expired years ago thats why he wanted to get the lawyer .. what do you think advice appreciatted :-)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

First, congratulations on your citizenship!

Second, you said that your husband is already in the US. What is his status? If he entered legally then he is eligible to apply for Adjustment of Status with your co-submission of the I-130 at the same time. That would mean his green card application would be processed within the US instead of him having to return to Peru to be processed and interviewed for an IR-1/CR-1 visa.

[Kathryn41 3,205]

As he legally entered the US on a visitor's visa, even though he has been out of status for a number of years, he is allowed to apply to adjust status to become a permanent resident. He does not need to - and should not - leave the US as once he leaves he would trigger an automatic 10 year ban. You don't want to file for a CR-1 visa. Going through AOS from within the US is your best option.

I also think you should be able to do this without a lawyer. You will need copies of his divorce decree to show that he is legally allowed to remarry and proof of his legal entry to the US. Basically, he is doing the same things his ex-wife did - re-marrying and being sponsored by his US spouse for a green card. His out of status time will be forgiven once his AOS is approved. If he has any red flags - such as using a fake SSN for work or made false claims to immigration benefits, then you might wish to employ a lawyer. If he is just out of status and worked without permission, both of those are forgiven when the green card is approved and are not barriers to adjusting status.

Edited June 24, 2012 by Kathryn41

[Darnell 8,480]

even with this 'condition', the lawyer isn't necessary. You do realize, I Think, that yer on a Do It YerSelf Immigration Web Portal, yes? Lawyer here is a dirty word.

You can have it all good, fast or cheap. Pick two.

Edited June 24, 2012 by Darnell

[maryireland 0]

even with this 'condition', the lawyer isn't necessary. You do realize, I Think, that yer on a Do It YerSelf Immigration Web Portal, yes? Lawyer here is a dirty word.

You can have it all good, fast or cheap. Pick two.

I know but he wants to make sure all is above board and I think he thinks if we have a Lawyer its all okay .. He paid him 700.00 today and I think the lawyer knew too that hey this mans Wife is a smart cookie :-) so we are waiting now to get the I-130 approved that we filed ourselves in April when I was a LPr and i sent the papers to upgrade the petition to let USCIS know that as of June 12th I am a CITIZEN not a LPR when I originally sent the papers I am now A Proud USC .. :-) we can still back out of the lawyer maybe for one reason he will not move forward till we receive the approve I-130 that will be mailed to our home so what do you all think ???

[maryireland 0]

As he legally entered the US on a visitor's visa, even though he has been out of status for a number of years, he is allowed to apply to adjust status to become a permanent resident. He does not need to - and should not - leave the US as once he leaves he would trigger an automatic 10 year ban. You don't want to file for a CR-1 visa. Going through AOS from within the US is your best option.

I also think you should be able to do this without a lawyer. You will need copies of his divorce decree to show that he is legally allowed to remarry and proof of his legal entry to the US. Basically, he is doing the same things his ex-wife did - re-marrying and being sponsored by his US spouse for a green card. His out of status time will be forgiven once his AOS is approved. If he has any red flags - such as using a fake SSN for work or made false claims to immigration benefits, then you might wish to employ a lawyer. If he is just out of status and worked without permission, both of those are forgiven when the green card is approved and are not barriers to adjusting status.

WE have copies of his divorce etc and his Birth cert from Peru translated to English we have all the paperwork at hand .. I think the Lawyer was impressed today at my intellegence regarding Immigration process etc . But hey my husband wanted to get a lawyer we paid 700.00 today and are awaiting the I-130 that I filed myself to be approved we filed it in April 2012 .

[Kathryn41 3,205]

That's good that you have taken care of getting these done. I am not sure if you realized you had the option to co-file both the I-130 at the same time with the I-485 and its associated paperwork. That would actually have been your best and fastest option. Now you will need to wait for the NOA2 from the I-130 before you can file for AOS.

You should certainly be working on getting the I-485 prepared now, gathering together all of your proof of your relationship, filling out the forms, making the necessary copies of everything, preparing the Affidavit of Support and the Employment Authorization Document application so that when you receive your NOA 2 you will be able to make a copy of the approval notice, put it in the AOS application package and sent it out virtually by return mail. Once the AOS package has been accepted at USCIS (NOA 1), your husband will again regain legal status in the US until a decision is made on the application.

[Darnell 8,480]

I know but he wants to make sure all is above board and I think he thinks if we have a Lawyer its all okay .. He paid him 700.00 today and I think the lawyer knew too that hey this mans Wife is a smart cookie :-) so we are waiting now to get the I-130 approved that we filed ourselves in April when I was a LPr and i sent the papers to upgrade the petition to let USCIS know that as of June 12th I am a CITIZEN not a LPR when I originally sent the papers I am now A Proud USC .. :-) we can still back out of the lawyer maybe for one reason he will not move forward till we receive the approve I-130 that will be mailed to our home so what do you all think ???

The only thing that I think is that you must be fast with filing the I-485 set once the I-130 is approved. and really, that's all I think.

[grrrrreat 110]

That's good that you have taken care of getting these done. I am not sure if you realized you had the option to co-file both the I-130 at the same time with the I-485 and its associated paperwork. That would actually have been your best and fastest option. Now you will need to wait for the NOA2 from the I-130 before you can file for AOS.

You should certainly be working on getting the I-485 prepared now, gathering together all of your proof of your relationship, filling out the forms, making the necessary copies of everything, preparing the Affidavit of Support and the Employment Authorization Document application so that when you receive your NOA 2 you will be able to make a copy of the approval notice, put it in the AOS application package and sent it out virtually by return mail. Once the AOS package has been accepted at USCIS (NOA 1), your husband will again regain legal status in the US until a decision is made on the application.

It looks like she filed the I-130 when she was an LPR only--which means they couldn't have filed I-485. But now she is a U.S. citizen, so they're upgrading the petition and sending I-485 off.

I know but he wants to make sure all is above board and I think he thinks if we have a Lawyer its all okay .. He paid him 700.00 today and I think the lawyer knew too that hey this mans Wife is a smart cookie :-) so we are waiting now to get the I-130 approved that we filed ourselves in April when I was a LPr and i sent the papers to upgrade the petition to let USCIS know that as of June 12th I am a CITIZEN not a LPR when I originally sent the papers I am now A Proud USC .. :-) we can still back out of the lawyer maybe for one reason he will not move forward till we receive the approve I-130 that will be mailed to our home so what do you all think ???

You should go ahead and file I-485 once you case is upgraded to spouse of U.S. citizen. You are eligible to adjust status now, you don't have to wait for the I-130 to be approved.