any need for legal advice or help with paperwork for AOS?

[CluelessAmerican 0]

My girlfriend/fiancee and I are going to get married within the next month. I will petition for AOS on her behalf. She was previously here for two years on a J-1 visa, which is set to expire on June 30. My question is really general, but it would be very nice to get an answer from people with more experience: Is there any need for us to hire a service to assist with the paperwork, or a lawyer? We don't want any unexpected snags in the process. I can't think of anything that might be an issue, but that's kind of the point -- I don't know anything. It would just suck to delay things by months because of a silly error.

 

I'm very capable of reading fine print, following detailed instructions, and so on. If at all possible, we'd rather spare the expense of hiring a service to facilitate the paperwork (seems to be $1000-1500?) or a lawyer (no idea how much it might be). We'll already be spending a fair amount on various fees, not to mention she'll be out of work at least until her EAD comes through.

 

We'll make it work no matter what. I'm just trying to get a sense of what sort of risks there might be in doing the paperwork on our own (loss of time, denial of petition, etc.). Thanks for any help!

[ricky90501 15]

The I-485 application is pretty straightforward and if you follow the AOS guide on the visa journey website you should not have any problems filling out the forms and compiling the necessary documents. I just recently completed the AOS process for my wife (green card received June 3) without hiring a lawyer and we had no problems whatsoever. I have no legal background and had no previous experience with immigration procedures prior to filing for K-1 and I-485. There are also plenty of people on this forum who are willing to offer valuable advice.

[Dashinka 24,597]

The AOS can easily be done by yourself using the guides and assistance from members here on VJ.  Remember, lawyers can make silly mistakes as well, and there are many horror stories out there describing them.

 

Good Luck!

[CluelessAmerican 0]

Thanks very much for the reassurance! I'm glad I found this site -- lots of good information and everyone is very helpful. I don't know anyone in my regular circle who can give advice on this sort of thing. OK, we'll just do the paperwork on our own and make really sure that it's correct and accurate. 

[VJ0617 21]

15 hours ago, CluelessAmerican said:

She was previously here for two years on a J-1 visa

I might be wrong, but if she is subject to 2-year residency requirement outside of the US (J-1 visa holders normally are), then she is supposed to fulfill that requirement or obtain a waiver prior to AOS. Just to let you know about the potential complications, so that you can do some more research before making a decision. As a first step, perhaps you can start with the Form I-485 and instructions to that form. As far as I remember, J visas are mentioned in some of the items there.

[CluelessAmerican 0]

4 hours ago, VJ0617 said:

I might be wrong, but if she is subject to 2-year residency requirement outside of the US (J-1 visa holders normally are), then she is supposed to fulfill that requirement or obtain a waiver prior to AOS. Just to let you know about the potential complications, so that you can do some more research before making a decision. As a first step, perhaps you can start with the Form I-485 and instructions to that form. As far as I remember, J visas are mentioned in some of the items there.

I've checked her visa and it explicitly states that she isn't subject to the 2-year residency requirement.

[VJ0617 21]

3 hours ago, CluelessAmerican said:

I've checked her visa and it explicitly states that she isn't subject to the 2-year residency requirement.

Well, it's a good news then, I guess...

 

Good luck with your journey!

Edited June 24, 2017 by VJ0617
Incomplete.