Wife eligible to apply for citizenship - lawyer raised fees $2000!

[Jmah89 5]

Hello everyone,

 

My wife is now eligible to apply for citizenship after having her green card and living with me in the USA for 5 years. When we first started the immigration process, we went with a laywer because she was here in the USA on a J-1 visa, and the visa said she had a two year residency rule. Turns out, after submitting an advisory opinion to the department of state, it was determined that she actually did not have a 2 year residency rule and she was eligible to adjust her status here in the united States (She was here as an Au-Pair, and received no funding from her government to be here on here J1 visa, hence the rule does not apply. au pair is not even on the exhange vistors skills list).

So we applied for her adjustment of status using the lawyer (fee was 5k!). Thankfully, she was approved fairly quickly. 

Then almost 2 years later, we applied to remove her conditions on her green card (went with the lawyer again and it was 2.5k!)

Now she has had her green card for almost 3 years, living in the USA with me the whole time we have been married (for nearly 4 years!)

We bought a house together over 2 years ago. We have a son who is a year and a half. Joint bank accounts. bought a car together. on each others benefits and life insurance. all that. 

Anyways, at the beginning of the process, i always was told by the lawyer that the legal fee for citizenship would be the cheapest (1.5K) but apparently she raised her prices by 2k! (3.5k total) for the citizenship case because of some presidential proclamation last august about good moral character. 

I know this forum is pro-DIY, but i am wondering what people's recent experiences are? How much are your lawyers, if you have them, charging for citizenships. What would it be like to change lawyers if i did choose to go with a different one, considering the fact i used the same lawyer for the first two cases? 

Thanks in advance! 

 

[Boiler 48,977]

I have never come across a Au Pair subject to a 2 Year HRR, and for the life of me can not think of how one would.

 

There is no need to use the same Lawyer. Seems a few reasons not to.

[Jmah89 5]

1 minute ago, Boiler said:

I have never come across a Au Pair subject to a 2 Year HRR, and for the life of me can not think of how one would.

 

There is no need to use the same Lawyer. Seems a few reasons not to.

yeah, with regards to that, it was the consulate in my wife's home country who made the mistake. they marked on her visa form that she was required to have the 2 year rule. But the advisory opionion to the department of state determined she was not required to, and her adjustment of status went smoothly. 

If i were to switch lawyers, would the new lawyer need to have access to the first to submissions (484 + 751)? My first lawyer has all the completed packets...i sent her the documents and she was the one whole compiled and sent everything...... 

[Boiler 48,977]

As a general comment I think it is a good idea to keep a copy of your paperwork. I suppose from a practical perpespective it matters if you have had prior issues.

[Jmah89 5]

11 minutes ago, Boiler said:

As a general comment I think it is a good idea to keep a copy of your paperwork. I suppose from a practical perpespective it matters if you have had prior issues.

Yeah think i'm going to have to request my lawyer to send me a copy of all the cases we have submitted. good idea. 

 

[Lemonslice 5,447]

Many cities and non profit offer free help to file for citizenship.  Are you sure you need a lawyer? 

[TBoneTX 49,737]

I agree with Lemonslice.  You've paid more than enough already, I think.

[appleblossom 6,029]

Why not have a look at the form and see if you think you’d be happy completing it yourself? I’ve not applied for citizenship but from what I’ve read on the forum it’s the easiest part of the whole process, and very few use a lawyer to do it. Unless there’s some complication you’ve not mentioned, I’d save your money and do it yourself (with the excellent help on VJ of course!). 

[Dashinka 26,716]

I agree with the others, that I would explore the DIY for N400, but that is entirely up to you.  And yes, get a copy of your documents from the lawyer, and if you absolutely want a lawyer, shop around a little.

 

Good Luck!

[R&OC 380]

My husband filed for mine and my children's I-130 many years ago and based on the advice we got here, we were able to do it all ourselves. Including the Removal of Conditions, my n-400 and my children's N-600 paperwork. USCIS sat on my kids N-600 for two years and we hired an attorney to get the case moving along. Other than that, all forms are pretty much straight forwarded and we received extremely good advice here. Unless you have a scenario which merits legal support, I would always do it myself. 

[Jmah89 5]

14 hours ago, TBoneTX said:

I agree with Lemonslice.  You've paid more than enough already, I think.

well, i'm not entirely sure if i need a lawyer. I believe our case is pretty straight forward. One thing that makes me worry a little worried is that we were never interviewed for the greencard, so I am expecting an interview for removal of conditions (possible combo n400 someting?)

but when i talked to the lawyer last time, she made it seem like this new good moral character thing on citizenship is really a deal now. The only thing i could think that might be some sort weird thing is that we got a letter from the IRS (CP 14) saying that we owed money. as soon as i got the letter, i paid it right away. Besides that, no other issues with taxes, or and sort of traffic violations or anything. 

 

[Jmah89 5]

9 hours ago, appleblossom said:

Why not have a look at the form and see if you think you’d be happy completing it yourself? I’ve not applied for citizenship but from what I’ve read on the forum it’s the easiest part of the whole process, and very few use a lawyer to do it. Unless there’s some complication you’ve not mentioned, I’d save your money and do it yourself (with the excellent help on VJ of course!). 

ive looked at the form, doesnt look too difficult to complete. i just have never prepared the packet, and i'm not exactly sure what all evidence would be sufficient to submit. i suppose that information is here on VJ. i guess because ive used a lawyer the first two times, my risk adverse, anxious mind, is telling me i should do everything i can to protect my family.

Also, my lawyer was saying, not sure if anyone else can confirm, but she is saying that denied n400 are getting NTA. The thought of that also makes me very anxious... 

[Crazy Cat 46,585]

49 minutes ago, Jmah89 said:

Also, my lawyer was saying, not sure if anyone else can confirm, but she is saying that denied n400 are getting NTA. The thought of that also makes me very anxious... 

 

 

Non-Attorney opinion:

Of course some attorneys would say that.  Some attorneys prey on unfounded fear........and some make stuff up sometimes.  My wife and I did the visa interview process, the I-751 , and her N-400 (5 year rule) processes ourselves with no issues.  The N-400 was was the easiest.  It was a guided online process of answering questions and uploading a few documents (5 year rule).  Even with an attorney, YOU still have to gather the evidence and documentation.

 

A denied N-400, in itself, would not cause an NTA.  For an attorney to state that as a blanket statement is malpractice, imho. That might happen only in an extremely rare case where the legal residence was fraudulently acquired.  I don't recall seeing any of those. 

Edited 3 hours ago by Crazy Cat

[Jmah89 5]

9 minutes ago, Crazy Cat said:

 

 

Non-Attorney opinion:

Of course an attorney would say that.  Some attorneys prey on unfounded fear........and they make stuff up sometimes.  My wife and I did the visa interview process, the I-751 , and her N-400 (5 year rule) processes ourselves with no issues.  The N-400 was was the easiest.  It was a guided online process of answering questions and uploading a few documents (5 year rule).  Even with an attorney, YOU have to gather evidence and documentation.

 

A denied N-400, in itself, would not cause an NTA.  For an attorney to state that as a blanket statement is malpractice, imo. That might happen only in an extremely rare case where the legal residence was fraudulently acquired.  I have seen none of those. 

Thanks Crazy cat. when did you guys do the citizenship? Did the GMC proclamation last august really make a big difference in citizenship cases? 

and yes, i understand that the 5 year rule would require less evidence than the 3 year rule which my wife is currently eligible to apply under. I agree, i was the one who gathered all of the evidence. the lawyer just pointed me in the right direction.....

[Crazy Cat 46,585]

14 minutes ago, Jmah89 said:

Thanks Crazy cat. when did you guys do the citizenship? Did the GMC proclamation last august really make a big difference in citizenship cases? 

and yes, i understand that the 5 year rule would require less evidence than the 3 year rule which my wife is currently eligible to apply under. I agree, i was the one who gathered all of the evidence. the lawyer just pointed me in the right direction.....

My wife attained citizenship in 2023, so POTUS proclamation had no effect on our case.  We see lots of members still getting Naturalization Certificates....and I don't recall seeing any denials in years.  The last one I remember was due to early filing.  Some people hire attorneys, and some don't.  Peace of mind is a great thing....but the N-400 isn't normally a difficult process.  The most time consuming part of the N-400, for us, was finding the departure and arrival dates for wife's international travel...LOL.

Edited 3 hours ago by Crazy Cat