yacsie

Hi Damara, I am going through pretty similar situation right now, and I found you've been providing really helpful answers regarding this application. I was wondering if you could give me some advice as well. Here is some details about my applications. My husband is an USC, and we filed I-751 jointly. 
- Submitted I-751 jointly in July 2016 in California. 
- Took my biometrics in August 2016 and received 1 year extension on my GC, which will expire in August 2017.
- As of today, USCIS office is still processing applications submitted in June 2016. So it's only a matter of time before they get to mine.
 
We dated for 1 year and 4 months and got married. It's been 3 years and 3 months since we were married. However, things have not been great, and we have always tried to work it out in the last couple of years. Unfortunately, he has decided that he wanted a divorce. We are going to court next week (5/15/2017) to file for a divorce. It will take at least 6 months for the divorce to finalize in Southern California. I consulted several lawyers and they all told me to file the divorce now if he really wants to but just wait for immigration’s notice. I feel I should notify immigration office first after we file a divorce, but I really don’t know how that will affect my application. Every lawyer told me, once we file for a divorce, do not to have any actions right now but wait.
 
I think Immigration Office will get to my application in 2-3 months. Do you suggest that I wait now without further action? And if I do get RFE or an interview, I notify them that we are in divorce process and maybe then switch to a waiver?
 
I am also likely to move out once we file for a divorce, should I change my address too? Will changing my address affect my application?
 
I am greatly appreciated for your help and thank you @alluneedisluv for sharing your process! Best of luck to the both of us!

Ok for the address situation you are going to submit the AR 11 and fill out the present physical address as whatever is the actual location of where you are physically. They use this to determine where your local office is. Whenever you move locations you are suppose to update this. If you are only moving with in towns its really not going to change your local office BUT you are suppose to notify them. So for right now you can use your temp room as your physical address because it is- and when its not--- well, when that time comes you can deal with it. I doubt you are going to be living on the streets or in your car. Im sure you will make arrangements, and like I said if its in the same general area its not going to impact where you are being processed so its not such a big deal if you dont reort it right away. They wont be pleased but eh, it happens. You will then need to get a PO Box. This is to make sure you get all your mail from USCIS. Right now they have whatever address is on file (whatever you sent in on your 751). So you are not at that address. You have to change it. You will fill this out under MAILING address. They will send your mail there. That can be a PO Box.

Moving on- you do not need to be divorced (meaning final divorce decree) to use the waiver option. You will not be APPROVED with out it, but you can switch to that filing method if need be at any time you are no longer eligible for the joint method. (either your spouse is withdrawing support, you are separated formally or informally, divorce has started etc) Depending on how far along in the divorce you are when you switch or are forced to switch several things can happen. You may have enough time to get a final decree in to USCIS and get approved. If you dont they have to close out your waiver petition because you didnt have the final decree and send it over to immigration court. This is just an administration process that sounds scary, but its just paperwork and bureaucratic process at work. You can still work and travel and will be an LPR. You will just have an expired card and need to get a new stamp as proof. You will have to go to immigration court and show your divorce decree. If you dont have it when its your time to go the judge will give you a new date to come back with it because they know divorce courts are slow and have their own rules on how long you have to wait. When you finally do get it, you go back and present it and are approved for the waiver petition. Im just giving you a basic overview in plain terms. Theres obviously much more details Im leaving out. Some people prefer to get an attny involved if it ends up going to court because there are specific procedures and stuff with the court and court is a hassle. You can do it yourself though- plenty people do. I dont know how comfortable you are with things like that though.

I wouldn't hire a lawyer unless my case was complicated. Mine was not, yours is not.
We prepared our papers by ourselves for CR1 and now for ROC. There was no problem. All you need to do is to follow instruction, read visajourney tips, ask if you are confused about anything.
What can go wrong? If your marriage is bona fide, you're honest, you have nothing to hide and you're confident nothing will go wrong.
You might get RFE if they will need more documents, it's not end of the world. You will send more.
You might have an interview, it's not end of the world. You will go and answer their questions.
Lawyer will not do more that you can do.

PS: You didn't spend abroad 6+ months so take it easy. Emergency situations happen.

I, too, was debating whether we should hire a lawyer or not for ROC. Our lawyer for AOS round did such a great job so we were originally considering to hire him again. He was charging us $1,500. After some research and time here on VJ regarding hiring a lawyer for ROC, we decided to just do it ourselves (DIY). It took us roughly 2.5 weeks to gather all our supporting evidences and package together. VJ is a great resource for filing without a lawyer! From our cover letter to supporting evidences, to even filing of the actual package, we got all information from here. ROC I think is a pretty straightforward process so you should be fine by DIY. Save yourself some $$$! Good luck!

Unnecessary to spend money on a lawyer IMHO.