Green Card - Lawyer or not?

For any of you out there that have repatriated, did you use a lawyer to help with the green card process?  I am just starting to investigate the DCF process and we will be married 2 years in May, so I THINK that we can manage on our own.  I was just curious if anyone out there found it to be very difficult once you get stuck in and whether using a lawyer would be advisable?

Thanks!

Hey Karin!!!

We did everything on our own (actually, "I" did everything on my own!) and had no problems whatsoever.  We DCFed and Matt just got his new green card without conditions.  We are set for the next 10 years although he will probably become a citizen before that.

I don't remember much about the process but I know for a fact you do not need a lawyer!  Good luck!

June

Nope, we (or should that be I  ) did it all ourselves. I started the DCF process on Apr 30, 2009 and DH got approved on Oct 15, 2009. It looks horribly daunting when you're first going over everything, but once you get going it's actually pretty straightforward. The only problem we had was meeting the financial requirements. We ended up using my parents in the US as joint-sponsors. DH would never have been approved otherwise. Other than that, it wasn't too bad. I'm over on DIA most of the time now if you want to see our timeline. Good luck!

We also did not have a lawyer and at first we wanted one, I am so glad we didn't get one! It was so easy and everyone on this board and visajourney.com really helped...and it was free

We did go through a lawyer.  Everything got wrapped up pretty quickly (less than 3 months) but it was expensive. (1500 pounds on top of the visa expenses if I recall correctly - and that was 10 years ago, before 9-11)

I didn't find anything like this forum at the time online (y2k) so that dates our experience.  I would imagine that the main thing to consider is whether you have a very straightforward case (enough money, no crimes, jobs lined up, no big illnesses) and if not, consult with an attorney. 

Thanks everyone.  I think we will try it alone. We do have a straightforward case from what I can tell...so fingers crossed we will have a green card in a few short months! 

We did it on our own as well-with much help from the group on Dive Into America. And we also did DCF.

We did go through a lawyer.  Everything got wrapped up pretty quickly (less than 3 months) but it was expensive. (1500 pounds on top of the visa expenses if I recall correctly - and that was 10 years ago, before 9-11)

I didn't find anything like this forum at the time online (y2k) so that dates our experience.  I would imagine that the main thing to consider is whether you have a very straightforward case (enough money, no crimes, jobs lined up, no big illnesses) and if not, consult with an attorney. 

Big illnesses?

Can I clarify that? We're going to start DCF at the end of this year (if we can, my DB has been here for 3 years but on a student visa so we're not sure if he qualifies for DCF, some people seem to have been able to do DCF on a long term student visa, others not :s )
and I'm a previous cancer survivor and a diabetic. Do these sort of illnesses effect getting a greencard?

Sorry - should have clarified - you can't have certain communicable diseases - recently Obama removed HIV from the list so ignore that but otherwise the List is below as stated on USCIS website:

Q : What is a communicable disease of public health significance?

A “communicable disease of public health significance” is defined in the Health and Human Services (HHS) regulations.   According to the HHS regulations, 42 CFR 34.2(b), each of the following diseases qualifies as a “communicable disease of public health significance”: 

Chancroid
Gonorrhea
Granuloma inguinale
Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection
Leprosy, infectious
Lymphogranuloma venereum
Syphilis, infectious stage
Tuberculosis
If the civil surgeon finds a communicable disease of public health significance, you are inadmissible.   Your doctor will recommend a course of treatment.  Some medical conditions are not easily treatable.  However, you may still qualify for adjustment of status by filing a waiver application.

 

Sorry - should have clarified - you can't have certain communicable diseases - recently Obama removed HIV from the list so ignore that but otherwise the List is below as stated on USCIS website:

Q : What is a communicable disease of public health significance?

A “communicable disease of public health significance” is defined in the Health and Human Services (HHS) regulations.   According to the HHS regulations, 42 CFR 34.2(b), each of the following diseases qualifies as a “communicable disease of public health significance”: 

Chancroid
Gonorrhea
Granuloma inguinale
Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection
Leprosy, infectious
Lymphogranuloma venereum
Syphilis, infectious stage
Tuberculosis
If the civil surgeon finds a communicable disease of public health significance, you are inadmissible.   Your doctor will recommend a course of treatment.  Some medical conditions are not easily treatable.  However, you may still qualify for adjustment of status by filing a waiver application.

 

oh cool, I knew about those, no leprosy

Thanks, had a two minute panic!

Our DCF took 3 months, no more.