Maddierose,
If you have a good look through the various forums (Visa Journey/B.Expats/DIA/Kamya etc most people manage it themselves, although it seems
very daunting to begin with.
In a lot of cases, I have read where lawyers don't actually expedite matters and miss filing crucial paperwork etc whilst charging their client several thousand ££/$$ for the privilege, so unless you know of a particularly competent immigration lawyer and your situation is more complex than most, I really would re-think it (of course, the cost might not be an issue for you and if that's the case, then of course go ahead, but generally speaking-it's not as bad as it seems on the face of things.
Once you know which visa to apply for and you have read the appropriate sites, the info is all out there, as well as the forms and plenty of guidance and people going through exactly the same situation.
I have completed the processs twice now, the first time back in the day of the good old style INS
(totally not recommended and before the days of the forums) and in May this year we completed our DCF filing successfully and although I often thought - wish I had the money for a lawyer, I felt that no-one would be more anal about those forms than us and it was true apart from some reassurance I had from Marlspo here and Mars Bar at DIA, plus the odd topic at VisaJourney.
Just so you know, for filing a basic DCF application (without any complications) a quote from one of the Embassy recommended lawyers was approx £3-4k on top of the filing fees and associated costs with photos etc.
I would say your very first step would be to start with the stuff that can take a while like Police certificates, in practice they are often turned around in a couple of weeks, but they can take up to 40 days and family vaccinations are all going to be up to date to satisfy the requirements.
I know you do have some additional issues and that might make a difference, I just wanted to try to reassure you a little. Feel free to PM if you would like or I can help further.
