Having spent 3 years trying to adjust my status (I'm a Canadian
married to an American) and dealing with INS in New York City, I would
*strongly* recommend getting a lawyer. It'll save you a lot of
headaches and time. Good immigration lawyers have connections and do
not have to go down to INS offices to stand in line when they have a
question about your file. If you file without a lawyer, you'll have to
deal with the worst buracracy on the planet. (f I had the opportunity
to do the whole thing again, I would bite the bullet and hire a lawyer
right from the beginning.

T-Bone <dilbert1@attbi.com> wrote in message news:<4n1ufvkabn5d9lc7c6ovnbutv64jb8drd9@4ax.com>... Go to www.bcis.gov and download form I-485 with instructions. It's a relatively easy form to fill out. Study the instructions well. In L.A the processing time is 24 months right now. A lawyer could be helpful if you can't read English or if your situation is 'shaky'. If you are on solid ground I'd save the money and take a trip to Vegas on it. T-Bone On Wed, 25 Jun 2003 16:58:17 -0500, "TWH" <twh@hotmail.com> wrote:Hi,my company told me that they would sponsor me for my green card and also payfor it. However, I will have to reimburse them 100 percent if I quit withinthe first year after the change of status (currently on H1B) and 50 percentif I quit between the first and second year after the status change.Considering it takes so long to finally receive the green card, I waswondering if I could apply for the green card myself, i.e., without alawyer. I have friends in the US that went through that painful process,thus, I would be able to get their paperwork. I guess I could get animmigration attorney here and there or if I really need to.Does anyone have experience with this and would you recommend applying forthe greencard without a lawyer?ThanksThorsten