Before the real attorneys gang up on me, yes technically my wife is the petitioner and I'm the beneficiary, but it doesn't sound as good for a thread title. Besides, I did all the legwork, all she had to do was sign. :)
Until now I was living in the US on a work visa (which is a convoluted story in and of itself). We married late in the spring of this year, after knowing each other for close to 5 years.
The internet is filled with horror stories of couples who experienced delays, rejections, and downright unpleasantness from USCIS. Many couples (a majority? not sure) opt to hire an attorney to guide them through the process. Apparently, an all-inclusive package for such a service is about $5,000.
Instead, doing it ourselves ended up costing just shy of $1,900 after you include:
- the unavoidable USCIS filing fees
- driving to and from apointments, including a doctor that is mandated to inspect my Johnson
- birth certificates, passport pictures
- notary fees for signed affidavits from friends and family
- USPS premium delivery with tracking
It took 25 hours of obsessing over filing instructions, gathering all the paperwork, triple checking everything, panicking over often contradictory instructions, and finally mailing it in. All in all, it took for the process to go from filing to final approval. At the final interview, the officer barely looked at our evidence and we were done in 10 minutes. It probably helps that we are both the same age and socioeconomic background.
So for $5,000 - $1,900 = $3,100 in savings, that's an hourly rate of $124. More than I make at my day job, AND not taxable? SCORE!
The advantages of being a permanent resident are huge. I no longer have to fear losing my job and having to leave immediately, I can start my own business, and I get to use the fast customs line at the airport.