Process
How a case actually moves
Four stages. You can stop after the second one having spent nothing, and a fair number of people should.
The four stages
The assessment
A structured questionnaire about your field, your years in it, and what already exists in your record. Ten minutes. No card, no call required to start.
The written read
You get back, in writing: which pathway fits, which criteria your record plausibly reaches, what is missing, and what would have to change. If the answer is that the record is not there yet, it says that.
Building the case
Evidence gathering, expert letters, exhibits, and the brief that ties them to the standard. This is the long part — usually weeks, driven by how fast third parties respond.
Review, signature, filing
A U.S.-licensed immigration attorney reviews the file, signs the Form G-28, and files with USCIS as counsel of record. You are told who that is before anything is filed in your name.
Who does which part, and why the split exists
Meritus does case preparation and assessment. That is the work of reading a record, deciding which standard it fits, gathering what is missing and writing the argument. It is where cases are won, and it is what we are built to do.
Filing is a separate, regulated act. Representation before the Department of Homeland Security is federal: under 8 CFR 1.2 only someone admitted to the bar of a U.S. state, possession, territory, commonwealth or the District of Columbia may appear as counsel. So a U.S.-licensed attorney signs and files, always.
We state this plainly because the alternative — blurring it — is how people end up with petitions signed by someone who was not entitled to sign them. That contaminates the petition, and the person who loses is the applicant.
What people ask about the process
How long does the whole thing take?
Building the file is usually the longest controllable part and typically runs weeks, not days, because expert letters and third-party evidence move at other people's speed. After filing, premium processing puts USCIS on a fixed clock for the I-140. What happens after approval depends on your country of birth and the visa bulletin.
Do I have to be in the United States?
No. Self-petitions can be filed from anywhere, and consular processing exists for exactly that. Where you are does affect the last stage, not the petition.
What do you need from me at the start?
For the assessment, nothing but answers. For a case, the documents that prove what you have told us — and the honest version of your record, including the parts you think are weak.
What if I already started with someone else?
That happens often, including after a denial or an RFE. Bring what exists; a case that has been filed badly is a different problem from a case that has never been filed, and the read on it is still free.
Find out where your record stands
The assessment is free and reads your record against the standard USCIS applies. You get a written answer — including when the answer is that this is not your pathway yet.