My fiance and I are going through this process at the moment. I'm Canadian and he is from here in the US.
Our US immigration lawyer had a fee of $3000 + the expenses of filing for our fiance visa. He'll also come with us to our interview with immigration after we get married.
The whole process takes approx 180 days. We filed our papers in May, and are expecting my approval to be in either November or December. After that there is another small bit of filing papers which usually takes 30 days in order to get my Visa which will allow me to re-enter the US. We then have 90 days to get married and I will be granted a work permit and allowed to stay in the US. Within two years we will have to have an interview with immigration to prove we are still together and our marriage wasn't a sham of any sort.
Since we have a lawyer, approval is pretty much guaranteed. With out the lawyer, filing could take twice as long with only dissapointment as a result.
He's been indespensable, both with advice and his help. We almost just went ahead and got married, (thankgod we didn't) but the lawyer informed us the process for a couple already married is 2 - 3 years!
I can still come down here as a visitor until we are given approval to go ahead and tie the knot, but I can't hold a perminent address down here etc. (I am permitted to have medical though).
All the best. I hope you can get a lawyer.
