Most kit-vs-lawyer pages are written by whichever side is selling. This firm sells both — real DIY kits built from its own filings, and full representation — so the honest sorting costs us nothing and saves you plenty.
| Self-file with a kit when… | Retain counsel when… |
|---|---|
| Your record is strong and CLEAN — sanctioned results, documented recognition, no status wrinkles | The record needs framing — comparable evidence, thin criteria, the athlete-to-coach pivot |
| The structure is simple: one petitioner, straightforward itinerary | The structure IS the question — agent-petitioner, multi-engagement seasons, foreign employers |
| The calendar has slack for a learning curve | The clocks are tight, or an emergency lane is already in play |
| A worst-case RFE would be survivable | Anything is already wrong: prior refusal, status gap, an RFE in hand, a denial to recover from |
Document frameworks built from this office's real petitions — the evidence architecture, templates and sequencing for self-filers, sport by sport: combat sports, cricket, track & field and motorsports. They are the map, not the driver — a kit cannot exercise judgment about YOUR record, and does not pretend to.
Judgment applied to your specific file: which criteria to argue and which to skip, how to frame the comparable-evidence case, the itinerary built to survive the current adjudication climate — and an author on record who answers the RFE instead of a template. Under a policy regime where denials can arrive without warning questions, the first filing carries more weight than it used to.
Kit self-filers use the $500 consultation too — an hour of file review before submission catches the framing errors that become RFEs. Both products, one honest pipeline; the consultation is where they meet, and it credits toward the fee if you convert to representation.
Genuinely unsure which you are? That is literally what the consultation answers — with the kit as one of its honest outcomes. A $500 consultation with Sherrod Seward covers your specific facts — credited toward the fee if you retain the firm.
Because judgment is the product — kits carry the architecture, counsel carries the argument. Clean simple records genuinely don't need us; the table above is the sorting, honestly drawn.
Yes — mid-RFE rescue is a real service line, though the response is easier when the original filing anticipated it. The pre-submission consult is the cheap insurance.
The kits are athlete-petition frameworks by sport; coaching and support cases lean harder on framing and usually merit at least the consultation first.
