As Sideshow Bob says when he emerges from prison and steps on a garden tool, "Aah, Rake! My old Nemesis!" Sorefingers has flipped me the bird in yet another thread. So permit me to make an aside for the next couple of paragraphs. Amergin, you may skip to the last paragraph.

Sorey, old buddy, you shouldn't make so many assumptions about people. This combination of expertise is not unusual in the US. As a professional folklorist, you're researching the history of bagpipes one moment, helping a Guatemalan weaver get a Green Card the next. It's all about handlooms, soul food, Latin percussion and immigration law!

I also might add that you too are claiming to be an authority on both bagpipes and immigration law, with far less success!

Amergin, there are actually many such organizations and they often have extremely pushy websites that try to prevent you from leaving by putting out pop-ups that say "don't give up your chance to apply!" They're trying to prevent you from going to the State Department website and finding out how easy it is to apply without them! I'd go there first (I provided the URL, and Rapaire the direct link) and only use help if you need it.

Best of luck once again.