My partner really wanted to do the K1 visa process with a lawyer because she has been through a visa process before that gave her lots of stress and headaches (it was for a student visa, but because she forgot one stamp she got in trouble). I really didn't want a lawyer because I don't like spending money and I was reading online it is very possible without one. But to make this process as easy and stress free as possible we decided to hire a lawyer. The lawyers office seems to be top-notch in his state (according to google and lots and lots of reviews, but of course you never really know). He would charge us about the same as you for the entire process but he gave us the possibility to decide later if we also want him for the green card part after marriage. So basically now we only paid for his help to get me in the states with a K1 and if we decide after that that we want to continue with his office we will pay the rest and he will be helping us until we have the green card in hand. This gave us room to see if our experience was good with them and if it was worth the money. Honestly the entire process (we filled in August 2020 and are waiting for the interview now) has been extremely stress free, giving us time and space to focus on ourselves, our relationship and the big move coming up (yes I'm completely assuming we are going to get approved lol). For me it is absolutely worth the money, but of course you need to be able to afford it.