Hi

My husband is an american citizen born and raised, I on the other hand am British, I have 2 boys of my own, we have been married nearly 8 yrs

We originally only came to visit my then american boyfriend who is now my husband on a visa waiver program but ended up staying

My boys are now 18 and 15, and because of certain financial problems never changed our status

Now we really need to get this done legally, but financial problems are still there and so need to find a way of being able to pay the filing fees in a payment plan, my husband works full time so its not that we don't have money coming into the house, its just that to pay out the full amount for me and my children we just could not do it

We have found lawyers who will take payment plans on their fees which would be a big help but still need some help in paying the filing charges.

Any help or advice on how to do this would be great

The USCIS has some discretionary authority to waive filing fees. But generally not the basic FB filing fees, check under 8 CFR 103.7(c)(5). Please note that this may be more problematic for the affidavit of support your husband must sign showing total family income to be 125% of the HHS poverty guidelines for your size famly (at least 4).

See if you can find an immigration clinic attached to a local law school that can file the petitions for you. They generally have professors that have practiced (or do practice) immigration law and eager to learn law students. Actually, you may not need a local law school, check everywhere in that immigration law is federal so they can file even if not in your state.

If you cannot find anyone, file on your own. Post again if you choose this option and I will give you more detailed information.

I hope this helps. Take care of this situation now, as the petition will change once your oldest turns 21. If this was useful, rate my answer. Good luck!