No, you do not require a lawyer to apply for a US Entry Waiver. All the required forms, as well as instructions for the application, can be obtained from the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Agency’s website.
However, it’s important to remember that the application for a US Waiver is a very complex process that can vary from application to application. In some cases, the basic requirements will be sufficient to be granted a valid waiver. On the other hand, some more complicated applications that involve multiple offences, or particularly serious offences, may require substantially more work to be done. In these cases the application process can quickly spiral outside of the applicant’s expertise. We often take on clients that have attempted to do a waiver on his or her own, and have become frustrated at the process to the point of abandoning their application altogether. This can be as a result of requiring supporting documentation that the applicant does not know how to obtain, or managing to get certain information to the Department of Homeland Security within their very tight time-frames.
The expertise of a representative can also help ensure that your application will be the best one that you can submit. The quality of an application can make the difference between it being granted or denied, as well as affecting how long the waiver is granted for (up to a maximum of five years). In the end the choice is up to you whether or not you wish to attempt this process on your own, however make sure that you fully understand the risks involved in doing this application yourself before making a decision.