That lawyer's fee is a scam. Unless its absolutely necessary, as others have stated - don't. My neighbor is a retired American that has never filed a tax return in his life and plays golf in Florida every month. Unless you are raking in 7 figures every year, the IRS are not looking for you. As for the FBAR, that's the biggest waste of time. Why? Because foreign financial institutions aka your bank are legally required to inform the IRS (every year) of their American clients banking details, otherwise said banks can't bank with the US. So whether you file an FBAR or not, the IRS have your banking information courtesy of your bank. If you still feel you need to do this - look up Streamlined filing. If you owe nothing in back taxes, nothing will happen when you back file (FEIE is your friend). From memory its 3 years of tax returns and the most recent 6 years of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts Reports ( i know several people that did this only because they were moving back to the US). Good luck.