Pregnant and Filing K1

[Amaya's Mommy 0]

Hi everyone,

I am new to this forum. I just have a few questions.

1) I know timelines are not always predictable but can anyone give me an estimate: I'm pregnant and would like to apply for my fiancee so that he may be here when I give birth, due date is in October. What are the chances he'll be here by then or soon after if I file ASAP? PS: He is in Jamaica and I am in NY.

2) I am an attorney and I'm capable of filling out the forms myself but simply do not have the time right now.. I'm swamped but I know the forms need to go out soon. How reliable are some of these sites that offer services to take care of the process, especifically I was considering http://www.fianceevisas.net/

anybody use them?

Thanks in advance!

Michelle

[DakotaK1 1]

First of all are you the petitioner or the beneficiary??

If you are the beneficiary you can file for the K1 Visa for you fiancee to come and marry you.

You dont have to be a lawyer to file a petition.

I doubt anybody used that site you posted.

Follw the guides here for the K1 Visa,thats all you have to do: http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.ph...mp;page=k1guide

[Zee Bee 61]

Hi and welcome to VJ.

If you want your fiance to be here for the birth of your child you need to file ASAP. It is taking anywhere from 3-6 months to get the petition approved (that is with no probelms or requests for additional evidence) and then another 1-2 months for interview (I think that is what it is for Jamaica but someone who filed there can give a better idea). Best case scenario, it will take at least 6-9 months to get your fiance here. Take a look at the timelines for people filing through Jamaica to give you a better idea.

As far as using a service to fill out the forms, I don't know. Most people here read the guides and do it themselves. I set aside a weekend and just did it all. I didn't think it was too bad.

[Amaya's Mommy 0]

I am the petitioner not the beneficiary. I also understand you don't have to be a lawyer to fill out the application, as I stated in my earlier post, I have a busy career (I'm an attorney myself) and at the moment do not have the time to do the paperwork hence why I was going to hire someone to do it for me. I asked about that particular website above.

Thanks.

[pushbrk 13,639]

Hi everyone,

I am new to this forum. I just have a few questions.

1) I know timelines are not always predictable but can anyone give me an estimate: I'm pregnant and would like to apply for my fiancee so that he may be here when I give birth, due date is in October. What are the chances he'll be here by then or soon after if I file ASAP? PS: He is in Jamaica and I am in NY.

2) I am an attorney and I'm capable of filling out the forms myself but simply do not have the time right now.. I'm swamped but I know the forms need to go out soon. How reliable are some of these sites that offer services to take care of the process, especifically I was considering http://www.fianceevisas.net/

anybody use them?

Thanks in advance!

Michelle

The time consuming part of filing is filling out the forms. You'll be doing that yourself anyway or at least answering a bunch of questions so somebody else can, then playing phone tag multiple times as you go searching for the information. Attorney or not, you'll be far better off doing this yourself, especially if time is your issue.

[DakotaK1 1]

Well if you want to pay a forturne for somebody to do it for you then go right ahead.

It aint that much work,all you have to do is follow the guides and get the documents from your fiance.

You probably will get your papers approved by October,allthough the USCIS has slowed down the process,some wait 6 months to get approved,after the approval it usually takes a few weeks/months longer due to the Interview appointment that the foreign fiance has to have.

[raymaga 25]

Hi and welcome to VJ!!

I agree with pushbrk with respect to the fact that the whole process is very time-consuming, whether or not you do it yourself.

If you have to provide all the information and documents for someone else to do it, you can just as easily do it yourself. Plus, there have been a whole lot of people who have used lawyers and regretted it afterwards. It's so much easier to know what has and has not been done if you do it yourself.

Good luck with the process.

[brnidokiegurl 1]

Dont trust someone else to do this, you have all the information all the evidences etc you will have to gather it all anyway just do a little each day makeing the copies etc follow the guides as to format to send it in and you will be done. Many have paid only to be sorry later

[pushbrk 13,639]

Hi and welcome to VJ!!

I agree with pushbrk with respect to the fact that the whole process is very time-consuming, whether or not you do it yourself.

If you have to provide all the information and documents for someone else to do it, you can just as easily do it yourself. Plus, there have been a whole lot of people who have used lawyers and regretted it afterwards. It's so much easier to know what has and has not been done if you do it yourself.

Good luck with the process.

Take a quick look at the forms you and your fiance will need to complete and you'll soon discern you can do it more efficiently yourself, since you'll be doing most of it anyway.

[payxibka 10,048]

The responses you have reveived should not be surprising to you as this is a predominantly DIY place. The comments regarding the amount of time you will be required to spend are true... The forms are probably 20% effort.... Evidence and document gathering are the rest....

[MarkNAshley 0]

Hi everyone,

I am new to this forum. I just have a few questions.

1) I know timelines are not always predictable but can anyone give me an estimate: I'm pregnant and would like to apply for my fiancee so that he may be here when I give birth, due date is in October. What are the chances he'll be here by then or soon after if I file ASAP? PS: He is in Jamaica and I am in NY.

2) I am an attorney and I'm capable of filling out the forms myself but simply do not have the time right now.. I'm swamped but I know the forms need to go out soon. How reliable are some of these sites that offer services to take care of the process, especifically I was considering http://www.fianceevisas.net/

anybody use them?

Thanks in advance!

Michelle

1) I took a look and the Vermont Services Center is running about 102 days from receipt to approval.

The Jamaica Consulate is estimating between 60-90 days for scheduling of interview

You should probably add a few weeks slack for the paperwork to be mailed around.

My rough estimate would be about 6-10 months

If you want to try to create an estimate of your own take a look at the Imigration Timelines link and the Embasy Info Link to get time estimates These combined with the K1 Visa flowchart in the Guides section should give you a rough idea of how long it would take.

2) We filed on our own so I'm a little biased but I haven't read many good things about people that file using a lawyer. Most people appear to complain that it adds delays. Also being disconnected from the process adds a little to the stress because you aren't aware of what is happening during each phase. You could probably alleviate the second one a little by reading up on the process even if you don't file yourself.

It doesn't take that long to do complete the paperwork. I researched this site and collected the evidence in about 9 hours and was approved without RFE. If you do have to use a lawyer get to know them rather than just picking at random, they appear to vary greatly in quality. In some cases there are reports of them giving out completely erroneous advice.

I hope this helps some,

Mark

[TRELAWNY PARISH 10]

Hi everyone,

I am new to this forum. I just have a few questions.

1) I know timelines are not always predictable but can anyone give me an estimate: I'm pregnant and would like to apply for my fiancee so that he may be here when I give birth, due date is in October. What are the chances he'll be here by then or soon after if I file ASAP? PS: He is in Jamaica and I am in NY.

2) I am an attorney and I'm capable of filling out the forms myself but simply do not have the time right now.. I'm swamped but I know the forms need to go out soon. How reliable are some of these sites that offer services to take care of the process, especifically I was considering http://www.fianceevisas.net/

anybody use them?

Thanks in advance!

Michelle

Hi Michele and welcome,

I'm also new to VJ and my fiance is in Jamaica. I filed my petition (on my own) without the aid of an attorney in January. I had considered hiring one, because I have a hectic work and personal scheduled. As you stated, you're attorney yourself and you know how important it is to have all your paperwork in order. I know attorneys are not the most organized person, but it's not that difficult. "Legal Secretary" I took one weekend to gather all my information, make my copies (2) and FEDEX the packet on Monday. The attorney I spoke to wanted $1795 (I said HECK no)...I'm a secretary, how hard could it be. Just take your time, fill out the paper work, stayed TUNED to this forum and take it from there.

I found so much help here. If you have a question, ask it. Someone will answer you HERE. As you can see, the people here a very friendly and very supportive; and I mean VERY, VERY SUPPORTIVE... your questions don't even have to be IMMIGRATION related.

I come here for SUPPORT...this is not an easy process (a lot of waiting) and that can drive the SANE...INSANE....

Welcome to the FAMILY my girl and I wish you, baby and soon to be HUBBY the best.

Trelawny

[Barbarella UK 0]

The time consuming part of filing is filling out the forms. You'll be doing that yourself anyway or at least answering a bunch of questions so somebody else can, then playing phone tag multiple times as you go searching for the information. Attorney or not, you'll be far better off doing this yourself, especially if time is your issue.

I agree - in addition NO firm can guarantee that your fiance will be approved for his visa - only USCIS can make that decision. Whilst your petition might be approved this does not necessarily mean that your fiancee's VISA will be approved.

It took me 6 months to obtain my visa if this is helpful but I don't know how long it would take from Jamaica.

Good luck with everything!

VisaJourney was the best source of help, information and support for me!

[AlHayatZween 2]

Hi Michelle,

Welcome!

I agree with everyone's post above. My two cents is: No one else will put as much care and precise effort into filling out the documents than you would yourself.

Some of us learned that the hard way, unfortunately...

Good luck! Everyone is here to help you!

hz

[john_and_marlene 162]

I didn't even know about VJ until after I already had approval of the K-1 petition. I didn't have the time to research and look at guides and instructions before filing. I hired an attorney to so that I didn't have to. The one I used did have me fill out forms, but they provided the forms I would need and I didn't have to go look for what they were. I didn't spend any time assembling a "package" or cover letter or time reviewing what I had done. I let them do that. A couple of times they suggested I correct an item or change some wording. The arrangement I had was a flat fee for all inquiries and submissions from the initial 129f through the adjustment of status. It was $2500 and I would do it again.