Visa journey through attorneys

[Aryadne e Kevin 0]

Hi, I am new in here. I am a brazilian (where I am right now) and I married an american man in novemeber 2007, in Brazil. Unfortunately, we didnt start the process until march 2008 through a law office.

In april, I got an email from the attorneys informing us that they have received a NOA1, and since then, I don´t have any news about the process.

My question is if is a mith to believe that I needed an attorney to do that or if my husband could get t done own his own.

Is anybody able to help me out?

I´d really appreciate it.

regards,

[MsZ 6]

You don't need a lawyer. You can do this on your own. Your husband should read the guides here and ask questions.

A lawyer doesn't make the process faster or easier, just more expensive.

[Gigli2008 70]

Hi, I am new in here. I am a brazilian (where I am right now) and I married an american man in novemeber 2007, in Brazil. Unfortunately, we didnt start the process until march 2008 through a law office.

In april, I got an email from the attorneys informing us that they have received a NOA1, and since then, I don´t have any news about the process.

My question is if is a mith to believe that I needed an attorney to do that or if my husband could get t done own his own.

Is anybody able to help me out?

I´d really appreciate it.

regards,

I think it's a waste of time to pay an attorney to do what your husband can do himself. I haven't seen anywhere that attorneys get any preferential treatment. We all wait in line regardless. But if you have a situation of illegality, deportation, overstay etc., then you might want to seek counsel.

[YuAndDan 153]

An attorney wont make the process go any faster, they MAY prevent an RFE for something not correctly filled out or filed is all.

We did our petition from start to AOS without using a lawyer.

[tchururu 0]

Hi, I am new in here. I am a brazilian (where I am right now) and I married an american man in novemeber 2007, in Brazil. Unfortunately, we didnt start the process until march 2008 through a law office.

In april, I got an email from the attorneys informing us that they have received a NOA1, and since then, I don´t have any news about the process.

My question is if is a mith to believe that I needed an attorney to do that or if my husband could get t done own his own.

Is anybody able to help me out?

I´d really appreciate it.

regards,

Aryadne,

I am also brazilian and have used a lawyer. She was helpful to fill out the forms, but now I think I am more interested and know more about K3's and CR1's than her.

They only help to fill out the forms, which you will also get help from other Visa Journers here. Other than that, you can do EVERYTHING yourself. They don't make anything faster.

My husband works 2 jobs and hardly ever has time to do anything, that's why we hired the attorney.

K3's are being approved super fast in California (see my case for instance). You won't hear from the attorneys until you are approved, so "não estranhe" if you don't receive any notices from your attorney.

Good luck!

Renata

Edited June 17, 2008 by Renatchi

[supernova 0]

Hi, I am new in here. I am a brazilian (where I am right now) and I married an american man in novemeber 2007, in Brazil. Unfortunately, we didnt start the process until march 2008 through a law office.

In april, I got an email from the attorneys informing us that they have received a NOA1, and since then, I don´t have any news about the process.

My question is if is a mith to believe that I needed an attorney to do that or if my husband could get t done own his own.

Is anybody able to help me out?

I´d really appreciate it.

regards,

Aryadne,

I am also brazilian and have used a lawyer. She was helpful to fill out the forms, but now I think I am more interested and know more about K3's and CR1's than her.

They only help to fill out the forms, which you will also get help from other Visa Journers here. Other than that, you can do EVERYTHING yourself. They don't make anything faster.

My husband works 2 jobs and hardly ever has time to do anything, that's why we hired the attorney.

K3's are being approved super fast in California (see my case for instance). You won't hear from the attorneys until you are approved, so "não estranhe" if you don't receive any notices from your attorney.

Good luck!

Renata

Welcome Aryadne !!

I had a RFE Nigthmare back in Brasil waiting for K-3 visa to be approved I almost lose my intere process because the RFE letter got lost betwen USA and Brasil mail service. ( my husband was living in Brasil so all the letters were being sent to our brazilian adress)

This process has stressed me and my husband so much that now we have an attorney helping us with AOS, sometimes I get this feeling that we are throwing money away.

Well at the least we will have some else to blame or to help us to find missed papers.

Any way I still posting all of my doubts here just to be sure.

And again There is nothing that an attorney can do to make it any faster but maybe less painfull.

Good Luck

[JasonTrue 0]

I recommend using an attorney if you find anything about the I-130 or I-129F petitions confusing.

I used an attorney, which prevented at least 12 fairly serious mistakes on the forms. I might have found the correct information online, but it's hard to find reliable and credible information. (VJ is helpful, but not always the source of reliably correct information; many people are just as confused as you, and pass on folklore as fact).

We had no RFEs because everything was filled out as USCIS expected, and all the right supporting documentation was there. The attorney didn't speed anything along, but we didn't lose any time to tracking down missing paperwork, which was, for me at least, worth the money.

Another colleague of mine who is going through the process feels much the same way, as he nearly made a couple of serious errors himself.

There's a lot of do-it-yourself spirit on this website, and there's nothing wrong with that, but it depends on how much value you place on avoiding potential complications. For me, it was worth it.

[Rachel Marie 0]

I, personally, wish I had found VJ before I had invested $1500 in a stupid lawyer who messed up all my paperwork.

(Okay, my lawyer didn't, his stupid secretary's cronies did... he didn't even have his own SECRETARY fill out the paperwork for Chrissake.)

I'm thinking of dropping him, but it seems like a waste in $1500 if I do. I just want to be more hands-on in the process and I feel like I'm very hands-off at this point. I feel like if I found Visa Journey back when my husband and I went through our legal wedding (we had a religious ceremony later), he would be in the states by now.

...Maybe.

Anyway to get a lawyer or not depends on your case, if you have the money (we really didn't - my parents helped out a lot), and who the lawyer is. If you're in the Philadelphia area I know one NOT to recommend...

Good luck!

[JasonTrue 0]

It's also worth pointing out that, once you are moving along in the process, you can stop using the attorney for paperwork and just call them if you have a question; then you'll just be billed for 6-12 minutes typically.

For example, we didn't ask for assistance on the DS-230 application, I-130 or I-864 affidavits of support.

It's not so much a question of "afford" for us; arguably, we can afford the attorney, but more importantly, errors that cause unnecessary delays are much more expensive in terms of the stress on our relationship.

Of course, not all attorneys are great, and even ours, who is with a fairly major firm, had some trouble keeping up with changes in family-based immigration procedures that have been going on in the last year; my attorney is primarily focused on employment-based immigration and international business law. So it's worth finding a GOOD attorney, and also managing your own expectations, so that you don't expect them to just magically solve all of your problems.

[CaNdiD wiTcH 0]

hi.. My husband hired an attorney for the reason that he is not that paper type guy. Just to spare him from all the headaches in worrying if the papers are complete and the follow up thing. But..you know what? What I have read in the net (USCIS and NVC website) were exactly the same things which the attorney told my husband. Besides, I am the one who filled up the form for us. (Just to be sure that no SECRETARY would mess up with the forms). And I will also follow up the case online my own than to depend with what the attorney would say. There were lots of complains regarding lawyers here in VJ.

So to sum it all up.. My husband is just wasting his money. Just hope that lawyer wouldn't mess around with everything or I would break his neck. If your hubby is not handy about the paper work thing and all that sort, then you could hire an attorney (I am sure you could do it yourself) just to spare him for SUCH REASON.

Goodluck to all of us.