New and it may be a silly question

[dallygal 0]

Hello all. I apologize in advance if this is a silly question . Are any of you utilizing the services of an immigration attorney. My fiance really thinks we should and I am not so sure. Any advice is appreciated.

TIA

[hafiz 1]

it all depends on the case, if its straight forward i would not use attorney. There are many on VJ that use attorney and others dont

[ppboo 0]

We try once with the attorney and being hold back by them not doing anything... we drop the service and we do it oursleve with the information from VJ... if you have a straight forward case, you can do it yourself....

[MichelleandCraig 1]

That is very much a personal decision and one only you should make. You should read the guides here as to filing a K-1 visa, decide if it's something you think you can handle alone, and then proceed. That's my technical answer.

If you would like my personal OPINION, I would do it yourself. This site is an absolutely wonderful resource. I didn't know a think about immigration when we started our process, and my husband and I managed just fine. It really isn't that difficult, you just have to be careful to be very mindful of details. If you READ THE GUIDES, that is the singlemost important information I can tell you....and then if you are still unclear on anything, post your questions here(after using the search key to find out of the question has already been asked numerous times) you should be just fine.

I wish you well on your journey whatever you decide to do. M.

and PS..when you do file, please DO make a timeline(I know you can't as of yet) I really helps people to know what stage of the process you are in and what country your SO is living in(which embassy they are going through) in order to give you proper answers. Good luck! M.

[thesnowman 1]

We used a lawyer as we hadnt found this site yet, but have found them to very slow to respond to anything and took months after they had all the information to get the petition sent off.

Anyway if you are going to use one dont use *** immigration service as ourselves and another VJ member havent found them to be the best.

Just my two cents

[2manypapers 0]

Hi,

I am new here also, but wanted to respond to your post. This is a very personal choice you have to make, but I wish I had filed our K1 myself.

I used an attorney last year to start our process, he had all the money and all of our papers. He did not do a thing and caused us much delay and heartbreak. I figured out that I needed to be very vigilant about the process and the only way to do that was to know as much as possible about the timeline and papers required.

I did not find out about this site until a month ago, so I had already employed a second attorney. I had to send our papers back to the attorney about 5 times for careless errors. Again more time delays.

If I had to do it over, I would do the papers myself and VJ is the perfect place to get all the information you need.

JMHO, but as long as you follow 'exactly' what the forms ask for and check your answers over 5 or 6 times before mailing, you should be able to do this yourself, it will be cheaper and faster.

I wish you all the best.

2manypapers

[jim10040 0]

I think you can do well with the information posted on this site. The people here have been through all sorts of situations, and you can get a very good idea of the process. IF [VERY BIG IF] you have problems; RFEs, rejection for any reason; you can post here and get good informaiton. If you like, at that point maybe [again, VERY BIG MAYBE] you might decide to use an attorney. The process is very straightforward if complex. There are no secrets of how-to. Just follow the rules to excruciating detail, and you will be fine. Best of luck on your wonderful adventure!

[motu 5]

Its quite simple. If you have the time and patience to find out the details then you can use this site and others (guides, example forms, postings, pinned info etc. etc.) to do the petition and AOS etc. yourself. Also you will save $1000 to $3000 in the process that a lawyer might charge for not really doing much for you and sometimes delaying your application by not doing the correct thing.

If you don't want to fill out these forms and feel out of place with this mumbo jumbo then you can use a lawyer - a frend of mine is using a lawyer and is very happy with him (and the lawyer is probably also very happy with his $3000+ fees )

Good Luck

[Euro 3]

Hello all. I apologize in advance if this is a silly question . Are any of you utilizing the services of an immigration attorney. My fiance really thinks we should and I am not so sure. Any advice is appreciated.

TIA

Its your choice BUT if it were me i would only use a attorney IF i had something like an overstay or some other problem that might require a legal opinion, otherwise NO you can find all the help you need right here on VJ,

Welcome to VJ, & NO question is a stupid question if you dont know the answer, Good Luck on your visa journey

[Larry and Maria 0]

You've gotten the point on the personal choice from other responses.

I'd add that since there's an additional investment of time and money and trust, I'd want to do serious checking to see really how successful the service is, lawyer or otherwise.

I did ours with the advice of someone who offers assistance for a few hundred dollars.

In the final analysis, I'd spoken with a couple successful K-1 men petitioners and got their insight.

I researched as best I could on the web including the USCIS web site.

Then I did what I felt was best in filling out and submitting everything.

I did a search yesterday to see if I could find something about the IMBRA implementation.

I found an informative link of a service that you at least should read the advice.

I don't know them; you might contact them; I did to see what services they provide past the K-1.

I've no idea what their credibility is; their advice shown on their web about pitfalls and such is spot on so I'd tend to go in their favor.

And they're less expensive than lawyers.

Here's the link: http://www.apexvisa.us/

Wait for the audio to complete before clicking on links; it's quite informative.

I found on one of the links something that we were doing that could get us disqualified even though it's innocent and nothing wrong. It makes sense looking from the inside of the DHS/USCIS and their mentality.

Another interesting "fact" these people claim is, if I read it correctly, that USCIS business is really to try and find something to deny your petition.

Now, I'd never thought of that; it does make sense; if you're doing an investigation, what are you doing it for if not trying to disqualify -- maybe not malicilously, nevertheless I believe that to be the case.

Their claim is that they, this service for visa support, knows the inside and can and will, for a modest fee, help guide people away from the pitfalls -- like the one we were innocently doing.

All the best on your journey -- it is a journey not for the faint-hearted or not able to willing to make serious investments [money, time, emotions to name a few major ones!]

[MrsDarby 0]

I don't think your question is silly in the least!

As someone else mentioned, it is your personal decision. That being said, I will put in my "two cents" too.

Recently someone else posted a similar question, and almost everyone said not to hire a lawyer. Well, my fiance (now husband!) and I hired a lawyer. I started looking into the process myself (didn't know about this website), and I felt so overwhelmed. I called a few immigration lawyers in my area, and they all seemed to just want my money. They weren't willing to give me any information over the phone unless I agreed to meet with them. That would've cost about $200-$400 for an initial meeting unless I would've retained their services, then I would get the money back.

Instead I looked through the phone book and called a lawyer who works out of his home. He was so nice and immediately put me at ease. He was an immigrant many years ago from Canada who is now a citizen. His wife came over from Canada on a K-1 visa, so he'd been through the process himself. They'd also adopted a baby from Russia, so he's had a lot of personal experiences with immigration.

Anyway, I'm rambling on...so we decided to hire an immigration lawyer although our case was also very straightforward. Our lawyer does all the paperwork (I usually give him the information via e-mail or when we meet), and then he fills it all out. I then double check to make sure it's all accurate. He does all the photocopying of pictures, documents, everything we submitted that was proof of our relationship. I've realized that we've sent in much more than was necessary, but I'd rather go above and beyond then have anyone who's deciding our future come back and say, "You have to submit this or that..."

Some people say it's a waste of money, but my opinion is that having the support and being put at ease is worth the money! My husband and I didn't want to make any mistakes. We wanted it to be as smooth and possible.

Good luck.

[Karen_L 1]

Unless you have something peculiar in your case, I'd just try doing it myself at first. Just follow the instructions and you'll be fine

[antone 0]

Can't add much to what's already been said - just this point: If you choose to use a lawyer, be sure that they are affiliated with the American Immigration Lawyers Association. See their site at:

http://www.aila.org

[almaty 19]

i did not ....depends on your level of confidence and if there are issues in the petition an attorney maybe needed..

[mrswooten4ever 0]

We didnt either, we used the guides and example forms on VJ and had no problem. It really is a personal choice but just make sure they tell you in advance what they are going to charge you because some may charge hundreds whilst others charge thousands!

P.S. A lawyer cant make things any quicker for you!

Adele

Edited May 13, 2006 by MrsW2B