To have an attorney or not to have an attorney

[Nich-Nick 3,354]

Have you looked at this page on VJ http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.ph...mp;page=k1guide

It tells you step by step what to do, if you're worried that you don't know the process. You will have to give all of the information and proofs of meeting to the attorney, so you're still going to have alot of work to do. I like knowing that I'm filling out my own forms and I'm mailing things in a timely manner rather than wondering if somebody else got it done.

It all depends on you. Some people don't want to do those kinds of things. It's like if I posted on a forum about mowing my lawn. People would have all kinds of ideas about mowers, how to do it, how easy it is, etc. But in the final analysis, I choose not to mow, so gladly hire it out. I also choose to do the K1 thing myself, so I have enough money to pay the lawn crew. And I'm importing a Brit fiance to take over that job. (It's a joke Nick)

You know yourself best and what you can splurge on and where you need to cut back so you can hire people to do things you can't. You're doing the right thing by asking questions and weighing it all.

[joanie 0]

My fiance paid $1500 for an immigration lawyer - worth every penny! He and his administrative were very helpful. The petition was approved in about 11 months.

[ikarus 1]

I was also very busy and I thought of hiring a lawyer. I travel every week, and then when I got home, i had work to do, or was very tired; so my fear was that I would mess up filling out the forms. I did a search on this forum for lawyers to see if others had hired one, and there were a lot of complaints how lawyers forgot to fill something out, and they got RFE's. I finally decided against hiring a lawyer and so far, the case is moving along fine. Fiance will have her interview soon, and I'm glad i ended up not getting a lawyer. I know at first things looked very overwhelming but like somebody else mentioned, you will have to gather all the documents yourself. Is not like somebody will do that job for you. What I ended up doing to tackle the beast was to go one step at a time. I came to this site, printed out the guide step by step, and every other day or so, I familiarized myself with the process. Then I started filling out the form by taking a break from work, and when questions came up, I would post a question here, get an answer and continue. The people on this forum are amazingly fast at answering my questions---they are all the lawyers I need thus far. Good luck!

[Barbarella UK 0]

My fiance paid $1500 for an immigration lawyer - worth every penny! He and his administrative were very helpful. The petition was approved in about 11 months.

Remember that hiring an attorney will not necessarily mean that your case is processed any quicker.

We did all the paperwork ourselves and I followed the guides here on VJ and on the USCIS website - there is a wealth of information and advice to be found here. My K1 visa application was approved within 6 months and, after our marriage, my AOS was approved in 2.5 months.

Kathryn41 made a good point - it would really help you out if your fiance could also familiarise himself with the process - I would suggest you each do as other posters have recommended and read the guides here on VJ thoroughly - at least if you do decide to go ahead with hiring an attorney you'll be well briefed as to how the process works.

Edited July 1, 2008 by Barbarella UK