Immigration Lawyer/Attorney

[Luke and Deanna 0]

Would paying for an Immigration lawyer/attorney be worth our time? Would it help organize it and make sure the process is done correctly? Also, does it help speed up the wait?

If so, what immigration lawyer/attorneys do you recommend. How did they help you?

Thank you

Luke and Deanna

[tenderheartusa79 14]

Would paying for an Immigration lawyer/attorney be worth our time? Would it help organize it and make sure the process is done correctly? Also, does it help speed up the wait?

If so, what immigration lawyer/attorneys do you recommend. How did they help you?

Thank you

Luke and Deanna

You don't have to hire a lawyer . you can file for the visa your self its so easy .

the immigration lawyer will not speed it up .or what he will do if just file the forms for you and make sure that everything in order which you can do it without any issues

try to read the guides and if you have a question just ask people here on vj about it and they will help you.

there are so many good people here and they have experience about the process .

Good luck and my best wishes for you

[jeffcloe 0]

Would paying for an Immigration lawyer/attorney be worth our time? Would it help organize it and make sure the process is done correctly? Also, does it help speed up the wait?

If so, what immigration lawyer/attorneys do you recommend. How did they help you?

Thank you

Luke and Deanna

We filed the petition back in April this year, and we hired a lawyer. There's nothing wrong about hiring one, but it could save you a lot if you do it your self.

The only thing your lawyer will do is fill up the forms for you, which basically you can easily do with the help of VJ.

Well we just had our NOA2 today, and I don't think it made the approval faster because our approval just came at the same time with other people who filed on same date like ours.

It actually took sometime before USCIS got our petition because we had to send it to the lawyer first then the lawyer will just send it to USCIS once they received it.

When you have your NOA2, USCIS will send it to the lawyer and that's the only time the lawyer will send it to you...

The application seem so simple and basic... I think you can do it alone without a lawyer...

All the info you need is in here.

Edited September 13, 2008 by jeffcloe

[EmilyM 0]

I looked into getting a lawyer and it was expensive, way too expensive for what is required, and in my case, there was nothing unusual so having a lawyer was pointless. As far as I know, and I may be wrong, but I think it takes just as long with a lawyer... maybe even longer.

I followed the guides here and had no problems at all.

Good luck!

[acobnamia1224 0]

lawyer should only be hired when your case is complicated...i fired my lawyer cause all they want to do is fill out the forms then give it back to me to mail to my fiance in the philippines.. such a waste of money

[KimandRuss 0]

Unfortunately, we have heard a lot of horror stories here at VJ about attorney's missing documents... not sending packages...etc. So it's doubtful you will find many people recommending you hire one. It will save you no time at all having representation. Also, having a middle man often slows up the process if anything.

Think about this... every document you need and every bit of evidence you need to send will come from you and your fiance. Basically, you are paying the lawyer for putting it all in a tidy package for you. YOU still need to be pro-active and understand what documents are needed as the lawyer and/or their liason in charge of these things, just doesn't know....even when they say they do.

Do yourself a favor and read through the K1 guide here on VJ. Go down the checklist one by one. Use the example forms (link also above) to help you fill out your own forms. It will look overwhelming at first but soon you will see that it is very manageable.

You are going through London? This is not a difficult Consulate and you will find a wonderful group of folks here willing to help you out when it comes to that stage of the process. It's all spelled out here on VJ for you.

If after you look at all of this and still feel like you might need a lawyer, then at least you have the knowledge behind you to question what they're doing and make sure they're doing it right and wont slow you up any more.

[sunzetgirl 0]

We hired a lawyer. And she didnt do anything but fill out the forms which was so easy. Everytime we ask her for updates, she always tell us to wait in an irritated tone of voice. Honestly, VisaJourney members are more of a help to us than our own lawyer. And if only I could bring back the time, I will not hire one.

Please click on my profile and read the latest topic i had started there. It's about mine and other member's dissatisfaction with our respective lawyers.

[sunzetgirl 0]

lawyer should only be hired when your case is complicated...i fired my lawyer cause all they want to do is fill out the forms then give it back to me to mail to my fiance in the philippines.. such a waste of money

Question: We just had our NOA2 a few days ago. We have a lawyer and she's really not helping us expedite everything, which I think is false advertising on their part because they told us in the first place that they can guarantee that our case will be prioritized if we hire them, that ours would be approved way before the others with the same timeline as ours, which is soooo untrue, if anything else, it only slowed down our case. If we fire her right now, do we still get part of the money that we paid her?

I hope you could enlighten me up on this. Thank you

[daboyz 36]

If you want your case delayed by a couple months, and spend a couple thousand dollars. Send emails, and make phone calls with no response, then by all means hire a lawyer.

[Completely 3]

Would paying for an Immigration lawyer/attorney be worth our time? Would it help organize it and make sure the process is done correctly? Also, does it help speed up the wait?

If so, what immigration lawyer/attorneys do you recommend. How did they help you?

Thank you

Luke and Deanna

Luke and Diana..

You dont need to hire a lawyer.. You can do it yourself.. Sometimes having a lawyer delays more the process, it is just doing a double work.. It does not speed up the wait, but delay more and it will also burden your pocket..

Just simply follow the direction and dont let your yourself get confused.. Sometimes we tend to get the process complicated itself... where it is just easy to understand.. If you filed your petition and there is something missing, USCIS will contact you for sure to ask for the missing documents..

My case is different, I did all my immigration process in just 1 and half year by myself..... Thank's God I am naturalized now and done with the process..... I did help my husband in doing research and everything.. Just read the USCIS website and this will lead you the right way..

Edited September 14, 2008 by Completely

[KimandRuss 0]

lawyer should only be hired when your case is complicated...i fired my lawyer cause all they want to do is fill out the forms then give it back to me to mail to my fiance in the philippines.. such a waste of money

Question: We just had our NOA2 a few days ago. We have a lawyer and she's really not helping us expedite everything, which I think is false advertising on their part because they told us in the first place that they can guarantee that our case will be prioritized if we hire them, that ours would be approved way before the others with the same timeline as ours, which is soooo untrue, if anything else, it only slowed down our case. If we fire her right now, do we still get part of the money that we paid her?

I hope you could enlighten me up on this. Thank you

It depends on what you signed when you started with her. Find out.

[wasabi 4]

I understand people's reservations but I did hire a lawyer because my situation is complicated. I did not hire a lawyer because I thought he could magically make things go faster. I have been married to a foreigner before and did the entire thing myself we divorced 3 years ago. If money is an issue and you don't mind putting together all the paperwork then doing it yourself it is not all that bad. However my lawyer here in Bangkok is excellent. He is always available via phone or email and knows the process down pat. He already saved me from one major pitfall that would have screwed the entire process up and possibly wasted an entire year. I was divorced at the Thai consulate in Los Angeles but not here in Thailand. He noticed this and informed me that I had to get divorced again here in Thailand. I confirmed this with the US embassy and USCIS. He helped me complete this, spending many hours getting things organized without charging me a dime. I only paid him for the visa paperwork after this was taken care of.Also this time around I'm not short on cash and don't feel like dealing with all the different filings and knowing exactly what documents to gather. My only concern is having it done right and having someone knowledgeable to help me if things get tricky which they already have. There's no need to be ashamed or feel like you are getting ripped off if you hire a lawyer, you just want to make sure he/she is a good one. If your husband/wife/Fiance is from Southeast Asia, namely Thailand I recommend him very highly. His name is William White.

Edited September 15, 2008 by wasabi

[Tsup2 0]

The guides on VJ are good and you can do it yourself. A lawyer will just take your money, hand your case to a paralegal and then hide behind voicemail and not return calls.

[spookyturtle 9,465]

The guides on VJ are good and you can do it yourself. A lawyer will just take your money, hand your case to a paralegal and then hide behind voicemail and not return calls.

But there are people who have complicated cases and actually need legal advice/help.

[vickydeutsch 0]

I recommend you to do it yourself..... my fiance hired a lwayer because he said he would feel better to get a lawyer just in case. However, he received the NOA2 last saturday and he tried to contact the lawyer today to see what the next step is, and of course, she didnt answer, so he left a message. Meanwhile, in Lima-Peru, I called NVC, got all the information about the date the package left NVC and went to Lima, thanks to VJ members I could track the package and I know already that the package is here. And almost half day passed already and my fiance is still waiting for the lawyer's phone call. I updated him about everything only through this page. So follow my advice: DO NOT HIRE A LAWYER, IT'S WASTE OF MONEY!!!