Attorney vs. filing yourself

[Cham 3]

What I have noticed from folks who work with an attorney OR solo are these things

With an attorney..THEY do most of the work for you VS You and your SO doing the work

With an attorney..YOU pay more for them to do the work for you VS you and your SO doing the work and PAYING LESS (the K1 visa fee required and that)

With an Attorney..IT DOES NOT SPEED UP THE PROCESS> It is the same amount of time versus You and your SO doing it yourself. Many People make the mistake of gettng an Attorney and then paying out the NOSE for one WHEN it is just as easy to do it yourself with the help of the guides and these amazing folks on VJ

[sara..... 371]

What I have noticed from folks who work with an attorney OR solo are these things

With an attorney..THEY do most of the work for you VS You and your SO doing the work

With an attorney..YOU pay more for them to do the work for you VS you and your SO doing the work and PAYING LESS (the K1 visa fee required and that)

With an Attorney..IT DOES NOT SPEED UP THE PROCESS> It is the same amount of time versus You and your SO doing it yourself. Many People make the mistake of gettng an Attorney and then paying out the NOSE for one WHEN it is just as easy to do it yourself with the help of the guides and these amazing folks on VJ

our attorney did nothing but put the documents we filled out and gave him into and envelop and mail them he to date has not fought for us and the delay we have had when we ask for copies of what he has sent them or received from them he sent us only copies of what we sent him so i would do it with out attorney in a heart beat if i have to do it again

[Cham 3]

What I have noticed from folks who work with an attorney OR solo are these things

With an attorney..THEY do most of the work for you VS You and your SO doing the work

With an attorney..YOU pay more for them to do the work for you VS you and your SO doing the work and PAYING LESS (the K1 visa fee required and that)

With an Attorney..IT DOES NOT SPEED UP THE PROCESS> It is the same amount of time versus You and your SO doing it yourself. Many People make the mistake of gettng an Attorney and then paying out the NOSE for one WHEN it is just as easy to do it yourself with the help of the guides and these amazing folks on VJ

our attorney did nothing but put the documents we filled out and gave him into and envelop and mail them he to date has not fought for us and the delay we have had when we ask for copies of what he has sent them or received from them he sent us only copies of what we sent him so i would do it with out attorney in a heart beat if i have to do it again

Exactly ..after I read some of the horror stories on here about attorneys and the visa I said NOPE we will do it OURSELVES LOL

[Maldez 0]

our attorney did nothing but put the documents we filled out and gave him into and envelop and mail them he to date has not fought for us and the delay we have had when we ask for copies of what he has sent them or received from them he sent us only copies of what we sent him so i would do it with out attorney in a heart beat if i have to do it again

I wish I had found this message board a month earlier! I feel like such a schmuck for sending that law office all that money....especially when they haven't done a single thing yet! I just hope my credit card company is successful in reversing the charges.

[mikelovesgracey 0]

Hi Maldez,

My hunny and I regret we hired an attorney. Not that getting legal advise and/or assistance is useless, but sometimes, things are better worked out on your own. Filing for a K1, for example should be easy as the USCIS itself provides all the forms and guides. Therefore, it is not necessary to spend a fortune on an attorney.

But I am not one to blame you for your (bad) decision of getting an attorney. My Hunny and I made the very same mistake. After all, who doesn't want to make sure everything goes smoothly?

My advise to you is this: try to get all info you can from the forums ( such as this ) and from the USCIS website. Then you can weigh whether or not you can easily comply with and produce all the requirements. I really believe right now that there's nothing that can't be done without an attorney.

That being said, get rid of your attorney and get your money back while you can. Don't make the bigger mistake (like we did) of clinging to the attorney and then you'll have further problems in the future, such as what we are experiencing right now. Then it would be too late.

Be brave, be strong! Just think: what can these bar titlists read that we cannot?

Wishing you all the best,

~Gracey

Hi - I'm very interested in knowing the difficulty factor of filing a K-1 visa application on your own, vs. paying money to an attorney.

I just paid a lot of money, $1,750, to a big law firm (Michael S. Solomon) that specializes only in the filing of K-1 and K-3 visas, but am starting to wonder if I made a mistake.

It's been a month since I sent the money in and filled out their application. Since then they don't return my phone calls or e-mails. They haven't contacted me once for any sort of information, documents, photos or anything since the initial questionnaire that we completed.

I'm thinking of asking for my money back and filing myself. Is this a mistake?

Thank you!

[mikelovesgracey 0]

Correction! Process actually takes LONGER when there's an attorney. Mike and I have learned that the hard way!

Sigh! If things can only be undone. But at this stage, terminating our attorney will be useless.

How's your petition going, Cham?

With an Attorney..IT DOES NOT SPEED UP THE PROCESS> It is the same amount of time versus You and your SO doing it yourself.

[ez2007 1]

We paid a lawyer for our K-1 journey but I felt it was not worth it since our case was not complicated. This time, I did the paperworks and submitted them. It saved us more than a thousand bucks.

[visahopefull 0]

I hired an attorney because I did not understand the process and did not want a stupid mistake that might delay the Visa. As it turned out, the attorney did not know much more than me and I ended up doing all the paperwork with him just providing a cover letter. Since then, he has not lifted a finger to assist us, check on our Visa status or inform us of the next steps for the interview.

The process is really very simple if you follow the guidelines on VJ. If you do it yourself, you will save between $500 to $1500 that you could use to visit your fiance while you wait.

[himher 634]

Wow. You paid your lawyer more than it cost for our ENTIRE K3 and AOS process.........What a rip-off

[*JG* 2]

I think it's a mistake to hire a lawyer during this process unless they are major issues.

[kgas 0]

I am really sorry for those of you that have had bad experiences with your attorneys. Unfortunately, I have seen a high level of incompetence and a low level of customer service in the immigration field. This is not official legal advice, but here's the thing from an attorney (albeit a new one) who filed her K-1 herself and helps others to do the same. If you have a relatively straightforward case, it makes sense to file the K-1 application yourself and use the money you saved on attorney's fees to visit your fiance. BUT, there are instances where I recommend you seek COMPETENT legal counsel prior to filing:

1. You don't speak/read English well. There are tons of little details, etc. in the filing process and it requires a keen eye and a good understanding For detail. In this case, I think it is well worth the money to hire a competent attorney.

2. There are "red flags": previously married to a US citizen, prior visa overstays, high number of K-1 applicants from the region, high incidences of fraud in the region, criminal histories, lack of evidence that you are a bonafide couple, etc.

Finally, before shelling out the money for an attorney, I suggest you spend $50 for a consultation, give a succinct explanation of your case and some of the relevant facts and "red flags," and ask a number of questions:

1. How often will I receive updates from you regarding my case? Are you readily accessible by phone or email?

2. What can you do for me that I cannot do by following the instructions and filing the I-129F myself?

3. Will you charge a flat fee for your service, and if so, what level of attention will that entitle me to? Will you handle RFEs and other requests from USCIS?

I hope this was helpful!

[DairyFarmer 1]

We hired a big law firm for $1800 too. It was a total mistake. I wish I could have gotten our money back. I also feel that the lawyer added at least a month to our process. Also, we found most of their advice was wrong, and on several forms, they were filled out with inncorrect information. Several times they advised us to do things asap, but when I forced them to check, they came back with different info. The only reason I knew what was what was because of vj. I feel like they should pay me 1800 for the education I have given them. And this is a lawyer specializing in k1 visas!

[daboyz 36]

Waste of money. They are the equivalent of tax preparers. Hiring an attorney is a good way to delay your petition, and throw money away. My attorney has been a nightmare from the beginning.

[KimandRuss 0]

As much as I do agree with much of what's been said above and think that any reasonably intelligent person can do this on their own, I also think it's important to note that there are certain people who really should seek the assistance of a qualified immigration attorney. Not every case is the same and some people will face roadblocks and waiver issues that many of us do not have to deal with.

That being said, it's just as important to educate yourself to the process and research your attorney and their track record to know for certain that they are qualified to do what they say they are going to do.

[melindap4444 0]

i went through michael solomon in 2008 for fiance visa & now with marriage visa.

LOTS of $$$$

Got my husband here, paid for the FULL service through to marriage visa...

guess what!

This is NOT a big law firm. It's him his wife & a worker.

BECAUSE they are in New York , we are in Arizona, he couldn't represent us in person.

Had to pay a local attorney $2500 to represent us!

Sooooo....MORAL OF THE STORY....it cost us double!

Mr solomon would NOT refund any of the monies we paid in full! NOT even a portion & he NEVER completed our marriage visa!

PEOPLE...I thought I was savvy & had reviewed all the lawyers, etc!

Think again....these people are in the business of making $$$

Even the lawyer we hired in Phoenix was recently indicted for scamming people!

BAD immigration lawyer, 2 times???? Hard to believe!

Good luck all!!!