montreal online forms and lawyer

[Kimbear 53]

ok so i'm having a disagreement with david over this.

for starters..i want the lawyer gone, wasn't my idea ( his folks did it). now that i got my noa2, and i've already researched all the wonderful forms and experience from you all, i know the process probably better than his lawyer (cough cough) does.

the disagreement is that his lawyer (rather the aid who cannot spell check) keeps saying i'll only hear from the consulate / nvc when i get my interview. no mention of packet 3 / 4 or the online forms i have to fill out ds-230, and ds 160, medical or police check. ( god i love visajourney so much right now!!! )

i keep explaining the process for montreal and that the lawyer cannot fill out these forms as i have to "electronically sign" them. and print out the confirmation page to bring with me to the interview, as well as upload a picture ( whee my pic actually tested ok).

I know a couple of people used a lawyer, and then got rid of the lawyer..and i'm kinda wondering if they went through this as well. I cannot for the life of me remember if it was poprocks or sapphire or someone else.

When it comes to something this important to me at this stage..i'm not willing to risk any mistakes from know it all lawyers who cannot even spell my name or postal code right..

sooo am right in the way this should be done..that the lawyer cannot help with the forms..or am i going to have to wait forever for the lawyer to finish this process, and an even betrer question..can i fire him / and how ?

[SapphireDreams 71]

It wasn't me, I didn't use a lawyer.

But, I'm guessing you can fire your lawyer at any time. Basically it boils down to whatever you have written in your contract with him.

I could be wrong, but I believe that Montreal will send both you and the lawyer copies of things moving forward... I'm not quite sure though.. perhaps someone who used a lawyer can chime in. At this point, you're probably better off keeping your lawyer until you are finished with the K1 and then just doing the AOS process on your own.

[Kimbear 53]

thats exactly what i intend to do, file aos myself and ditch the lawyer..the inlaws were trying to be nice and helpful by getting him and i dont want to upset them but he has caused us delays and other stupidities as well..like i knew a week b4 he did that we were approved and had to tell him..then he had to confirm it himself by logging in to uscis..

so ya..if i could know for sure if he gets the same stuff i do..and if i have to wait for him..etc etc..it would be nice..cuz atm..everything i need is done and prepped and i'm ready to go! LOL

[Hugglebuggles 60]

I believe the person you're thinking of is Poprocks. I remember a thread a while back where we were giving her advice on how to break up with her lawyer

If I remember the point of that thread correctly, its that after the NVC stage she was basically on her own with paperwork and worries anyways. There is only so much a lawyer can do! And lets face it... there have been many people much less intelligent than you who have successfully filled for and recieved their visa without a lawyers assistance. If your case isn't complicated then why bother? I'd just tell him his assistance is no longer needed and thank him for his help.

[Kimbear 53]

the question is how do i get the in-laws to do that?

atm all i care about is any extra delays paperwork bein sent to him and back again is going to cause. apparently expedited next day is actually 2 weeks for them!

[MapleLeafBaby 1]

thats exactly what i intend to do, file aos myself and ditch the lawyer..the inlaws were trying to be nice and helpful by getting him and i dont want to upset them but he has caused us delays and other stupidities as well..like i knew a week b4 he did that we were approved and had to tell him..then he had to confirm it himself by logging in to uscis..

so ya..if i could know for sure if he gets the same stuff i do..and if i have to wait for him..etc etc..it would be nice..cuz atm..everything i need is done and prepped and i'm ready to go! LOL

It was me!

The lawyer is right..they can fill out the forms...but you do have to sign them...They probably just want to bill for the time filling them out...

I did ditch the lawyer after I got my K1...but that being said...I did start doing all my own stuff from Packet 3 on...as he made no mention of the DS-156..etc...

I was fearful of getting rid of him and not being able to do it...I managed to do AOS all on my own.

Totally up to you as to what your comfort is...but if it will cause a fight between you guys (you and your fiance) try and agree on something before you cause extra tension for no reason. Many consulates are different and immigration lawyers are more experienced with countries such as Mexico, Russia..etc...stuff they see more frequently...Canada is a little different.

This site is great...more over, the Canadian forum is great for help. My only advise is, get all your forms straight from the www.uscis.gov site, as some of the forms archived in the VJ guides may be out dated.

If you need any specific help...feel free to PM me

Not only do you need your P3 stuff, but also the DS-160, DS-156K etc...

I saved $1500 on filing AOS by myself. I remind my husband of this frequently as he would have written a cheque to the lawyer...i'm hoping he'll pay me for my service and can use that for a shopping excursion lol

I got more done on my own...after the P3 stage, I hounded the consulate and got an interview within 3 weeks of filing my P3...haha!

Good luck

ps. I just wrote my lawyer a nice email advising that we were trying to cut household costs in this economy...etc...he was really nice about it

oh and another thing....my case did get delayed with a lawyer...I looked at my timelines and noticed that I was at the same stage for people that filled 1.5 months after us

Edited August 18, 2009 by poprocks

[Carlawarla 1]

Are your inlaws paying this lawyer? You mentioned that they got him/her for you for this process. I guess if you didn't pay for the lawyer, and you can't convince them you can do it on your own, I suggest there isn't too much you can do about it at this point. I'd ditch the lawyer for your AOS and such though. Actually, you'll be in the U.S. then anyway, so having a Canadian lawyer at that point will be usless.

You should be having David come here and join here as well and get involved in the process. He'll then see what a nice bunch we are here and be knowledgable about the process as well! Then he can support you in telling his parents you don't need a lawyer.

[Kimbear 53]

thats exactly what i intend to do, file aos myself and ditch the lawyer..the inlaws were trying to be nice and helpful by getting him and i dont want to upset them but he has caused us delays and other stupidities as well..like i knew a week b4 he did that we were approved and had to tell him..then he had to confirm it himself by logging in to uscis..

so ya..if i could know for sure if he gets the same stuff i do..and if i have to wait for him..etc etc..it would be nice..cuz atm..everything i need is done and prepped and i'm ready to go! LOL

It was me!

The lawyer is right..they can fill out the forms...but you do have to sign them...They probably just want to bill for the time filling them out...

I did ditch the lawyer after I got my K1...but that being said...I did start doing all my own stuff from Packet 3 on...as he made no mention of the DS-156..etc...

I was fearful of getting rid of him and not being able to do it...I managed to do AOS all on my own.

Totally up to you as to what your comfort is...but if it will cause a fight between you guys (you and your fiance) try and agree on something before you cause extra tension for no reason. Many consulates are different and immigration lawyers are more experienced with countries such as Mexico, Russia..etc...stuff they see more frequently...Canada is a little different.

This site is great...more over, the Canadian forum is great for help. My only advise is, get all your forms straight from the www.uscis.gov site, as some of the forms archived in the VJ guides may be out dated.

If you need any specific help...feel free to PM me

Not only do you need your P3 stuff, but also the DS-160, DS-156K etc...

I saved $1500 on filing AOS by myself. I remind my husband of this frequently as he would have written a cheque to the lawyer...i'm hoping he'll pay me for my service and can use that for a shopping excursion lol

I got more done on my own...after the P3 stage, I hounded the consulate and got an interview within 3 weeks of filing my P3...haha!

Good luck

ps. I just wrote my lawyer a nice email advising that we were trying to cut household costs in this economy...etc...he was really nice about it

oh and another thing....my case did get delayed with a lawyer...I looked at my timelines and noticed that I was at the same stage for people that filled 1.5 months after us

Well according to the email they sent, i'm not going to here anything from consulate until i get my interview.....NOT. lol. and i already filled out the ds-230, dsk 156k, made all my copies etc. they made no mention of medical etc..i dont think they have processed a fiance visa from canada to usa before..at least thats the feeling i get.

i was just confused how it would work with the online forms like the ds 160 which says i have to be the one to "click the signature button"..

LOL i love that part..that would be a nice shopping day

and it's not like we are fighting over it..it's just..well..david is a lot calmer than me..and he's kinda the type that is like.."well they know what they are doing i'm going to 100% trust them and not ask questions"...unfortunately i'm the opposite, reading VJ for the last few months i kinda understand the process better than he does i guess.

Hmm so a simple email worked eh? I"m gonna try and talk to david again..and see if we can save the money come AOS....althought we are not paying for the lawyer, what he originally charged or quoted for what he has actually done..is highway robbery if you ask me.

Thanks alot poprocks!!

[Kimbear 53]

Are your inlaws paying this lawyer? You mentioned that they got him/her for you for this process. I guess if you didn't pay for the lawyer, and you can't convince them you can do it on your own, I suggest there isn't too much you can do about it at this point. I'd ditch the lawyer for your AOS and such though. Actually, you'll be in the U.S. then anyway, so having a Canadian lawyer at that point will be usless.

You should be having David come here and join here as well and get involved in the process. He'll then see what a nice bunch we are here and be knowledgable about the process as well! Then he can support you in telling his parents you don't need a lawyer.

Yes David's parents are the ones paying for it. And the lawyer is a suposed Big lawyer from Nebraska. David and his family work for The Salvation Army, and it's the company's lawyer they are using. He has done H1b visas etc..but i dont think he knows that much about the fiance one..or at least for Canada.

hehe David admitted he has started to browse the site, but has not made an account. I keep telling him how amazing the ppl are and the forums and the information. At least he is finally getting interested in the process. That bothered me for so long that he didn't quite understand how it all worked. i think part of it is that its a public forum and he may have thought most of it or alot of what was on here was not true. But Vj is sooo not like that. And i think he is finally understanding this.

Thanks for all the advice

[Sparky&Me 0]

The Montreal consulate sent all correspondence directly to our lawyer, not to us. If you have doubts about how quickly your lawyer’s office moves on things, you may want to play an active role in checking with them or the DOS etc, to make sure you get a copy of the packet three info asap. It’d be maddening to find out the information had been sitting on your attorney’s desk for a week.

[bowflex 0]

My wife and I had a lawyer and throughout most of the process he really wasn't needed but towards the end when all the shenanigans happened I was crazy thankful we used him. Throughout most of the process we were constantly redoing forms that he gave us that had typos and such on them but he was able to do everything for us and all we had to do was sign. I personally think if having a lawyer is adding any stress for you or your fiance that you just get rid of him and do it yourself. The process is hard enough without having to worry about someone you're paying getting back to you promptly. Good luck!!