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BrianAndKati2009

Lawyer vs Doing it by myself

By BrianAndKati2009 in K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures

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Kittyfang Proficient

Kittyfang   6

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Filed: Country: Canada
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Finally, the last aspect is what makes the determination for most people. Can you afford the fees? If you don't like paperwork and have the money, then the attorney process may be for you. There are a lot of people that just want to sign where you say sign, pay what you say and wait.

The decision is up to you.

I won't lie. If I was rich, I would probably hire an attorney. But I'm poor, and cheap.

Also, you should know that there are community help group that can act almost in the same manner of a lawyer. There are 2 that I know of in Ohio. They will file your paperwork with you, the can represent you in court. And, if you ask very nicely, they may even answer some questions on the phone.

My suggestion would be to call your state's bar association, or look up their website. Pay attention to the Pro bono work, or ask if they know of some organization that can help you.

Adjustment of Status

11/03/10 ------- AoS (I-130/I-485) Package mailed out (Priority Mail)

11/07/10 ------- AoS Package received and singed for

11/10/10 ------- NOA1 received for I-130, I-485 and I-765 (emails)

11/12/10 ------- NOA1 received for I-130, I-485 and I-765 (hard copies)

11/12/10 ------- Touches on I-130, I-485 and I-765

11/19/10 ------- Biometrics appointment letter received

12/06/10 ------- RFE for I-693 (I think the issue is that it was not signed. Called USCIS and will receive a letter in a few days explaining)

12/13/10 ------- Biometrics done

12/16/10 ------- EAD card in production (email)

12/20/10 ------- Received "Letter of Explanation" for RFE (Service Request to expedite my case. Called USCIS and was told to ignore that and just send in response to RFE.)

12/22/10 ------- Touch (Email for Post Decision Activity on EAD saying that a letter of approval has been mailed out)

12/24/10 ------- Received EAD in the mail

12/27/10 ------- Applied for SSN

12/31/10 ------- Received Interview letter

01/03/11 ------- Received SSN card in the mail

01/07/11 ------- Mailed out response to RFE (I-693)

01/15/11 ------- Email confirming USCIS received RFE response

01/31/11 ------- Approved!

Pre-Adjustment of Status:

2006 -------- Met Online

02/07 ------- Visited him in the U.S. for what was suppose to be a few weeks (Came in with birth certificate and health card. Health card expired a few months after)

08/07 ------- Decided to get married because we didn't want to be apart (in the U.S.)

10/10 ------- USCIS Medical Done

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CA dreamer Enthusiast

CA dreamer   3

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Filed: IR-1/CR-1 Visa Country: Egypt
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uscis process files by date they receive them

i think a lawyer should be recommended when a case is complicated: many previous marriages,criminal records......etc,but normally all cases using a lawyer or by yourself doesn't make any diff.

hope that can help

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BrianAndKati2009 Apprentice

BrianAndKati2009   0

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Filed: AOS (apr) Country: Finland
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I am just wondering if anyone knows the answer or has an opinion to the following question. Do people that complete their own I-129F paperwork seem to get pushed back and take a little longer getting their NOA2's than people that pay money for a lawyer to do it? My Fiancé and I did our own paperwork... (Researched a ton and got NOA1 6/23/09) and I am getting anxious watching people submitting their paperwork in August and September of this year already getting their petitions approved. Is it just time, circumstance, and Service Center - or is there any logic to the lawyer question?

I'm in the same boat as you. We however did decide to hire a lawyer, and to be honest I think had we thought about it better we would've never hired him. Why because we file last Nov2008, and got our NOA 1 in Dec,2008 then we got a RFE in May2009 if I hadn't called the freaking lawyer I would've never known about it :angry: , now its freaking Oct. and we still done know NOTHING. I guess its really just depends if you really think its necessary or not. I, myself think I should've put that money to better use then to spend it on our "lawyer". BEST WISHES TO YOU GUYS!

So you didn't get an RFE for 5 months? What takes them so long?

  • 2009-06-06 - Kati flew here to be with me for 2 weeks
  • 2009-06-10 - Propose at Hot Springs pool
  • 2009-06-18 - Sent I-129F
  • 2009-06-23 - Received NOA1
  • 2009-12-18 NOA2 Received (FINALLY)
  • 2009-10-17 - Received letter from NVC
  • 2009-10-21 - Received Packet 3
  • 2009-10-30 - Sent in Packet 3
  • 2009-11-04 - Received Packet 4
  • 2009-11-09 - Interview
  • 2009-11-11 - Kati flew to US
  • 2009-11-16 - Marriage License Issued
  • 2009-11-19 - Married
  • 2010-01-13 - Sent AOS to Chicago (Express)
  • 2010-01-15 - AOS Package signed for
  • 2010-02-02 - Medical RFE
  • 2010-02-05 - Biometrics Appointment
  • 2010-04-17 - Initial Interview
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Kittyfang Proficient

Kittyfang   6

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Filed: Country: Canada
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uscis process files by date they receive them

i think a lawyer should be recommended when a case is complicated: many previous marriages,criminal records......etc,but normally all cases using a lawyer or by yourself doesn't make any diff.

hope that can help

I have no filed yet, so, this is just my impression from reading other people's experience. It seems like in straight forward cases, hiring a lawyer is like going to see your doctor when you have a stomach flu. Yeah, it feels like your dying, but deep down, you know it's nothing to worry about. And even tho your doctor tells you the same thing that friends and parents tell you, it still makes you feel better. :whistle:

Adjustment of Status

11/03/10 ------- AoS (I-130/I-485) Package mailed out (Priority Mail)

11/07/10 ------- AoS Package received and singed for

11/10/10 ------- NOA1 received for I-130, I-485 and I-765 (emails)

11/12/10 ------- NOA1 received for I-130, I-485 and I-765 (hard copies)

11/12/10 ------- Touches on I-130, I-485 and I-765

11/19/10 ------- Biometrics appointment letter received

12/06/10 ------- RFE for I-693 (I think the issue is that it was not signed. Called USCIS and will receive a letter in a few days explaining)

12/13/10 ------- Biometrics done

12/16/10 ------- EAD card in production (email)

12/20/10 ------- Received "Letter of Explanation" for RFE (Service Request to expedite my case. Called USCIS and was told to ignore that and just send in response to RFE.)

12/22/10 ------- Touch (Email for Post Decision Activity on EAD saying that a letter of approval has been mailed out)

12/24/10 ------- Received EAD in the mail

12/27/10 ------- Applied for SSN

12/31/10 ------- Received Interview letter

01/03/11 ------- Received SSN card in the mail

01/07/11 ------- Mailed out response to RFE (I-693)

01/15/11 ------- Email confirming USCIS received RFE response

01/31/11 ------- Approved!

Pre-Adjustment of Status:

2006 -------- Met Online

02/07 ------- Visited him in the U.S. for what was suppose to be a few weeks (Came in with birth certificate and health card. Health card expired a few months after)

08/07 ------- Decided to get married because we didn't want to be apart (in the U.S.)

10/10 ------- USCIS Medical Done

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BrianAndKati2009 Apprentice

BrianAndKati2009   0

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Filed: AOS (apr) Country: Finland
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Man, I like the doctor analogy... Well, neither of us has a criminal history but I have one previous marriage. I guess this just takes long. I am glad we did not add even more time and money to this process by hiring someone who is detached from our situation. Now that I remember correctly... When we were filling out the I-129F we got our sample form on VJ. This site did provide a lot of useful info. The USCIS site is lame at best, and did not seem to provide even half of the information on how to submit the documents and what to submit as this site did. My example would be the cover letter, things such as putting the pictures in separate plastic baggies, and there were many other things too. This whole process is insane in my view... maybe it is designed to deter stupid or lazy people from wasting their time :)

  • 2009-06-06 - Kati flew here to be with me for 2 weeks
  • 2009-06-10 - Propose at Hot Springs pool
  • 2009-06-18 - Sent I-129F
  • 2009-06-23 - Received NOA1
  • 2009-12-18 NOA2 Received (FINALLY)
  • 2009-10-17 - Received letter from NVC
  • 2009-10-21 - Received Packet 3
  • 2009-10-30 - Sent in Packet 3
  • 2009-11-04 - Received Packet 4
  • 2009-11-09 - Interview
  • 2009-11-11 - Kati flew to US
  • 2009-11-16 - Marriage License Issued
  • 2009-11-19 - Married
  • 2010-01-13 - Sent AOS to Chicago (Express)
  • 2010-01-15 - AOS Package signed for
  • 2010-02-02 - Medical RFE
  • 2010-02-05 - Biometrics Appointment
  • 2010-04-17 - Initial Interview
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daboyz Experienced

daboyz   36

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Filed: IR-1/CR-1 Visa Country: Thailand
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Man, I like the doctor analogy... Well, neither of us has a criminal history but I have one previous marriage. I guess this just takes long. I am glad we did not add even more time and money to this process by hiring someone who is detached from our situation. Now that I remember correctly... When we were filling out the I-129F we got our sample form on VJ. This site did provide a lot of useful info. The USCIS site is lame at best, and did not seem to provide even half of the information on how to submit the documents and what to submit as this site did. My example would be the cover letter, things such as putting the pictures in separate plastic baggies, and there were many other things too. This whole process is insane in my view... maybe it is designed to deter stupid or lazy people from wasting their time :)

I often thought that. They make it difficult and have long wait times to see if people are serious or not.

Service Center : Vermont Service Center

Consulate : Bangkok, Thailand

Marriage : 2006-11-08

I-130 Sent : 2008-02-22

I-130 NOA1 : 2008-03-10

I-129F Sent : 2008-04-08

I-129F NOA1 : 2008-04-14

I-129F touched: 2008-05-06

I-130 touched: 2008-05-09

I-129F approved 2008-09-05

I-130 approved 2008-09-05

NVC received 2008-09-12

Pay I-864 2008-10-08

Pay IV bill 2008-10-08

Receive Instruction 2008-11-05

Case Complete 2008-11-18

Medical 2009-01-19/20 passed

Receive Pkt 4 2009-01-30

Interview 221g 2009-02-23

Second interview 2009-03-02 Approved

POE DFW 2009-03-07

Received SS card 2009-03-17

Received GC 2009-04-01

Done for 3 years or 10 years. Haven't decided yet.

(I'm going for the IR-1 and blowing off the K-3. Even if it takes an extra couple months, it's worth it to not have to deal with USCIS again)

"Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, the wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"

Note:

Please fill out I-130, wait 6 months for approval, then 3 more months for an interview. (Unless of course we've bombed your country into the stone age, then you qualify for expedited processing.)

Welcome to the USA!!!

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