fiance hired a lawyer

[rududu 2]

My fiance hired a lawyer for thw whole process,i am against it because i am aware what needs to be send out and everything,i sent him my g325a and letter of intent with passport type pictures,now the lawyer is asking for my passport copy of each page ,i got new passport,coz with old one i wouldnt be able to travel to usa,coz old one expired,she needs each page of old passport!!!!!!!!i graduated from the university in the usa and then applied for ead card,but now i am in my home country,so she is asking all the paperwork that i had to file when applying for my ead card,then my school transcripts,then F1 visa ,however none of those are valid now coz i am on no visa,i am no longer in usa and it is not needed for K1 application,then she asked for my birth certificate copy,i did that and got it traslated and notarized,however that is not needed for I129f package,still not a single time she mentioned that i need to fill out g325a and intent to mary,i did it myself and sent it to my fiancee,as i can see all those requests from her is a waste of time,i told him what and how needs to be filled,i dont know what else to do,i dont like the whole lawyer thing,coz it seems i know better what needs to be done.what does eveyone else thinks?

[Darnell 8,478]

if your fiance is comfortable with you driving this process, and IF he will listen to you without any pain or heat -

then I suggest you suggest to him to fire the lawyer.

SHOW yer fiance the VJ guides.

Edited April 2, 2010 by Darnell

[bluenoser77 0]

The day I went for my K-1 interview I was informed that another interviewee applicant (who I saw messing around on the computers at the consulate trying to update/ fix up her documents) had had a lawyer and she still didn't have all the docs. If your fiance feels more comfortable with a lawyer and doesn't mind paying, I would suggest that you continue familiarizing yourself with the process as you are and keep up with info on visa journey--even with a lawyer. You'll be fine. My partner and I did everything ourselves and got all our info from visa journey.

Good luck!

[thongd4me 69]

He may want a lawyer because:

1) he doesn't have the time

2) he'd rather pay money than pay attention to details

3) you were in the US illegally or out of immigration status at some point

and a lawyer would be needed to negotiate the regulations and restrictions

in effect regarding those conditions.

If the answer is not 3, a lawyer is not necessary, only a convenience.

The lawyer as an ADDED layer in the process will make that process LONGER - this rule is never broken!

However, the lawyer is not obligated to make your application complete or

in compliance with USCIS rules & regulations. You & fiancé are, only you.

You can fire him/her if things go awry but that won't help your case one bit.

If the lawyer's oral instructions are mis-interpreted, it's YOU that will suffer

for that, not him.

BOTH of you should read the instructions & VJ guides. Many times the instructions

will be vague and then you can take those questions to the forums where usually

someone has encountered that speed bump before.

Most helpful for those helping you would be to initialize & fill in your timeline.

Best of luck.

Edited April 2, 2010 by thongd4me

[rududu 2]

i havent broken any laws or overstayed in us, i just dont see the need for the lawyer and why she needs my old passport copy,then a copy of ead card as well as paperwork i filed for it in order to get it, none of this goes with the I-129f application, i guess it just drives me crazy because everything could have been sent couple weeks ago,and would have been fine,coz what lawer is asking is not needed, the thing is she didnt even mentioned form g325a nor letter of intent.

[TracyTN 237]

Sounds like a waste of $$ to me then!

[Bernie C 24]

Sounds like he may have hired a lawyer that is not versed in immigration!

Hopefully he will see the light before too much money goes down the drain.

[rududu 2]

Sounds like a waste of $$ to me then!

thats what i said,i mean seriously,its not my first time sending stuff in uscis, i did that in order to get F1 visa as well as to get ead card, so i know how to follow guidelines ,the thing is he is sayi9ng that he already paid the lawyer,so its too late to fire her.

[rududu 2]

i am just completely frustrated

[Bernie C 24]

I understand, this process can be frustrating enough without compounding it with an inept attorney!

Is you finace open to discussion on the subject? Have you informed him about the resources available here at VJ?

The initial I129F packet is really not very complicated and should not present too much difficulty to comeplete. Maybe he is just scared of the paperwork, happens all the time. Its like a Santa list, (he's making a list and checking it twice)

He really needs to do some research and understand the process and requirements. When you consider that it is the responsibility of the petitioner and beneficiary to provide all the information and to review and check all the work, it does not make too much sense to pay someone to fill out papers for you. Some people have unusual circumstances that may benefit from the advice of a good immigration attorney, but for most, the info, guides and friends available here are plenty to get on track and get it done.

Wishing you the best!

[JimVaPhuong 4,863]

thats what i said,i mean seriously,its not my first time sending stuff in uscis, i did that in order to get F1 visa as well as to get ead card, so i know how to follow guidelines ,the thing is he is sayi9ng that he already paid the lawyer,so its too late to fire her.

You can fire an attorney at any time, and for any reason. It's never too late. Either your fiance doesn't understand this, or he means that it's too late to get his money back. The latter is true - the lawyer probably won't refund any of his money.

It sounds like your fiance hired an assembly line visa paperwork service, and they're operating from a checklist. A decent attorney who provides personal service would be expensive, and they would charge an hourly rate. He wouldn't be finished paying them until they were finished with his case.

Your fiance may feel bad about losing the money he's already spent, but he'd feel a lot worse about being needlessly delayed or denied because of bungled paperwork. Maybe you should put your foot down and insist he either hire a competent immigration attorney, or invest the time to become educated enough to handle it himself. This is too important to leave it up to some paperwork mill.

[Rebecca Jo 1,962]

Many law firms charge a set rate for a petition. Most do not charge by the hour.

It is also far from "unnecessary" for the attorney to be interested in documentation of any prior US visa paperwork or USCIS/INS issued documents. Nor should it be considered "unusual" for counsel to be interested in an old passport.

I see absolutley nothing wasteful or untoward about this attorney's performance based upon what the OP is reporting.

[rududu 2]

Many law firms charge a set rate for a petition. Most do not charge by the hour.

It is also far from "unnecessary" for the attorney to be interested in documentation of any prior US visa paperwork or USCIS/INS issued documents. Nor should it be considered "unusual" for counsel to be interested in an old passport.

I see absolutley nothing wasteful or untoward about this attorney's performance based upon what the OP is reporting.

well my thing is that those things arent needed to file the initial I-129f package,therefore i see it as unnecesary

[Rebecca Jo 1,962]

well my thing is that those things arent needed to file the initial I-129f package,therefore i see it as unnecesary

The attorney is gathering information about your history in the US. While you may see it as unneccessary, I see it as being very pro-active towards your case. If there is going to be any glitches in your case because of past movement in and out of the US, examination of these documents should reveal that.

[melika 0]

it sounds like you need to have a "sit down" with your fiance to talk about the lawyer. after all, this whole process is about you two and he needs to be just as invested as you are, and you both should be making decisions together, even if he is the petitioner.

My fiance hired a lawyer for thw whole process,i am against it because i am aware what needs to be send out and everything,i sent him my g325a and letter of intent with passport type pictures,now the lawyer is asking for my passport copy of each page ,i got new passport,coz with old one i wouldnt be able to travel to usa,coz old one expired,she needs each page of old passport!!!!!!!!i graduated from the university in the usa and then applied for ead card,but now i am in my home country,so she is asking all the paperwork that i had to file when applying for my ead card,then my school transcripts,then F1 visa ,however none of those are valid now coz i am on no visa,i am no longer in usa and it is not needed for K1 application,then she asked for my birth certificate copy,i did that and got it traslated and notarized,however that is not needed for I129f package,still not a single time she mentioned that i need to fill out g325a and intent to mary,i did it myself and sent it to my fiancee,as i can see all those requests from her is a waste of time,i told him what and how needs to be filled,i dont know what else to do,i dont like the whole lawyer thing,coz it seems i know better what needs to be done.what does eveyone else thinks?