Looking for an attorney

[jook 2]

I am considering using an attorney for a fiance visa. There's some issues involved and I don't feel comfortable doing this on my own. I started to do it on my own (though I never filed anything), then it started becoming complicated because of various issues. I live in Jersey City, NJ (not far from Newark) and work in NYC. Can someone recommend an attorney? What is the going rate, if there is such a thing, for this assuming it was straightforward, no complications? Thanks, glenn

[brykit 0]

In our electronic age you can hire a lawyer in Texas while you still live in NJ. What issues are you refering to? Does your fiance has reasons to be inadmissable usch as entering without inspection, over staying a visa, any criminal past, uses or has used drugs?

Even if you hire a lawyer you'll still need to do all the research and collect everything thats necessary for the process. They'll just fill in the blanks with the information you provide them.

[Anh map 2,098]

Attorney Laurel Scott has been used by several VJ members, especially those needing waivers. Marc Ellis is another attorney used by several VJ members. You can find them by using Google. As brykit stated, there is no reason that you have to use someone in your local area.

As with any service provider you can find satisfied and unsatisfied clients. Invest a couple of hundred bucks in a consultation to make sure that you do need an attorney and that that particular person is right for you. Any attorney ought to be willing and able to provide references. Be sure to make sure that any attorney that you may use has experience with the particulars of your situation.

[jook 2]

Thank you Anh.

brykit, I'm not sure I need an attorney but I'm fearful of taking chances and perhaps messing things up beyond repair. My fiance in Colombia has some issues. Her divorced husband has bounced back and forth about giving permission to let her take the 2 kids to the US. There is a second more important reason but I do not want to discuss it publicly.

Does anyone have an idea how much the going rate is for a straightforward fiance visa? I would use that figure as a baseline. I was referred to a nearby attorney and she wants $1000. I know nothing about her and when I spoke with her on the phone, there was a certain chemistry missing. So, I'm hesitant about using her, though I'm not ruling her out just yet.

The 2 attorneys mentioned by Anh seem very high end and I'm guessing they have fees to match. Does anyone have further recommendations? Many thanks, glenn.

[rh4stc 0]

Try

Emily Cohen (in Philly)

Jonathan Grode at Goldblum and Hess

Neil Dornbaum in NJ.

All three were recommended to me in NJ.

I contacted all three by email, but only the Goldblum and Hess firm responded.

[brykit 0]

I hired Laura Scott because my fiance required a I-601 waiver. Yes, she was expensive but I could not put a price on having my fiance here with me in the U.S. I completed everything with the help of this site until her visa was denied at her visa appointment. Fortunately, she was eligible for a I-601 waiver. I completed the I-601 waiver and hardship letter myself for the waiver interview, but we were backlogged at our waiver appointment, when I immediately searched for the best lawyer for our case. Laurel was the most recommended lawyer related to the I-601 waivers. Our waiver was approved on July 2 after being backlogged for a year. Maybe the waiver I prepared and submitted at the waiver interview would have been approved without hiring Laurel, I'll never know but I'm not kicking myself now for not hiring her. As far as the rates for a straight forward fiance visa, they will vary. Shop around and develop a list of questions to ask the lawyers before you decide on one and ask for references and talk to those references. Know what the lawyer will do for you and for how much before you retain one.

I am in a similar situation regarding my future stepson. I'm not sure his biological father will sign a parental consent document to allow his son to immigrate to the U.S.

[daboyz 36]

Be very careful when you choose an attorney. Once you sign the G-28, it's all in their hands. I'm sure there are good attorneys out there. Mine was not one of them.

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

I am considering using an attorney for a fiance visa. There's some issues involved and I don't feel comfortable doing this on my own. I started to do it on my own (though I never filed anything), then it started becoming complicated because of various issues. I live in Jersey City, NJ (not far from Newark) and work in NYC. Can someone recommend an attorney? What is the going rate, if there is such a thing, for this assuming it was straightforward, no complications? Thanks, glenn

Go outside and start turning over rocks. There is no shortage of them under there. They will charge you $1000-2000 to fill out a couple of forms. make copies of you docuemtns and mail them. Please understand that YOU will still do all the work. NO attorney has what he needs to file your case, only YOU have that. You will put it all together and bring it to him.

Really. Download the forms (I-129f and G-325a) start filling them out. when you run into a problem you can;t answer...ask the question here and we will answer within seconds...for free. Start right now and your petition will be ready to mail tomorrow morning.

[kjenkins86 5]

Go outside and start turning over rocks. There is no shortage of them under there. They will charge you $1000-2000 to fill out a couple of forms. make copies of you docuemtns and mail them. Please understand that YOU will still do all the work. NO attorney has what he needs to file your case, only YOU have that. You will put it all together and bring it to him.

Really. Download the forms (I-129f and G-325a) start filling them out. when you run into a problem you can;t answer...ask the question here and we will answer within seconds...for free. Start right now and your petition will be ready to mail tomorrow morning.

I AGREE WITH YOU 100%

[sara..... 371]

i dont know what your reasons are that you feel you need an attorney but.........we also thought we did because of a couple of issues.......turns out we would have been better off doing it our self's....our attorney did not help us at all and in fact made a lot of problems for us because he didn't listen........be never addressed the issues that turned out to be our down fall in the end when he first filed the petition...after about two years of waiting for noa2 he turned our case over to some women in the office that didn't have a clue what was going on that was argumentative and insulting ...had we done it our self these two issues would have been addressed in the original petition....we also did not receive a refund as promised ......to if you really believe that you need an attorney to address your problems please look around and be very careful of who you make the choice of

i wish vj had a place for us to add our experiences with certain attorneys so that people do not fall into the trap so many of us have

just my opinion

sara

[jook 2]

Thanks for the responses. I'm going to mull this over. I wish I could discuss the problem openly but I can't. I don't even know if I should tell an attorney. Something improper was done in the past, a foolish mistake, leave it at that. I wish I could talk to someone off the record and is knowledgeable.

[Anh map 2,098]

Thanks for the responses. I'm going to mull this over. I wish I could discuss the problem openly but I can't. I don't even know if I should tell an attorney. Something improper was done in the past, a foolish mistake, leave it at that. I wish I could talk to someone off the record and is knowledgeable.

When talking to a prospective attorney about the problem, ask them what steps are needed to address the issue (as well as do some searching here on VJ about the matter along with a general Google search). If it seems that it can be resolved by filing forms then consider doing it yourself.

There are also visa services out there as well that may be able to help you depending on the issue. Again, do some questioning before handing over anything more than a nominal consulatation fee.

[jook 2]

Hah, I guess that leaves out the attorney that was recommended for $1000! I asked her that if in lieu of a flat fee, she would consider simply addressing my concerns and charge me an hourly rate. She said she doesn't work that way. She then proceeded to tell me why a layman should not file the paperwork without an attorney.

I should also add that I went through the fiance visa process successfully 15 years ago and married a woman from the Philippines. (Our marriage lasted 10 years and we are now divorced.) I handled all the paperwork on my own (before visajourney was born and the internet was in its infancy! -- so it's not like I don't know the ropes, though I am very rusty. In the end, I had to hire an attorney for my wife to get her green card because we got a real winner at the INS who refused to believe our marriage was real. But that's another story. Thanks for reminding me what an attorney can and can't do. I needed a refresher. In any event, I will take the advice given and pursue this as far as I can on my own. Thank you again.

[Jessica777 0]

Hah, I guess that leaves out the attorney that was recommended for $1000! I asked her that if in lieu of a flat fee, she would consider simply addressing my concerns and charge me an hourly rate. She said she doesn't work that way. She then proceeded to tell me why a layman should not file the paperwork without an attorney.

I should also add that I went through the fiance visa process successfully 15 years ago and married a woman from the Philippines. (Our marriage lasted 10 years and we are now divorced.) I handled all the paperwork on my own (before visajourney was born and the internet was in its infancy! -- so it's not like I don't know the ropes, though I am very rusty. In the end, I had to hire an attorney for my wife to get her green card because we got a real winner at the INS who refused to believe our marriage was real. But that's another story. Thanks for reminding me what an attorney can and can't do. I needed a refresher. In any event, I will take the advice given and pursue this as far as I can on my own. Thank you again.

Try her

http://www.myimmigration.net/beta/law/marisa_casablanca.php

[littlecrazyangel 1]

You can try Mayo & Russ from East Brunswick NJ(route 18).

http://mayolaw.com/

But they are expensive, only the AOS is $2000.