Taking too long; Lawyer Recommendations

[coolrobin2 0]

My friend is looking for an attorney to expedite the K1 process. The one he hired hasn't done much other than fill out the forms. They started the process October 28th. He and Beng are miserable; he wants to go to the Philippines to be with her, but cannot stay more than three months. He is at the internal review stage of the process. Can attorney speed things up? Anybody know a good one?

Please help!

[Blob18 111]

My friend is looking for an attorney to expedite the K1 process. The one he hired hasn't done much other than fill out the forms. They started the process October 28th. He and Beng are miserable; he wants to go to the Philippines to be with her, but cannot stay more than three months. He is at the internal review stage of the process. Can attorney speed things up? Anybody know a good one?

Please help!

Attorney can't do anything.

He however can contact his Congressman/woman, and 2 U.S. Senators for help, as well as call USCIS.

Other than that, he has to wait.

[bt1 42]

My friend is looking for an attorney to expedite the K1 process. The one he hired hasn't done much other than fill out the forms. They started the process October 28th. He and Beng are miserable; he wants to go to the Philippines to be with her, but cannot stay more than three months. He is at the internal review stage of the process. Can attorney speed things up? Anybody know a good one?

Please help!

Hiring a lawyer now or at any stage of the process is not going to help expedite the process!! You are just going to have to wait like everyone else; we all know how difficult it is to wait, but here is no way around it unless you have a legitimate reason for expediting (e.g. terminal ilness or are in the military). Certianly no lawyer can help at this stage

[Little_My 464]

I'm not an expert with K1 process, but I doubt there is nothing a lawyer can really do. They are well under the average 6 month wait for K1, and it can take longer than that as well. Unfortuntely, it is what it is. The possibilities to speed up the process don't really exist in most cases, and all they can do is wait and keep reminding themselves that it will be worth it in the end.

[jkminney 30]

A lawyer can't expedite anything other than lowering the funds in your bank account

[coolrobin2 0]

Thank you for your input. These two really are miserable...

Does anyone know if it would be faster for him to travel to the Philippines and apply through there? He recently heard that the process only takes 90 days.

If not, the 5 months will be coming up in a few days. If everything looks good, how much longer do you think it will take? It's really hard trying to coordinate travel, renting a condo, security and all for his stay over there.

[baron555 934]

My friend is looking for an attorney to expedite the K1 process. The one he hired hasn't done much other than fill out the forms. They started the process October 28th. He and Beng are miserable; he wants to go to the Philippines to be with her, but cannot stay more than three months. He is at the internal review stage of the process. Can attorney speed things up?

No one can speed things up, no one. Period

Anybody know a good one?

Please help!

No one can speed things up, no one. Period

[Harsh_77 718]

Big NO!!!!

Lawyer cannot do anything, other then helping you fill out correct forms.

Nor your congressman can do anything unless you have waited beyond the USCIS time lines.

You just have to wait with like everyone else.

Only time it can be expedited, if spouse is on active duty or some other humanitarian grounds, but other than that WAIT!!!

[katiemanny 64]

Thank you for your input. These two really are miserable...

Does anyone know if it would be faster for him to travel to the Philippines and apply through there? He recently heard that the process only takes 90 days.

If not, the 5 months will be coming up in a few days. If everything looks good, how much longer do you think it will take? It's really hard trying to coordinate travel, renting a condo, security and all for his stay over there.

Direct Consular Filling doesn't apply to Fiance I believe, only for Immediate family of a US Citizen, and he would have to live there at least for 6 months with resident card from the Philippines to be eligible. Someone correct me if I am wrong.

[TracyTN 237]

Thank you for your input. These two really are miserable...

Does anyone know if it would be faster for him to travel to the Philippines and apply through there? He recently heard that the process only takes 90 days.

If not, the 5 months will be coming up in a few days. If everything looks good, how much longer do you think it will take? It's really hard trying to coordinate travel, renting a condo, security and all for his stay over there.

Be careful of what you 'hear' from others when it comes to immigration.

Most countries allow you to file directly in the country itself - also known as a direct consular filing. However, that is for married couples (which presumably your friend is not) and generally, the US citizen must be living in the country in question for a certain period of time before they are allowed to file. Depends on the country in question and the rules they have surrounding it.

What 5 months? You mean the 5 month processing time reported by the service center? All that means is they can put in a formal inquiry if their case goes beyond the standard reporting times. Sometimes it's best to contact a senator or congressman for help at that stage. And no, no one can tell you how long it will take after that for approval.

For what it's worth, It'd be better if he signed up here and asked his own questions. Things get lost in translation sometimes, and the devil is always in the details as far as immigration is concerned.

[coolrobin2 0]

This is Staley; I'm using my friend's account.

Until we are together, can I bring her to the United States on a tourist visa, or will that mess things up with our K1 process?

Bless all of you who endured the wait!

[TracyTN 237]

It will not mess up the K1 process, no. But you will have to disclose your pending app when applying for the tourist visa.

I'm also not sure how often tourist visas are granted for PI residents. I'll defer to the PI members on that one. I remember hearing they weren't easy to get but I could be wrong.

[Markieboy 104]

My friend is looking for an attorney to expedite the K1 process. The one he hired hasn't done much other than fill out the forms. They started the process October 28th. He and Beng are miserable; he wants to go to the Philippines to be with her, but cannot stay more than three months. He is at the internal review stage of the process. Can attorney speed things up? Anybody know a good one?

Please help!

Some very good advice was given!

As others have mentioned, hiring another lawyer will do no good. Lawyers cannot expedite your case more than you can. Best option would be to contact congressman or senator. Their liaisons can inquire the status of a pending case, on your behalf. They cannot force USCIS to make a decision. Many times, not always, cases beyond normal processing times are approved shortly thereafter. So I would highly recommend that your friend contact his state representative immediately.

Your friend can do Direct Consular Filing (DCF), if he is petitioning his wife...not fiancee. However, as others have mentioned, he would need to live there for a certain number of months before he can be eligible. I believe it is 6 months. It is true that DCF is faster, for most cases, because it circumvents NVC stage. But there are different requirements as well.

IMHO, your friend needs to fire his lawyer. In the vast majority of cases, a lawyer only fills out the USCIS and NVC forms. This task can be completed by the petitioner or beneficiary.

[Dakine 26]

It will not mess up the K1 process, no. But you will have to disclose your pending app when applying for the tourist visa.

I'm also not sure how often tourist visas are granted for PI residents. I'll defer to the PI members on that one. I remember hearing they weren't easy to get but I could be wrong.

You are correct. Any filipinos applying for tourist visas must show GOOD reasons why the HAVE to return to PI and not go TNT {go illegal in the US.]

Just backing up everyone else. Lawyers can't expedite the process unless the petitioner is active in military and being assigned overseas or has other good reasons. Also for other humanatarian reasons. Senators can help more for the above reasons. They can also keep the petition moving if stalled for various reasons which happened to us and my/our senators immigration specialist got it moving again with one phone call.

[Turbo SS 6]

I tried to do the tourist visa for my girl before the fiance visa. She is Chinese. Well she had to wait 3 hours. at the embassy for her appointment. The man asked her 3 questions and said sorry your denied. She said why, he said next please.

He asked her simple things like where in the US are you travelling, how long will you be there (1 month) and something else. But since she is young with not many ties to china and no wealth or large assests they denied her right away.

Of course its much easier for western countries like Canada or England to get them but I think you and I are in the same boat. I really wish I could have brought her over first to even see if she can handle living in the US.