confused where to start

[pjreb 0]

hello people....new to the board...really overwhelmed with all this information....

my story is met a girl from kazan, russia last summer..she went back to russia and came back this summer via work/study program....went back to russia to finish her school and will wait to file for k-1 visa and then live happily ever after !

really glad to find more people in a similar situation like me !

anyways...my question is i saw the timelines listed for the embassy in russia...if i read it right..it takes approximately 5-6 months from start to finish?

i have hired a lawyer for this process but still want to know everything..would appreciate help on where to start reading specifically about russia

thanks in advance

[bruc 0]

Go here for more info...I hope

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.php?showforum=98

bruc

[Chuckles 0]

hello people....new to the board...really overwhelmed with all this information....

my story is met a girl from kazan, russia last summer..she went back to russia and came back this summer via work/study program....went back to russia to finish her school and will wait to file for k-1 visa and then live happily ever after !

really glad to find more people in a similar situation like me !

anyways...my question is i saw the timelines listed for the embassy in russia...if i read it right..it takes approximately 5-6 months from start to finish?

i have hired a lawyer for this process but still want to know everything..would appreciate help on where to start reading specifically about russia

thanks in advance

My suggestion to you is to not make any plans based on how long it should take to process your visa. If you must think about the future, think about 1 year from beginning to end. It probably will not take that long, but there is a possibility it may take longer.

But forgetting all that, it seems that Russian K-1's have been taking between 5-9 months. A few have gone into Adminstrative processing and taken 2 years, you just never know. It also depends on what service center your petition is sent to. If it is sent to VSC, you may save 2 months as opposed to if you had to send it to CSC. The USCIS adjutation is the biggest "UNKNOWN" in the process. Once you get past that point it the processing time becomes more predictable.

Good Luck !!! and check out the guides section...

[rosyanne 0]

Welcome to the board!

Read the guidance first.

[ready4ONE 5,400]

Good luck on your journey, if you already hired an attorney it is probably too late to let you know if you case is straightforward you likely can do the process yourself, save a bundle. All you need are the guides here, and when stuck, post your question.

Anyway, good luck!

[Voyageur27 0]

I agree with Ready4ONE. I used an attorney for my first (failed) K1. It was a well known K1 attorney and it was not worth the thousand or so it cost me, for sure. The second time my sweetheart and I did everything ourselves with much less problems. I simply used the guides in this forum and some common sense.

[meauxna 15]

When the beneficiary has a previous immigration history (like this one) it can't hurt at all to have a set of professional eyes on the case.

This OP has, I'm sure, his own reasons for hiring an attorney.

[pjreb 0]

thank u guys very much for the replies....

the thing is i havent actually started the paperwork with the attorney..i am getting stuff together...and will file in november because my fiancee is going to school in russia and will finish in august...i dont want the process to go too fast because she needs to finish her school...and i dont want to take too long...i want her on a plane the second she finishes school....

as for the lawyer..she really wants to hire a lawyer...but i also want to know the process...thats why i am here...so i can stay on top of the lawyer...

will continue to do more reading......would appreciate any other advice !

i am in virginia..so guess i will send to vermont center?

thanks again !

[Marc and Olga 0]

With our visa, I was more worried about Olga's end since her English is fair to poor and the documentation from Moscow is in English, I just filled in the forms for her to copy, she passed with no problems!

Thanks to one of our own's SOs, who gave Olga some much desired help...in Russian!

We did not hire a lawyer but Olga wanted one. I just explained to her that lawyers are VERY expensive (tell me that isn't true! ) and unneeded.

All that is left is for me to win the lottery!

Edited October 11, 2006 by Marc and Olga

[slim 1,514]

Where to start?

FIRE YOUR LAWYER BEFORE YOU GET CHARGED ANY MORE MONEY!!!

Then, go to the GUIDES section at the top of this website, and read through the K-1 visa guide. It is an AMAZINGLY easy process, and if you use a lawyer, you'll just kick yourself in the @$$ later because the money the lawyer charges you is the money that you could use for her plane ticket.

Now, you said that "she wants a lawyer?" Why? Security, piece of mind? Or, "I bribed my way into the U.S. using fake documents the first couple of times and I don't want to mess this one up?" Either way, don't worry. Things like that happen in Russia, and that's why we have our own forum. (That has recently been inundated with American Women who feel really sorry for those beautiful young girls overseas that are being "bought" by perverted old fat men here that can't get any women at home so they're forced to "buy" them overseas... and that's just wrong... I feel so sorry for them... wah, wah, wah.... (Sorry about the diatribe against the A/W... just been pissing me off lately. "I wanna ###### about something that I know nothing about.") So, let us know a little bit more about your questions and concerns, and we can probably walk you through the whole process. Basically, it goes like this:

You fill out G-325A, I-129F, a copy of your passport/driver's license etc., and gather together "proof" of meeting within the last two years. She fills out G-325A, (translated) copy of birth. cert., passport, etc. and sends it to you. You enclose a check (was $170, think it still is) and send in the "K-1 Packet" to your service center. You wait about two or three months (all depending on your case) then they send it to the NVC (another couple of weeks or months) then they send it to the embassy in Moscow and they schedule her interview date. (Also another couple of weeks or months.) Then, she flies over here and you live happily ever after.

There's a little more to it, but that's the basics. Welcome to the forum, and keep on reading and posting. The guys here have all made it through with flying colors lately and are a LOT of help. Good luck on your Visa Journey!

Edited October 11, 2006 by slim

[meauxna 15]

slim, a handful (less than 6) of women = an innundation?

[Satellite 1]

FIRE YOUR LAWYER BEFORE YOU GET CHARGED ANY MORE MONEY!!!

Might not be that simple in terms of saving your money. If you hired a lawyer you probably paid the retainer fee which is the whole amount. Trying to recover that by saying the lawyer worked for less in quantum merit is going to be hard. Might require a lawsuit if the lawyer is stingy.

And if you stick with the lawyer your case is probably going to take longer than usual. Reasons:

1. All communications go through your lawyer. He files all the things Slim mentioned when he has time. For example if you got an RFE you would respond immediately. A lawyer responds when he has time, but always within the 90 day period to avoid malpractice. Your case reaches his desk when the deadline approaches.

2. You know all the information that should go with the forms. Instead of writing it in, you have the lawyer do it. This extra middleman between the USCIS (remember G-28 you signed in the lawyer's office) will slow down the process and increase chances of error as information might not be entered properly by the lawyer because you know all the facts and not him. All clarifications cost time as he has to call you each time or schedule an appointment to meet with you.

3. Since the lawyer is your official representative if you have inquires about your own case, the government might not want to speak to you!

[pjreb 0]

my girl is pretty stubborn..if i fire the lawyer...she will be real upset and if something bad happens...she will blame me forever...anyways...the lawyer gave me a real good deal...less than $1000...used him before for other stuff...........u guys brought up lots of good points...thank u very much...

new questions..

1. what is the thing about online visa application form?

2. she has been issued 2 visas to the USA before through work/travel program.....and went back before her visa expired....do u think it will make it easier on her?

3. i am writing the letter about how we met...does it need to be just how we met or somethings we did while we were together...should it be nice and short...or the longer the better?

4. can u tell me what these acronyms are?

nvc

vsc

csc

5. i think i will use vermont center if i live in virginia?

thanks again !

[Marc and Olga 0]

my girl is pretty stubborn..if i fire the lawyer...she will be real upset and if something bad happens...she will blame me forever...anyways...the lawyer gave me a real good deal...less than $1000...used him before for other stuff...........u guys brought up lots of good points...thank u very much...

new questions..

1. what is the thing about online visa application form?

2. she has been issued 2 visas to the USA before through work/travel program.....and went back before her visa expired....do u think it will make it easier on her?

3. i am writing the letter about how we met...does it need to be just how we met or somethings we did while we were together...should it be nice and short...or the longer the better?

4. can u tell me what these acronyms are?

nvc

vsc

csc

5. i think i will use vermont center if i live in virginia?

thanks again !

1. Good question, never heard of an "online visa application" for a K-1 to the USA.

2. certainly that will need to be included on some of the forms, particularly once she received the packet. some of the questions are have you been to the USA, when, what visa.

3. for our I-129F, I wrote how we initially met, 1-2 lines. Several paragraphs about my trip to Russia since the question specifically asks about the personal meeting. I ended it with 1-2 lines about our ongoing relationship, emails everyday, weekly phone calls.

4. NVC= National Visa Center

VSC= Vermont Service Center

CSC= California Service Center

5. IF you were filing it yourself, yes you would file it with the VSC (see above ) however it may need to be filed based on where your lawyer works, he would know.

[Satellite 1]

1. what is the thing about online visa application form?

I think people are just referring to the actual application.

http://www.uscis.gov/graphics/formsfee/for...iles/I-129F.pdf

And when you get the NOA1 you can track your case progress online.

https://egov.immigration.gov/cris/jsps/index.jsp

2. she has been issued 2 visas to the USA before through work/travel program.....and went back before her visa expired....do u think it will make it easier on her?

Won't make much difference either way. Unless she lied on her past visa applications and that lie was discovered now then she would be inadmissable. However, when she was here the last time, you could have avoided this whole process by just getting married and doing adjustment in the country.

3. i am writing the letter about how we met...does it need to be just how we met or somethings we did while we were together...should it be nice and short...or the longer the better?

I have no opinion here. There is no specific requirement for this in the I-129F.

4. can u tell me what these acronyms are?

nvc

vsc

csc

Find all your VJ acronyms here:

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.ph...page=definition

And all other ones here.

http://www.acronymfinder.com/

5. i think i will use vermont center if i live in virginia?

Vermont Service Center has jurisdiction over I-129F's filed by petitioners living in the following states:

Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, Vermont, U.S. Virgin Islands, Virginia and West Virginia.

Your selection was proper.

However, isn't your lawyer doing all of this?

my girl is pretty stubborn..if i fire the lawyer...she will be real upset and if something bad happens...she will blame me forever

Am I reading way too much into this, or is this a potentional red flag? Why would your fiancee be preasuring you into using a lawyer? If you mess up, can't you live in Russia together? Or she doesn't want you like that? Also, does she have other immigration issues that she wants a lawyer to look over?

And, why does she have so little confindence in you doing it yourself?