That pesky lawyer question again...

[JimVaPhuong 4,863]

USCIS has an opinion on "visa assistance firms". It would be a good idea for moderators of VJ to be aware of this USCIS initiative.

http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/menuitem.e8b24a3cec33ca34c48bfc10526e0aa0/?vgnextoid=a4653ab7b8f3b210VgnVCM10000025e6a00aRCRD&vgnextchannel=b9563ab7b8f3b210VgnVCM10000025e6a00aRCRD

With all due respect, that link is about agencies that scam people. There are as many licensed practicing immigration lawyers that are just as likely to bilk people out of their money as there are "visa assistance firms". You're taking a risk either way.

By the same token, there are firms that make it clear that they are not attorneys, and they don't offer legal advice. They simply help with preparing the document package, which is not a legal service and does not require an attorney. These services are not scams, they're not operating illegally, and they can be quite useful to people who can't or don't want to navigate through the form instructions themselves. These services fill the void between do-it-yourself types and the attorneys you mentioned who are too busy to take on cases where their legal assistance isn't required.

Consulting with a qualified and reputable attorney is never a bad idea. However, unless Department of Justice is involved, immigration is a bureaucratic rather than a legal process. I don't think it's fair to imply that someone should never seek assistance from anyone less than an attorney when all they need is help filling out the forms.

FWIW, I also consulted with an attorney, but in the end chose to do it myself. His advice was useful, but in retrospect I would have been successful without it.

[Ighaepero 2]

Guys,

I got somewhat overwhelmed at all your insightful and helpful responses. I've taken note of every single one of your replies and see I was mistaken in my initial assumptions. I will do the paperwork myself. Not only because it's cheaper, but because knowing there is a forum full of such great people eager to help and support each other makes me feel significantly more confident.

Thanks to each and every one of you!

*clicks on 'Guides' section*

[jflores 2]

For peace of mind I would recommend what Rebecca Jo said, it is cheaper and if you run into some issues down the road you always have the option of hiring a lawyer. Just remember a lawyer will not give as much importance to your case as you can.

Best of luck!

[Rebecca Jo 1,962]

With all due respect, that link is about agencies that scam people. There are as many licensed practicing immigration lawyers that are just as likely to bilk people out of their money as there are "visa assistance firms". You're taking a risk either way.

By the same token, there are firms that make it clear that they are not attorneys, and they don't offer legal advice. They simply help with preparing the document package, which is not a legal service and does not require an attorney. These services are not scams, they're not operating illegally, and they can be quite useful to people who can't or don't want to navigate through the form instructions themselves. These services fill the void between do-it-yourself types and the attorneys you mentioned who are too busy to take on cases where their legal assistance isn't required.

Consulting with a qualified and reputable attorney is never a bad idea. However, unless Department of Justice is involved, immigration is a bureaucratic rather than a legal process. I don't think it's fair to imply that someone should never seek assistance from anyone less than an attorney when all they need is help filling out the forms.

FWIW, I also consulted with an attorney, but in the end chose to do it myself. His advice was useful, but in retrospect I would have been successful without it.

If someone just needs help filling out forms, there are plenty of non-profits who perform that service for free or very little charge. Such as Catholic Charities.

http://www.catholiccharitiesbmt.org/pages/programs/immigration.html

If a person is interested in hiring a dot.com website to help them, they should ask to see the business license for the state of business of the owners. They can also ask for their BIA credentials.

You may not think it is "fair" to imply that someone shouldn't use a representative that is not accredited by the BIA. But USCIS seems to think that one should not. Are you suggesting that VJ members not do as USCIS suggests?

Edited September 23, 2012 by Rebecca Jo

[taal 28]

I have to agree with some of the comments left here. What can a lawyer do, that you can't? Hes just an expensive assistant. I hired a lawyer for my K1 visa journey and it was nothing but a hassle. I would have to drive an hour to meet the attorney to sit accross him... while he asked me the questions on the forms and filled them out himself. Waste of time..It was time consuming and I had to go in whenever he was avaliable. I was not the only client. It was more stressful waiting for him to help. Long story short our visa did not get approved. We just weren't as lucky. So at the end the lawyer advised us to just get married and go that route. We spent a lot of money on a man that just filled out our forms....

But if it makes you feel better go for it. But remember whether the visa gets approved or denied is not up to the lawyer so some people get lucky while others don't.

GOodluck

[sera77 35]

No one will be as interested in getting this correctly quickly done as you will be yourself.

Just start the paperwork yourself and if you get overwhelmed check back here at VJ for assistance. Many people will help you with the smallest question you might come up with.

If that still doesn't do the trick, then would be the time to look into hiring a lawyer to straighten things out for you.

The only part that I really hated and would have preferred to hire someone to do for me was gathering the info- and noone but you yourself can do that part.

[Ighaepero 2]

For peace of mind I would recommend what Rebecca Jo said, it is cheaper and if you run into some issues down the road you always have the option of hiring a lawyer. Just remember a lawyer will not give as much importance to your case as you can. Best of luck!

Indeed, I'm taking Rebecca's advice and will at the very least have a consultation. Everyone here and on other immigration forums recommends Marc Ellis. I just sent him an email. I'm guessing he'll tell me I don't need him, but I'll feel better if I first run all the details by him.

[Xanax 349]

Guys,

I got somewhat overwhelmed at all your insightful and helpful responses. I've taken note of every single one of your replies and see I was mistaken in my initial assumptions. I will do the paperwork myself. Not only because it's cheaper, but because knowing there is a forum full of such great people eager to help and support each other makes me feel significantly more confident.

Thanks to each and every one of you!

*clicks on 'Guides' section*

Good for you ! Good luck on your visa journey!

[feli114 65]

I used a lawyer just to obtain the petition approval and ended up getting an RFE. That was $800 wasted. He told me if I wanted him to fix the RFE, I would have to pay him $150 an hour plus pay his research assistant $80 per hour. I ended up finishing everything myself. Well if you look at my signature you will see that the story is going ok without his help. Good luck and keep your head up! It will be ok.

[Sandris&Jim 3]

It is not that complicated BUT it does take time. I am a lawyer and I can tell you, unless the lawyer does visas forms exclusively every single day, he also will have to read the information, ask colleagues, think about it and look for samples. To kill the fear, read 10 times the links of Visa Journey, check the forms as much as you can and do it SLOWLY, too much things depend on it to rush. All of people over here are super kind and deliver all information you may need. Take it as your first project together. Who else but you guys can put better care on it? May God help you!!

[wilfon 30]

Hello to everyone from the new guy. I've spent the past two days digging through this and other forums and I'm aware of the consensus: unless you have some significant complication, hiring a lawyer is unnecessary; just fill out the forms yourself. Fair enough. Now, here's what makes me second-guess myself.

I've looked at the VJ guides and they are detailed and helpful, to be sure. And I do not believe she and I have any kind of red flags. We're "free to marry," no legal hassles, etc. But how am I to know if, despite my best efforts, some bureaucrat isn't going to find some error, or some unintentional omission, or WHO knows what, which will send it all spiraling to hell?

Dear VJers, with due respect to your DIY ethic, which I'd much rather adopt rather than spending lawyer fees, I must ask you this, as a complete novice:

Do you not think given my concerns above it would be wise to hire a lawyer, even if he does only end up doing nothing more than filling out paperwork, so that I can at least have my mind clear that we have the best chance possible?

Sorry to bring up this tired old topic again... Kinda nervous here.

If it is a straight forward K1 visa, then I would say that you can do it yourselves. I thought about getting a lawyer at the beginning of this process myself, but after discovering this site and speaking to a few people. I was sure we could do it. The forms are really simple as long as you have the information. This website also includes examples of everything that is needed. Good luck to you guys.

[hnubno 9]

If you've had some college courses you can handle this. If you do it yourself you know when it was sent and exactly what's on it. The lawyer will send when they have time and you don't know what's on it or if there's any mistakes. Also any RFE or paperwork will go to you directly and not to lawyer where it may possibly sit till they get to it. Plus it's extra money you can save for AOS (if doing K1) or other needed expenses like his/her medical and stuff. Really tho if you can't handle this (with no parrticilar complications to start with) I don't know how you'll handle all the immigration paperwork that you will still have to do after she/he arrives.

You should be able to do it and this is only the beginning remember you will have to do AOS paperwork, 10 year greencard paperwork too and you do not want to have to always use a lawyer. That's a lot of money and they are as much work as K1.

I took my time when I did it. Read VJ every day and kept looking over the forms practically every day. Took 6 months to just kind of fill everything out and looked over it. Read VJ for those 6 months to make sure I didn't make a mistake that someone else did. Everything went smoothly during K1...well except for interview but it was the CO who suspected every male beneficiary coming out of that country so of course gave us a hard time.

Edited September 24, 2012 by hnubno

[ca_babe 129]

We were nervous about doing it on our own, but the cost of a lawyer made me say well you know what all my years of schooling I should be capable at this point to read a form and fill it out.

[sassy222 5]

HELP IS ALWAYS GOOD.

Edited September 24, 2012 by raycatu

[viv85e 3]

Since we're all talking about lawyers I'll add my experience to the list. We applied for a CR-1 visa and hired a lawyer to walk us through the process. At this moment we are a couple of weeks away from our interview.

Pros: I could email my lawyer anytime when I had a question about a form or the process in general and get an immediate response. It felt very reassuring to get a definitive answer specific to my case from a professional. If you can afford a lawyer, I'd say consider the peace-of-mind you'll get by using a qualified one. As much as I appreciate VJ (truly an amazing resource) I would have gone crazy searching/posting and waiting for responses to every question I had throughout the process.

Cons: A lawyer's services are not cheap. Our lawyer was very friendly and helpful but it is true---they are busy people and it is impossible for them to care more than you care about your application. As others have said, a lawyer will basically be doing what you yourself can do which is fill out the paperwork and send it in. It is not a complicated process to mail forms but it can be tricky knowing how to fill them out exactly right. Our lawyer was in NY and we were in Romania throughout the entire process.

Verdict: I don't regret hiring a lawyer but I also don't think it is absolutely necessary. After my experience I would recommend going to an agency or charity group that assists individuals with the immigration process instead of a lawyer. It sounds like they offer the same kind of assistance but at a lower cost. You really just need someone to help you fill in the forms correctly, either use this website, your own research, or hire someone. In my opinion some guidance is helpful.