Lawyer or no lawyer?

[FrozenGlitter 1]

A lady I work with came here on a K1 visa from India and said it only took her 2 months. She said her son married someone and did the same thing. She said it was this quick because she used a lawyer.

Is this true? I'd never thought it was necessary to hire a lawyer for this if you can do the paperwork yourself. Why is there such a vast difference in processing times?

I'm majorly frustrated because I can't even start this process yet...am still suffering through custody battle/divorce hell. It'll likely be another year at least before I can bring my fiance here. : ( Anything to make it go faster once I'm free to apply is what I'm hoping for.

[habibi11 16]

A lady I work with came here on a K1 visa from India and said it only took her 2 months. She said her son married someone and did the same thing. She said it was this quick because she used a lawyer.

Is this true? I'd never thought it was necessary to hire a lawyer for this if you can do the paperwork yourself. Why is there such a vast difference in processing times?

I'm majorly frustrated because I can't even start this process yet...am still suffering through custody battle/divorce hell. It'll likely be another year at least before I can bring my fiance here. : ( Anything to make it go faster once I'm free to apply is what I'm hoping for.

Having a Lawyer does not make the process any faster at all you still have to wait it out like everyones else. Good luck

[Adrian_Trischa 6]

A lady I work with came here on a K1 visa from India and said it only took her 2 months. She said her son married someone and did the same thing. She said it was this quick because she used a lawyer.

Is this true? I'd never thought it was necessary to hire a lawyer for this if you can do the paperwork yourself. Why is there such a vast difference in processing times?

I'm majorly frustrated because I can't even start this process yet...am still suffering through custody battle/divorce hell. It'll likely be another year at least before I can bring my fiance here. : ( Anything to make it go faster once I'm free to apply is what I'm hoping for.

Maybe she meant the NOA2 to receiving visa stage?

Having a lawyer does not make it any faster.

[bigdog 377]

Does not help just cost you money and if the attorney makes a mistake time. Follow the guides and get some advise along the way.

[aaydrian 479]

Lawyer or no lawyer the wait time is the same. I've only heard through the grapevine of one instance where a K1 from start to finish took 3 months.

Cases take less time if it is affected by very special circumstances and that couple is approved an expedite. Expedites happen with or without lawyers.

You should keep in mind that some people are naive and so talk a lot of #######, deliberately mislead people or relay the dumbed down version of a set of information they were told.

Read and keep yourself informed.

[SteveKarlaMayer 21]

The lawyer can't help your process to speed up. What they do is to collect the forms needed, submit to the USCIS and then delivered you the documents they received. As for me, I don't see a great help from a lawyer really. The K1 process is easy, just require a patience.

[Tintin and Mike 127]

No need for a lawyer. Save that money and spend it somewhere else

Good luck on your journey!

Edited November 3, 2012 by Tintin and Mike

[VanessaTony 3,567]

Nope not true. They're probably talking the visa section which can be that quick, but the first part, the petition, is what takes a few months.

**Edit - If you're legally divorced (doesn't matter if you're still going through property settlement) and legally able to marry you can start the process now. Some divorce settlements take a while but the divorce itself (being legally free to marry/change your name back) can be final sooner.

Edited November 3, 2012 by Vanessa&Tony

[FrozenGlitter 1]

Nope not true. They're probably talking the visa section which can be that quick, but the first part, the petition, is what takes a few months.

**Edit - If you're legally divorced (doesn't matter if you're still going through property settlement) and legally able to marry you can start the process now. Some divorce settlements take a while but the divorce itself (being legally free to marry/change your name back) can be final sooner.

I'm not legally divorced yet...in my state they won't divorce you until the custody issues have been worked out. It's supposed to go to trial, I hope hope hope that will be the last step and I can finally be done with it! I just want to move on already!

Thanks everyone for your info. I thought it sounded fishy when she said 3 months because I've never seen it take that short for anyone before. She probably is just taking about the actual visa part and not the petition. Another question, why does the VSC seem to take twice as long as the CSC? And it is completely random which of those the petition goes to?

[KayDeeCee 4,896]

Ours took 3 months from petition to visa approval. It would have taken only 2 months, but we delayed the interview by a month. Our petition went through VSC with no lawyer. We just so happened to get really lucky and have our petition go through Vermont during a short window where they were processing petitions lightning fast. This was back in 2010.

The processing times switch back and forth between CSC and VSC over the years. Sometimes one is slow while the other is fast. It is possible the people you spoke to were able to squeak through during a time when one of the two service centers was moving along quickly.

Just check the processing times before you are about to file. That will give you a better idea of how many months you will have to wait for the I-129F petition approval. It does no good to base it on other people's past experiences.

All petitions are sent to the Dallas Lockbox intake address and then they are sorted there and sent out to either the CSC or VSC. It used to be based on what state you live in. I am not sure if they still sort them that way now. I have seen a few people post here on VJ that theirs did not follow the old rules of which center based on your state, but I think the majority of them still tend to.

Skip the lawyer. They cannot make it faster for you. Good luck to you when you do get to file, and I hope the processing times when you mail yours are in your favor.

[VanessaTony 3,567]

Ours took 3 months from petition to visa approval. It would have taken only 2 months, but we delayed the interview by a month. Our petition went through VSC with no lawyer. We just so happened to get really lucky and have our petition go through Vermont during a short window where they were processing petitions lightning fast. This was back in 2010.

Your post is a little misleading so I just want to confirm... According to your timeline it took FIVE months for you to get your visa approved from NOA1 (receipt), which was/is pretty standard back then. Mine took 6 because of a delay with my medical and police check (knowing the process now I would be fine )

It took 3 months for you to get your visa from your NOA2 (petition approval). Mine took 2 months from NOA2 to visa approval/interview.

It took 1 month for you to get your NOA2 from NOA1, it took me 4 months to get NOA2 after NOA1.

It used to be so easy! Now NOA1 - NOA2 is about 5-6 months.

[KayDeeCee 4,896]

Your post is a little misleading so I just want to confirm... According to your timeline it took FIVE months for you to get your visa approved from NOA1 (receipt), which was/is pretty standard back then. Mine took 6 because of a delay with my medical and police check (knowing the process now I would be fine )

It took 3 months for you to get your visa from your NOA2 (petition approval). Mine took 2 months from NOA2 to visa approval/interview.

It took 1 month for you to get your NOA2 from NOA1, it took me 4 months to get NOA2 after NOA1.

It used to be so easy! Now NOA1 - NOA2 is about 5-6 months.

Took 23 days from NOA1 to NOA2. Less than a month for the petition approval. Then he was able to go for an interview by the end of July. We filed towards the end of May, so that was 2 months. Juarez had no appointments back then. He could have gone for the interview at anytime after they received his file. He delayed going due to personal issues and went mid Sept. It took 3 and a half months, 104 days from NOA1(June 9- Sept 23). It could have been done faster though if he would have gone for the interview right away at the beginning of Aug. That would have made it 2 months from NOA1 to interview.

Yes, it used to be faster overall, which is why I do not think people should try and compare theirs to what anyone tells them happened in their past case. All we can tell the OP is that those people did not get their visas faster because they had a lawyer.

[FrozenGlitter 1]

Took 23 days from NOA1 to NOA2. Less than a month for the petition approval. Then he was able to go for an interview by the end of July. We filed towards the end of May, so that was 2 months. Juarez had no appointments back then. He could have gone for the interview at anytime after they received his file. He delayed going due to personal issues and went mid Sept. It took 3 and a half months, 104 days from NOA1(June 9- Sept 23). It could have been done faster though if he would have gone for the interview right away at the beginning of Aug. That would have made it 2 months from NOA1 to interview.

Yes, it used to be faster overall, which is why I do not think people should try and compare theirs to what anyone tells them happened in their past case. All we can tell the OP is that those people did not get their visas faster because they had a lawyer.

Thanks! This has all been very informative! I'm curious though, if they DO go by state to determine which SC it goes to, and I live in KS (so right in the middle of the country), which would it be more likely to go to?

[agrabs 250]

Thanks! This has all been very informative! I'm curious though, if they DO go by state to determine which SC it goes to, and I live in KS (so right in the middle of the country), which would it be more likely to go to?

probably CSC - I'm in Kansas city MO and mine went to CSC.

[Nich-Nick 3,354]

Thanks! This has all been very informative! I'm curious though, if they DO go by state to determine which SC it goes to, and I live in KS (so right in the middle of the country), which would it be more likely to go to?

The usual alignment is--

CSC

Alaska, American Samoa, Arizona, California, Colorado, Guam, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, Washington, Wisconsin, Wyoming

VSC

Alabama, Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, Washington, D.C., Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Mississippi, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Virginia, U.S. Virgin Islands, West Virginia