Already fired one lawyer, onto second and still not sure if we are being given good advise.

[mrsu 2]

I found this site and am thinking its too late for any initial advise but maybe there will be some of your here on the same journey who have answers or insight...

I am in Canada with my children and my husband is in Nebraska where he resides. We were engaged fall of 2012 and right away got an immigration lawyer to figure out best way to start the process of getting me and kids down to Nebraska as he is not able to transfer with his career but I can. The lawyer told us that we needed to get married and then once we were married I would return here and my husband could file paperwork to bring us down there. So we finally found time in March (we both have busy work schedules) to get away for a weekend and get married. We contacted lawyer as soon as we both got home and then spent 9 frustrating weeks being put off and put off and got nowhere with forms, etc. So we hired a new lawyer in Denver and finally after having the I-130s and the G325As re-done about 6 times due to their errors they were finally sent off at beginning of July and we got reciept the following week from USCIS. We have been trying to find out from lawyer what the next steps are, how long we can expect to wait til interview in Montreal but they are being exceptionally vague and although they originally said we would be down there within 6 mos they are now suggesting that I do not list my house for sale as it could be more like a year and a half. I am hoping that is not true but honestly have no idea what to believe anymore. They are saying we never should have married, should have filed for a fiancee visa which we did not even know was an option as they first law firm never told us about that option. Is anyone else going through this same process? If anyone is and could shed any light on what happens next, what wait times generally are for length, etc I would be super greatful, this is stressful enough but even harder with no answers.

[Darnell 8,479]

this is a DIY immigration web site, with an emphasis on 'Y' and 'D'.

Even with that said, we've a guide for 'that'.

Suggest you click the word 'Guides' above, from a PC, and study a bit.

Then, click the flag under your name here, that'll drop you to the Canada Portal. Once there, there's a timeline section on the left - click the CR-1/IR-1 bits and then sort (click the sort carat) on interview date - that'll give you some rough idea of time and timing.

Edited July 28, 2013 by Darnell

[florida4life 29]

you can see the comparison here ok I hope this gives you some insight how the process goes. But the marriage CR1 visa in my opinion is the best.

http://www.visajourney.com/content/compare

[mrsu 2]

Thank you so much Florida4 life, that was really a great comparison and helps a lot.

Thanks to Darnell as well for pointing out that this is a DIY site and mentioning that there is a strong emphasis on D and Y. I know that this is a not a legal advise site and was not seeking that. I am not looking for someone to do this for me, we are doing this ourselves and was just reading through other posts and noticed lots of other people sharing their experiences so did not think I was wrong to ask if anyone else was going through same process and had any more information than we had. I will read through the guides, thanks so much for pointing those out too, had already actually already browsed through.

[Darnell 8,479]

ya, the Guide on the CR-1 (Guide1) is a great thing to read.

You'll learn of the forms needed and the steps.

IMO, it's a good 'check' to use with the next attorney - ie - is he / she / it following the protocol for getting it done..

One twist - since yer in Canada, can OPT IN for NVC Electronic Processing after the I-130 is approved.

We've a Canada Forum, also - you might want to read a bit there.

I repeat - studying the timelines is a godsend.

[dwheels76 5,484]

Thank you so much Florida4 life, that was really a great comparison and helps a lot.

Thanks to Darnell as well for pointing out that this is a DIY site and mentioning that there is a strong emphasis on D and Y. I know that this is a not a legal advise site and was not seeking that. I am not looking for someone to do this for me, we are doing this ourselves and was just reading through other posts and noticed lots of other people sharing their experiences so did not think I was wrong to ask if anyone else was going through same process and had any more information than we had. I will read through the guides, thanks so much for pointing those out too, had already actually already browsed through.

You will be fine. One thing nice about this site and especially your countries forum is people are very helpfu;. Sorry you hired and wasted your money for a long unnecessary string of errors on the forms. I pray they at least did a I-130 for you and every child and G325 also.

Now next steps is the wait but while you wait you sure can be preparing for the NVC stage (after you are approved at USCIS then off you go to NVC for more forms and documents).

Go here to the NVC filers thread and read Post #1 and #2 so you know whats coming. Husband getting his tax stuff together and all that.

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/439000-nvc-filers-july-2013/

Since August 15, 2012 petitions for I-130 started going to Summit, Missouri and than to the Petitioners local USCIS office. So where ever in Nebraska he is its will go there. Hopefully they aren't to back up. But at USCIS expect 5 to 8 months.

So come and ask anytime anything.

[mrsu 2]

Thanks Darnell, I think that is a really good idea....to use it as a check with lawyer to make sure that they are following same guide or same steps. That was my biggest frustration is that everyone kept telling us different things and we really had nothing and no one to go to to as a template for lack of a better word. I did do quite a lot of weeks of research and can't believe I didn't find this site, seemed like a lot of the sites we found were law offices or businesses offering to help with paperwork and no real answers to any of our questions. Yeah was just in the canada forum and that is a great place to read too as there are several others in same process as us with spouses not too far from mine actually. I appreciate the heads up about the NVC Electronic Processing after approval as well

[Ryan H 3,857]

I pray they at least did a I-130 for you and every child and G325 also.

G-325A not required for minors.

[pushbrk 13,497]

G-325A not required for minors.

Correct.

you can see the comparison here ok I hope this gives you some insight how the process goes. But the marriage CR1 visa in my opinion is the best.

http://www.visajourney.com/content/compare

The comparison is useless for this couple, as they already married and have only one visa path available.

Further, using the VJ guide to check a lawyer will only cause you heartache as the lawyer is not likely to accept any advice from the client as to how to proceed. Use the guide to do it yourself or use the lawyer. Your choice.

[Evan11 0]

Sorry to hear you dumped so much time and money on bad lawyers. Some of the best advice I got on this site initially was to keep away from lawyers completely. I'm in Canada as well, and we're expecting to have our CR-1 finished up in September or October. We started late November 2012, and there was about a month and a half in the middle that we put it off and dilly-dallied. If we'd been on top of things and rushed, we would probably have been done by August, which makes for about 9 months, just to give you an idea of the timeline currently. May be different when there are children involved, though. Good luck!

[pushbrk 13,497]

Sorry to hear you dumped so much time and money on bad lawyers. Some of the best advice I got on this site initially was to keep away from lawyers completely. I'm in Canada as well, and we're expecting to have our CR-1 finished up in September or October. We started late November 2012, and there was about a month and a half in the middle that we put it off and dilly-dallied. If we'd been on top of things and rushed, we would probably have been done by August, which makes for about 9 months, just to give you an idea of the timeline currently. May be different when there are children involved, though. Good luck!

The timeline is not different with children involved. An appropriate timeline using VJ guides and NVC shortcuts, coming from Canada is currently 9 to 11 months from filing to interview, depending on the Montreal backlog.

Edited July 28, 2013 by pushbrk

[NikLR 13,232]

Could you pretty here http://www.visajourney.com/timeline/profile.php?id=165253

this way we can better help you by figuring out what stage you are at!

[Protocol417 161]

Further, using the VJ guide to check a lawyer will only cause you heartache as the lawyer is not likely to accept any advice from the client as to how to proceed. Use the guide to do it yourself or use the lawyer. Your choice.

Possibly, but if the OP is going to continue using an attorney, at least she will know whether she's getting her money's worth and her attorney is reliable, or she is getting the runaround once more.

[janw 4]

I just think she doeasnt need the lawyer..its all can be sorted using this site and the paperwork is NOT as hard as it may seem...USCIS is all about your American citizen..NVC will be about the immigrant..

[Juliet and Steve 93]

mrsu, it seems that the problem with lawyers, all too often, is that many say they are "immigration" lawyers, but if you call and ask about DWI (drinking while intoxicated), or estate questions, or murder charges you will frequently find that oddly the ones that specialize in "immigration" seem to also specialize in just about everything else. So from what I've seen, many who say that they are immigration lawyers really have done very little in an area that is quite complex.

VisaJourney is indeed a DIY site. Yet sometimes people would rather pay the $1200 or $1800 and simply have someone else "do it all." The problem with this, in my opinion is that whichever route you go, the forms and the process is essentially the same for everyone. The lawyer, unless there is some strange question, simply takes each question on each form, asks you for each answer, and fills out the form. But since you must answer each and every question and send that to the lawyer, in reality (unless for some reason it's an odd or complex case such as one of you has a criminal record, or odd child custody issues) you are doing just as much work answering the questions, so that the lawyer takes your questions and inserts them into the forms and mails it out. In short, again, only in my opinion, there is really nothing to be saved, nor is there any "quicker processing," by using a lawyer. Note: Many sites will indeed tell you that they can process things faster than you can, but they cannot. There is no expedited process simply because someone is a lawyer or has a business that fills out the forms for people. There are expedited cases for such areas as being in the military but even in these cases, you can ask yourself--the lawyer cannot really get it done any quicker.

VJ does not "give legal advice." This is true. But there is a wealth of experience here and from that experience often people know there way around. And giving "administrative" information is NOT legal advice--but administrative (how and what forms and how to fill them out, and where to send them, etc.) is really what it's all about. When there is a true "legal question" you'll get responses like: "I think you need to find a lawyer for that."

After saying all this--I realize that there are some who do want a lawyer to fill out the forms and if you are in that boat I'd suggest looking at avvo.com At least there you can find immigration lawyers--and then, you can check to see just what percentage of the lawyer's work is really immigration. This way you can check to see that if a lawyer who says she specializes in immigration really does. You can see, for instance than the percentage might be 80% immigration law, and 20% international law--I'd buy that. But if the lawyer's shows 11% immigration law and 88% estate law--I'd pass that person by.

Were I to hire an immigration lawyer, there is little chance I would find one in the remote area of New Hampshire where I live, but Boston has lots of lawyers who do just immigration law. In fact you can find lawyers there that deal mostly with Latin Americans and some who deal with those who speak only Portuguese and others who speak Creole (Haitian) and ones who speak Russian and so on. These lawyers often JUST do immigration and do know theirs stuff and if one will deal via phone and/or email, I'd look for one like this.

Good luck.