Thoughts on hiring a law firm --- please give your advice

[Connie1 0]

Hello. I have considered hiring an attorney. However in the small town I live in. Their are NO immigration lawyers....

1. Do I have to use an immigration lawyer, or can I use just a family lawyer.

2. Does the lawyer have to go to the interview with us or can we go alone.

3. Will using a law firm have ANY benefit to it.

[lost_at_sea 995]

For what reason are you considering getting a lawyer? You shouldn't need one, unless you have some unusual circumstances/red flags.

If you do, you should 100% get an immigration specialist. A family law lawyer won't have the experience.

[Dbkrantz 16]

As Lost_at_Sea pointed out, it would be helpful to know what your reason for getting an immigration lawyer are? you should be able to manage without one

[Connie1 0]

There are no red flags..... No children involved. He has never been married or in trouble. I just don't want any issues. This is extremely stressful and I am so afraid I am going to make a mistake on paper work

[lost_at_sea 995]

There are no red flags..... No children involved. He has never been married or in trouble. I just don't want any issues. This is extremely stressful and I am so afraid I am going to make a mistake on paper work

The paperwork is honestly easy, and this forum really does help if you get stuck/confused. Take a look at the guide for the process: http://www.visajourney.com/content/k1guide

Almost everyone on this forum did the forms and process themselves, without a lawyer.

Edited August 29, 2013 by lost_at_sea

[Mufmer 24]

Agreed with all VJs members, what i can tell u here is VJs all members are so experienced so u dont really need to hire any Lawyer......Best of luck

Edited August 30, 2013 by Mufmer

[ella7883 2]

Hello. I have considered hiring an attorney. However in the small town I live in. Their are NO immigration lawyers....

1. Do I have to use an immigration lawyer, or can I use just a family lawyer.

2. Does the lawyer have to go to the interview with us or can we go alone.

3. Will using a law firm have ANY benefit to it.

My fiance considered hiring a lawyer because he doesn't have the luxury of time to sit down and read and read and read. We asked for advice and someone told us that "a lawyer will just take you to the cleaners". If you have a lot of money to spare, sure you can get a lawyer but it's not necessary in my opinion especially if you don't have any issues (i.e. criminal records, overstaying, etc.). Doing it on your own will test your patience and tolerance but it's going to bring you closer. Everything you need to know is in this website and if you get stuck, you can always ask questions here and I'm telling you people are very helpful. It took us more than a month to file the petition but I'm glad we did it on our own. Its your visa so you should be in control. Maybe it's just me but I hate not knowing what's going on. Just keep reading until everything is clear to you. I read and read and read for weeks and I ended up dreaming about the procedure haha!

[mr smith 0]

Dear Conio,

As fellow VJers have mentioned above. You are better off doing it yourself. Yes you need to spend some time to read up and understand the process, but doing it yourself has the benefit of your drive and tenacity to see it go through well. A lot of lawyers will only do you a job at their convenience..and if you demand that drive and tenacity as part of the service you wont probably get it or you will have to pay more.

plus there is a wealth of wisdom and help here on VJ...

[Alex+Nastya 11]

I advise against a lawyer. From my personal observation I see more people get RFE if they have a lawyer, so it seems to only make things worse. I also constantly see people saying that they wish they didn't hire a lawyer... You care more about the success of your application than the lawyer. You will more likely do things faster and better. You will triple check everything, while lawyer probably won't. Its may seem complicated to do it yourself, but its really simple if you follow the guides. If you have a question - so easy to search here or even ask. You will get an answer faster than from lawyer.

[VanjaL 0]

We used an Immigration Lawyer as to avoid RFE's etc, no previous marriages or criminal history, just wanted to make sure the papers are correct.

The firm gathered all the information needed throughout the process, requesting and instructing us what to send them and fill in etc, before filing the I-129f.

We've had no RFE.

For us it was useful, I get stressed out by forms and worry that I've forgotten something, so for us it was more a choice of buying peace of mind.

[Sheepwalk 12]

There are no red flags..... No children involved. He has never been married or in trouble. I just don't want any issues. This is extremely stressful and I am so afraid I am going to make a mistake on paper work

Hi, if you wish to go through this journey stress-free, then doing yourself should be the best choice.

We hired a lawyer based in LA and regret it much. It's a lot of frustration when you need to do war-of-words with a law office, just to make them work properly.

They delayed filing our case one month. A lot of misinformation and lies.

If you pay like USD5000 for a K-1 visa alone, yes, you might get a good service but not by USD3000.

Remember you'll have AOS with USCIS after marriage. It's better you being familiar with these processes.

For your Q2, no, you don't need an attorney to be at the interview.

Another choice for you would be a documentation service like Rapid Visa.

I hear they are quick and cost only USD400.

http://rapidvisa.com/K1FianceeVisa.aspx

Good luck !!!

[Nurseling 34]

Do it yourself thats the best advice. We did and as long as you follow instructions here you will be fine.

[Darnell 8,478]

I'll suggest a coupla things, maybe (maybe...) help you to decide whether you need an attorney or not.

a. read the VJ guides. map the steps out on paper and pencil. See if anything doesn't make sense to you.

b. Read the USCIS web portal about the forms. Map out the steps on paper and pencil. See if anything doesn't make sense to you.

c. Practice filling out the forms, at least 5 times. See if anything still doesn't make sense to you.

d. Have any red flags? Practice writing up attestation letters about each red flag.

Now, after doing (with major emphasis on DOING ) all of the above, if you do NOT understand the forms and the process and potential red flags for your petition,

then I'd suggest getting a good IMMIGRATION lawyer. You are concerned with time, I am concerned with your 'knowledge acquisition', as knowledge is power. You can have 'it' good, fast or cheap - pick 2.

Welcome to VJ, btw - this is a GREAT DIY Immigration Web Portal, with emphasis on 'Y', and 'D'.

[BabyFaceWife 11]

Save your money! We have our interview date and I did everything based off the information I got on this site. It's not that difficult at all. Just get yourself a binder to organize everything and print out all the helpful information here to keep yourself on track.

Everyone here is willing to help and there are so many personal accounts on here that I can't imagine any lawyer would have more info specific to the K1 process in the DR.