spousal visa, do we need to hire an attorney? or can we do it by ourselves?

[KendrickPaula 2]

hey guys, do we need to hire and attorney to process all the documents for spousal visa or can we do it by ourselves? i just went to an attorney and just for processing and preparing the papers itself will cost us almost $1800 and its too much for us excluded all the visa fees etc. can anyone share their experiences hot to prepare the spousal visa papers? thanks in advance.

[Kenjmor123 1]

Read up on doing it,I filed the I-130 by just following instructions and now mine has been approved and sent to the nvc. Just make sure you make the cover letter as described and put copies of the documents in the correct order.Also make sure you have the right size photos required.Enclose in file folders neat.As long as you follow step by step instructions you can do it....Kenjmor123

[David & Diana R 1,005]

hey guys, do we need to hire and attorney to process all the documents for spousal visa or can we do it by ourselves? i just went to an attorney and just for processing and preparing the papers itself will cost us almost $1800 and its too much for us excluded all the visa fees etc. can anyone share their experiences hot to prepare the spousal visa papers? thanks in advance.

Click in the tab above labeled GUIDES. Follow the guides therin and you will be fine. If you have any questions along the way just ask. Visa Journey answered all the questions we had I my wife got her approval in Manila 8 months from the day that I applied for her CR-1. We are together now and it was worth the wait.

God Bless

[David & Diana R 1,005]

Click in the tab above labeled GUIDES. Follow the guides therin and you will be fine. If you have any questions along the way just ask. Visa Journey answered all the questions we had I my wife got her approval in Manila 8 months from the day that I applied for her CR-1. We are together now and it was worth the wait.

God Bless

To make things easier just click on this link: http://www.visajourney.com/content/k1guide

[blessedchild 21]

You can do the whole work all by ur self with yourself ur wife and other members of visajourney.com. You can make it without attorney..... All you have to do is read instructions very carfuly your good to go.... Always ask question here and alot of people are on here on visajourney who will help you out..... I wish you good luck.

[Tintin and Mike 127]

You've mentioned on your other post that you were denied K1, what was the denial for? That way people could give you a better advice if you'll need a lawyer or just do it on your own.

[David & Diana R 1,005]

You've mentioned on your other post that you were denied K1, what was the denial for? That way people could give you a better advice if you'll need a lawyer or just do it on your own.

Oh this is different story then. P_dioso...you need to provide all the information to get any answers. I saw some of your problems you are facing on your other posts including paternity test...you may need more help than you can get here.

IMHO: If I were you I would want this guy to come and marry me in the Philippines. He is going to have to come visit you BEFORE he files any papers anyways. (You have to meet in person within 2 years prior to the filing of any petition) Will he commit to marrying you this time?

Just saying...

[poolbruce 22]

_{Do it yourself. I did ! just read, read, read. Save yourself a lot of money paying lawyer or service. My wife's visa appt. is now march 24th, we did it all by ourselves}

[Mike-eeh and Odie 193]

I used www.easyfiancevisa.com They are half the price and saved me a lot of headaches and guesswork. They are also a law firm and my case lawyer, Perry was fantastic. He is even Filipino and specializes in Philippine visas.

*They are BBB certified and even do payment plans if you choose this route.

Edited March 5, 2014 by Mike-eeh and Odie

[EarlyMorningHours 4]

I went the attorney route for our application and while I don't have any regrets (yet), I can't say that I would recommend it for the majority of circumstances. I had two motivations with the decision. First to avoid mistakes that could potentially add even more time on to an already lengthy process. Second, and maybe the more important of the two, was that if we were to run into any problems or complications, I wanted to have legal representation already familiar with both of us and our application. While we are a little more than 3 months out from our priority date 29-Nov-2013, I can't say that obtaining legal representation has sped things up any.

Edited March 6, 2014 by EarlyMorningHours

[Ketsuban 1,035]

Oh this is different story then. P_dioso...you need to provide all the information to get any answers. I saw some of your problems you are facing on your other posts including paternity test...you may need more help than you can get here.

IMHO: If I were you I would want this guy to come and marry me in the Philippines. He is going to have to come visit you BEFORE he files any papers anyways. (You have to meet in person within 2 years prior to the filing of any petition) Will he commit to marrying you this time?

Just saying...

That's actually not true for the IR-1/CR-1, the two year meeting requirement. I mean, obviously it helps greatly, but unlike the K-1 where you HAVE to have met within the past 2 years, it's not a fixed requirement for each and every IR-1/CR-1 case without a waiver.

Edited March 6, 2014 by Ketsuban

[KendrickPaula 2]

YUP!! we were denied on k1 because we didnot meet the required income we did the k1 because we thought its mych easier and faster and he petitioned me when i was pregnant. . and ofcourse we have met each other not only for two years but more than two years. and were living together now.. and have one kid. thats why we want to do the spousal visa because he has only one year to stay here in the philippines and were planning to fly with him after that. and regarding the paternity. yeah were doing the CRBA thing this may.. thank you guys for the help.. i guess i would need to do some researches first if we can do it by ourselves or hire an attorney.. im confused... about the CO SPONSOR does anyone know what form they need to fill up? my fiance's dad will be the co sponsor--- paula

[Cathi 5,849]

I went the attorney route for our application and while I don't have any regrets (yet), I can't say that I would recommend it for the majority of circumstances. I had two motivations with the decision. First to avoid mistakes that could potentially add even more time on to an already lengthy process. Second, and maybe the more important of the two, was that if we were to run into any problems or complications, I wanted to have legal representation already familiar with both of us and our application. While we are a little more than 3 months out from our priority date 29-Nov-2013, I can't say that obtaining legal representation has sped things up any.

Many many times attorneys make simple mistakes that cause delays, and you are at their mercy. This is a do it yourself site, the majority of people, including myself, have done it successfully on our own. If your case is straightforward save yourself the time and money and do it on your own. My husband and I had significant red flags and we were successful with no RFEs

[Mike-eeh and Odie 193]

YUP!! we were denied on k1 because we didnot meet the required income we did the k1 because we thought its mych easier and faster and he petitioned me when i was pregnant. . and ofcourse we have met each other not only for two years but more than two years. and were living together now.. and have one kid. thats why we want to do the spousal visa because he has only one year to stay here in the philippines and were planning to fly with him after that. and regarding the paternity. yeah were doing the CRBA thing this may.. thank you guys for the help.. i guess i would need to do some researches first if we can do it by ourselves or hire an attorney.. im confused... about the CO SPONSOR does anyone know what form they need to fill up? my fiance's dad will be the co sponsor--- paula

I believe the Philippines is one of a few countries that does not allow co-sponsorship. There have been exceptions in the past, although I do not know what were the circumstances of such exceptions.

[David & Diana R 1,005]

That's actually not true for the IR-1/CR-1, the two year meeting requirement. I mean, obviously it helps greatly, but unlike the K-1 where you HAVE to have met within the past 2 years, it's not a fixed requirement for each and every IR-1/CR-1 case without a waiver.

I stand corrected. I guess I just wanted to keep visiting my wife in the Philippines as often as possible!! Hahaha, she's here now! Thanks for the correction though.

Aloha