Good Lawyer in Tucson?

[VOL 425]

I am just started the process of a K-1 visa for my fiance from Honduras and have been told by several people it's best to work with a lawyer (specifically a good maybe a bit more expensive lawyer),

I have seen brand new lawyers charge more than seasoned attorneys due to them trying to pay off school.

More expensive in Lawyer doesn't mean better quality.

I would hire an attorney on a criminal or divorce, but not to fill out simple paperwork that you can find a superb guideline on VJ.

[southcoast 27]

When people on VJ give well intentioned bad advice they are usually corrected quickly by more knowledgeable people. There are people on VJ who know the system better than many immigration lawyers and are happy to help for free.

Do it yourself OP if you have no red flags. Lawyers are expensive and its not unheard of on here for them to make mistakes/ delay the process by being slower to send things than you would be. Good luck!

You are right that there are some pretty sharp people out here, and I suspect that many of them are immigration lawyers offering advice. I say this because I am not sure how someone who is processing a fiancé petition would be familiar with areas of the law completely removed from this- such as collateral attacks on criminal convictions in removal proceedings. I don't know, but some of them sound like people who have a broader base of knowledge than they would develop from a simple consular processing case. My point was that many, if not most, of the people posting here do not want lawyers. they are capable of doing it themselves, and in fact would probably have a negative experience with a lawyer because they need to be the captains of their own destiny. This does not mean that all lawyers are thieves, incompetent, uncaring, etc. The cost is something one needs to decide on their own. As I said above, in this area a typical, uncomplicated consular processing case carries a $1000.00 legal fee. A lot of money to be sure, but it is all relative. If you are working in an entry level job at $10.00 per hour, and you are able to do it yourself, then certainly that is the right choice. If you are a physician earning 200/hr, then it is clearly more efficient to hire someone to do it for you. It is an individual choice. I guess I originally responded because I have noticed that all I ever see on this site is lawyer bashing, and its frequently coming from folks who know less than they think they do.

[msbau764 245]

You are right that there are some pretty sharp people out here, and I suspect that many of them are immigration lawyers offering advice. I say this because I am not sure how someone who is processing a fiancé petition would be familiar with areas of the law completely removed from this- such as collateral attacks on criminal convictions in removal proceedings. I don't know, but some of them sound like people who have a broader base of knowledge than they would develop from a simple consular processing case. My point was that many, if not most, of the people posting here do not want lawyers. they are capable of doing it themselves, and in fact would probably have a negative experience with a lawyer because they need to be the captains of their own destiny. This does not mean that all lawyers are thieves, incompetent, uncaring, etc. The cost is something one needs to decide on their own. As I said above, in this area a typical, uncomplicated consular processing case carries a $1000.00 legal fee. A lot of money to be sure, but it is all relative. If you are working in an entry level job at $10.00 per hour, and you are able to do it yourself, then certainly that is the right choice. If you are a physician earning 200/hr, then it is clearly more efficient to hire someone to do it for you. It is an individual choice. I guess I originally responded because I have noticed that all I ever see on this site is lawyer bashing, and its frequently coming from folks who know less than they think they do.

The majority of people here aren't physicians making $200/hr. Let's just get that out of the way. Everyone here says that if your case is "cut and dry" a lawyer is not needed; if not, then it definitely is recommened. I don't see why you take umbrage with that, because it is the truth. You are paying someone to fill out a form with your biographical information, you are paying someone to tell you to collect photos and your correspondence, you are paying someone to mail the application -- these are things a person with a middle school grade education can do.

[southcoast 27]

The majority of people here aren't physicians making $200/hr. Let's just get that out of the way. Everyone here says that if your case is "cut and dry" a lawyer is not needed; if not, then it definitely is recommened. I don't see why you take umbrage with that, because it is the truth. You are paying someone to fill out a form with your biographical information, you are paying someone to tell you to collect photos and your correspondence, you are paying someone to mail the application -- these are things a person with a middle school grade education can do.

I don't know how the community knows the case is "cut and dry" without knowing all the details. But at any rate, whether they hire an attorney is of no consequence to me, just chiming in that sometimes it is worth it (to some people) for the peace of mind and convenience.

[msbau764 245]

I don't know how the community knows the case is "cut and dry" without knowing all the details. But at any rate, whether they hire an attorney is of no consequence to me, just chiming in that sometimes it is worth it (to some people) for the peace of mind and convenience.

and that is the primary problem. People think hiring a lawyer makes their case smoother or less likely to receive an RFE. With an immigration case, there is never a peace of mind. By the way, my immigration lawyer friends say the exact same thing.

[southcoast 27]

and that is the primary problem. People think hiring a lawyer makes their case smoother or less likely to receive an RFE. With an immigration case, there is never a peace of mind. By the way, my immigration lawyer friends say the exact same thing.

I have a few friends who are immigration lawyers as well, but none of them have ever said that their services are useless or a waste of money. I guess your friends are on a higher plain. Its too bad one of them didn't volunteer to file your 129f. Your basic premise that if a case is pure vanilla, and if a person is not intimidated by the process, has time to study the process, and is not in a great hurry, then they can save themselves a good chunk of money by doing it themselves is correct. The same can be said about a valve job on my car. The problem is that people don't always know whether their cases present issues until after they either receive a denial or an RFE. By that time they have frequently tied themselves to certain characterizations which were made under oath. Apparently from your time line you believe your case is going well and I sincerely hope it is. But I would be a little careful, if the breadth of you experience consists of filing a 129f, of advising people to go it alone- particularly when you don't know all the facts of a given case. Your statement that "there is never peace of mind" is a bit exaggerated. It is true that paperwork gets lost, NVC sometimes gives erroneous rejections (particularly on affidavits of support), consulates can be difficult with scheduling and a host of other possibilities. But in the vast majority of cases, a properly filed petition will not result in an RFE and will be processed within a predictable timeframe. Errors in filing greatly extend the process, and it isn't often that a competent immigration lawyer will make those mistakes. The biggest problem I have seen with lawyers is with incompetent lawyers. This is particularly true in this economy when everyone is scratching for work in areas outside their competence. As with any other service, people need to seek out references and referrals from reliable sources.

[msbau764 245]

I have a few friends who are immigration lawyers as well, but none of them have ever said that their services are useless or a waste of money. I guess your friends are on a higher plain. Its too bad one of them didn't volunteer to file your 129f. Your basic premise that if a case is pure vanilla, and if a person is not intimidated by the process, has time to study the process, and is not in a great hurry, then they can save themselves a good chunk of money by doing it themselves is correct. The same can be said about a valve job on my car. The problem is that people don't always know whether their cases present issues until after they either receive a denial or an RFE. By that time they have frequently tied themselves to certain characterizations which were made under oath. Apparently from your time line you believe your case is going well and I sincerely hope it is. But I would be a little careful, if the breadth of you experience consists of filing a 129f, of advising people to go it alone- particularly when you don't know all the facts of a given case. Your statement that "there is never peace of mind" is a bit exaggerated. It is true that paperwork gets lost, NVC sometimes gives erroneous rejections (particularly on affidavits of support), consulates can be difficult with scheduling and a host of other possibilities. But in the vast majority of cases, a properly filed petition will not result in an RFE and will be processed within a predictable timeframe. Errors in filing greatly extend the process, and it isn't often that a competent immigration lawyer will make those mistakes. The biggest problem I have seen with lawyers is with incompetent lawyers. This is particularly true in this economy when everyone is scratching for work in areas outside their competence. As with any other service, people need to seek out references and referrals from reliable sources.

Part of my breadth of experience includes hiring a lawyer/former district judge to prepare a tourist visa application and subsquently be denied. Could've saved myself a few hundred bucks and "filled out forms" myself which is what I paid the person to do. By the way, my friend, who works at an immigration law firm, asked me the other day about everything I included in my petition and I have everything that he mentioned. There was no added value that could have occurred with a lawyer, in fact it probably would've caused additional delays. If you have the money, by all means pay for one; if you don't have time, getting a lawyer might help. But unless you give your lawyer the password to your email, facebook, etc, I don't see how having one enhances the process if you have a vanilla case. By vanilla, I mean you meet all the requirements as stated on the USCIS website with no criminal history, no prior marriages, income above the poverty line and previous overstays.

[TBoneTX 43,048]

The OP has received her answer, and a great many other threads exist on this topic, so this thread is closed to additional comments.

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