Should I hire a lawyer and other questions.

[jg121783 3,907]

Before I ask my questions let me explain my situation. I am an American who is dating a Filipino woman and we are seriously discussing getting married. I plan on going to visit her by the end of the year or early next year and if all goes well hopefully apply for a fiance visa after the visit. She also has a son that that will be coming with her if she decides to marry me and move here. Because of my work schedule I will only be able to spend two weeks or less in the Philippines. I hope that is long enough for the visa process. I have read a little about the fiance visa process but i still have many questions.

Should I hire a lawyer or is this something that is straightforward that I could do on my own?

I have a while before we have to worry about applying for the visa. Is there anything we should be doing right now to get ready for it?

What type of evidence should we gather that shows we are in a relationship and plan on getting married?

I would like to have her come here and visit for a week or so after i visit her before or during the fiance visa process so she can see if she will like it here. Is this possible?

What is the process for obtaining a visa for her son and can he come here right away when she comes for the fiance visa?

That is all I can think of for now. I know I might be getting a little ahead of myself here but I am the type of person who likes to plan ahead. Any advice would be appreciated.

[Boiler 43,401]

Just to be clear you have yet to meet?

[jg121783 3,907]

Just to be clear you have yet to meet?

Correct.

[Boiler 43,401]

Don't you think this is a bit premature? At least meet first.

[jg121783 3,907]

Don't you think this is a bit premature?

No I do not believe it is. I never said I have decided on anything yet. Just that we have discussed it and we might decide when I meet her or we might decide afterwords. I am simply trying to gather information about the process so I know what to prepare for ahead of time. This is something I take seriously and I don't want to be figuring out everything at the last minute. I did not ask for any relationship advice. Only for advice on the fiance visa process.

[nolee 7]

I think I can relate with you. Before my fiance and I met in person we both felt that we wanted to spend a long time with one another. Meeting in person for the first time ever confirmed just that, that we should continue with this journey.

Right now we are just in the beginning stages of our visa process.

This website as been very helpful with any questions I have had. Every question I've had I was able to find the answer here. Everyone is very helpful. I don't think hiring a lawyer would be necessary. They cost extra money for an already expensive process. With a little research this is something that you could easily do without the extra cost of a lawyer.

I would start reading the guides on here to familiarize yourself with what steps you would have to take to get this all started and what sort of paperwork you'd have to do.

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

As for evidence of the relationship hang on to flight itinerary, boarding passes to help with proof of meeting in person. Take lots of pictures together when you visit! Save email, text, skype correspondence. Pictures tho, I think that's the biggie.

I hope you are able to visit with her soon and wish you both the best of luck with your journey together!

[VOL 425]

No I do not believe it is. I never said I have decided on anything yet. Just that we have discussed it and we might decide when I meet her or we might decide afterwords. I am simply trying to gather information about the process so I know what to prepare for ahead of time. This is something I take seriously and I don't want to be figuring out everything at the last minute. I did not ask for any relationship advice. Only for advice on the fiance visa process.

Take plenty of pics, keep all your receipts, enjoy the trip.

I would visit different parts of the Philippines and travel alone for a while, It's a great place to enjoy yourself

[Dashinka 23,211]

Before I ask my questions let me explain my situation. I am an American who is dating a Filipino woman and we are seriously discussing getting married. I plan on going to visit her by the end of the year or early next year and if all goes well hopefully apply for a fiance visa after the visit. She also has a son that that will be coming with her if she decides to marry me and move here. Because of my work schedule I will only be able to spend two weeks or less in the Philippines. I hope that is long enough for the visa process. I have read a little about the fiance visa process but i still have many questions.

Should I hire a lawyer or is this something that is straightforward that I could do on my own? Depends on your own desire. I looked at a lawyer in the beginning of our process, and found that it really wasn't necessary. If you have a straightforward application it isn't really necessary unless you don't want to fill out all the forms and gather the package yourself. There is a lot of information here on VJ, and at other sites that are very helpful. If your application is complicated (over stays, criminal records, etc.), it might be a good idea. It is really your decision, but if you go the lawyer route, make sure you shop around and look at any reviews, don't just pick the first one you come to without checking them out.

I have a while before we have to worry about applying for the visa. Is there anything we should be doing right now to get ready for it? As already stated, make sure you fully document your visit, keep all your travel records and take a lot of photos.

What type of evidence should we gather that shows we are in a relationship and plan on getting married? Photos, photos, photos, as well as evidence of meeting in person within the past two years. Travel records, passport stamps, etc. will help.

I would like to have her come here and visit for a week or so after i visit her before or during the fiance visa process so she can see if she will like it here. Is this possible? We tried that as well and fundamentally, it seems like a logical idea. The big issue is that the US government is in the middle. For the most part, they assume that any single person applying for a visitor visa wants to commit fraud and stay. In our case this was not true, but nevertheless, my fiance was denied a visitor visa twice. I am not sure how the Phillipines are viewed, so your girlfirend/fiance might have an easier time. I would read the regional section and ask about the ability of getting a visitor visa before you make any attempts.

What is the process for obtaining a visa for her son and can he come here right away when she comes for the fiance visa? I believe this is called a K2 and should be filed at the same time as the K1 if you go that route. The guides here are very helpful.

That is all I can think of for now. I know I might be getting a little ahead of myself here but I am the type of person who likes to plan ahead. Any advice would be appreciated.

Good luck.

[baron555 934]

Before I ask my questions let me explain my situation. I am an American who is dating a Filipino woman and we are seriously discussing getting married. I plan on going to visit her by the end of the year or early next year and if all goes well hopefully apply for a fiance visa after the visit. She also has a son that that will be coming with her if she decides to marry me and move here. Because of my work schedule I will only be able to spend two weeks or less in the Philippines. I hope that is long enough for the visa process.

Yes, there is not minimum time limit for the meeting in person.

I have read a little about the fiance visa process but i still have many questions.

Then Read the Guides and follow the Example Forms....links at the top of this page.

Should I hire a lawyer or is this something that is straightforward that I could do on my own?

Most do not.

I have a while before we have to worry about applying for the visa. Is there anything we should be doing right now to get ready for it?

Establish a legitimate relationship and be ready to prove that to a total stranger, the Embassy CO at the interview.

What type of evidence should we gather that shows we are in a relationship and plan on getting married?

Read up on other posts.

I would like to have her come here and visit for a week or so after i visit her before

Maybe she can get a visitor's visa...most likely for her, not from the Phils.

or during the fiance visa process so she can see if she will like it here. Is this possible?

Bad idea. The K-1 is not a visitors visa, you should have all this vetted out before.

What is the process for obtaining a visa for her son and can he come here right away when she comes for the fiance visa?

REad up on K-2 visas.

That is all I can think of for now. I know I might be getting a little ahead of myself here but I am the type of person who likes to plan ahead. Any advice would be appreciated.

Yep, read up, all your info is out there.

[Sunnyland 639]

Unless you have red flags in your case (previous K1 petitions on her side, big age difference, etc) then no need for a lawyer. This site is pretty helpful and clear. Any doubt you can always come here and someone will answer your questions. Believe me, if I could do it with VJ then you can do it too. Just take planning that's all. Besides no one is gonna put more effort than you and lawyers can be very expensive, they will charge you an arm and a leg.

[VOL 425]

Unless you have red flags in your case (previous K1 petitions on her side, big age difference, etc) then no need for a lawyer.

Negative, US Embassy doesn't really care if petitioner or beneficiary have or had previous cases filed.

Big age difference is very common in Phiippines, Just a FYI........

[Sunnyland 639]

I would think that if a person (no matter the country) have had SEVERAL K1 petitions in the past, that would raise some eyebrows in immigration. Is it normal for people there to fall in /out of love so fast and jump to next relationship? Just wondering. I guess I belong to the OLD school then.

[VOL 425]

I would think that if a person (no matter the country) have had SEVERAL K1 petitions in the past, that would raise some eyebrows in immigration. Is it normal for people there to fall in /out of love so fast and jump to next relationship? Just wondering. I guess I belong to the OLD school then.

Let me clarify, USCIS really don't care and you may have to do a waiver.

US Embassy in Manila from my personal experience doesn't care about prior K1 petitions.

Maybe some other embassy it may be an issue..

[jg121783 3,907]

Thanks for all the replies so far. I just got an email from a lawyer who said they would charge me $2500 for the K1 visa with one child plus all the filing fees. Does this sound reasonable if I were to hire a lawyer (I am not sure if I would or not at this point)?

[VOL 425]

Thanks for all the replies so far. I just got an email from a lawyer who said they would charge me $2500 for the K1 visa with one child plus all the filing fees. Does this sound reasonable if I were to hire a lawyer (I am not sure if I would or not at this point)?

You are aware that you will do the lion share of the work by collecting all the paperwork, and then you they assemble it and fill in the paperwork. It actually rather easy process.

$2,500 sound like a he's pulling your pants down around your ankles....