Visa process without a lawyer help

[Rachel Rauf 1]

Good afternoon everyone hope you all are having a good day I'm feeling a bit discouraged but I just wanted to ask has anyone did the Visa process for their spouse and has been successful without a lawyer all of these certain requirements can be a bit overwhelming! 

[geowrian 22,336]

I don't have actual data to back this up, but the general consensus here feels that most people on this website have done it themselves. If you read the instructions for the forms and follow the guides, it's really not that bad. Just time consuming...and a lawyer won't make it less time consuming or go any faster.

http://www.visajourney.com/content/i130guide2

 

I will note that your profile shows Pakistan. That's a very tough embassy...be sure to provide lots of relationship evidence. Time spent physically together is typically the strongest form of evidence.

 

The process typically takes 12-14 months, but Pakistan tends to have extended AP in many cases that may add several months to the process.

[Ahmed&Freda 628]

5 minutes ago, Rachel Rauf said:

Good afternoon everyone hope you all are having a good day I'm feeling a bit discouraged but I just wanted to ask has anyone did the Visa process for their spouse and has been successful without a lawyer all of these certain requirements can be a bit overwhelming! 

I agree with the above poster.  Save the money for the attorney if you need it later for any type of appeal.  Everything up to the Embassy stage I've been able to handle on my own.  I did meet with an attorney in the beginning but when he quoted me 1200 for the i130 (that I had already completed on my own just wasn't confident) I decided to hold off.   I used the money to make other trips to see my husband and hopefully won't need to, but am prepared to use the same attorney if we run into any issues after his interview.  Pakistan does seem to be a difficult embassy according to VJ but I'm hopeful.

 

 

[Tracy-->NY 40]

I agree with the above save the money and do it yourself, only go to an attorney if necessary.  I actually did my husband's petition on my own and also did mine.  Read the I130 instructions carefully and follow them the same way.  At the NVC stage they let you know everything that is needed.

[Rachel Rauf 1]

26 minutes ago, geowrian said:

I don't have actual data to back this up, but the general consensus here feels that most people on this website have done it themselves. If you read the instructions for the forms and follow the guides, it's really not that bad. Just time consuming...and a lawyer won't make it less time consuming or go any faster.

http://www.visajourney.com/content/i130guide2

 

I will note that your profile shows Pakistan. That's a very tough embassy...be sure to provide lots of relationship evidence. Time spent physically together is typically the strongest form of evidence.

 

The process typically takes 12-14 months, but Pakistan tends to have extended AP in many cases that may add several months to the process.

Thank you for your help it's nice to hear alot of people on vj likely do it them selves. I have a trip Planned there in January so we will have more pictures to show our time spent it's also good to hear that time spent together is the main thing hopefully this will help us and this time around I'm going to take my time with the forms thanks again! 

[Rachel Rauf 1]

22 minutes ago, Ahmed&Freda said:

I agree with the above poster.  Save the money for the attorney if you need it later for any type of appeal.  Everything up to the Embassy stage I've been able to handle on my own.  I did meet with an attorney in the beginning but when he quoted me 1200 for the i130 (that I had already completed on my own just wasn't confident) I decided to hold off.   I used the money to make other trips to see my husband and hopefully won't need to, but am prepared to use the same attorney if we run into any issues after his interview.  Pakistan does seem to be a difficult embassy according to VJ but I'm hopeful.

 

 

Thanks for the encouragement ! We are currently waiting for our petition to be approved which I already know we will get a RFE as I left a document out but hopefully we will get it taken care of and move forward I have a trip planned there soon also I know lawyers are expensive I'm happy to hear you have been able to complete everything on your own congrats and I wish you the best of luck on your next step in the visa process and again thank you for sharing yalls story hoping I will be successful too! 

[Cyberfx1024 7,978]

19 hours ago, Rachel Rauf said:

Thank you for your help it's nice to hear alot of people on vj likely do it them selves. I have a trip Planned there in January so we will have more pictures to show our time spent it's also good to hear that time spent together is the main thing hopefully this will help us and this time around I'm going to take my time with the forms thanks again! 

As long as you don't have a case that's very complicated there is NO REASON for a lawyer at all. Also using a lawyer will not speed up the process at all, in fact some people on here that have used lawyers have complained because the lawyer actually caused their case to slow down because the lawyer forgot to add some paperwork or didn't submit it right like they said they did. All a lawyer will do 90% of the time is just gather your documents and send them off to be file that is all, you can save the money and do it yourself if you have the time to do it. 

[SabRob 154]

As someone who has used a lawyer I suggest NOT using one if your case is clear cut. Save your $$$s for a nice vacation with your spouse or whatever else you desire. If you have any questions regarding the process ask away, folks on VJ are always helpful and willing to answer your questions

[Nitas_man 3,100]

22 hours ago, Rachel Rauf said:

Good afternoon everyone hope you all are having a good day I'm feeling a bit discouraged but I just wanted to ask has anyone did the Visa process for their spouse and has been successful without a lawyer all of these certain requirements can be a bit overwhelming! 

Lawyers usually muck things up in my view.  Never used one.

[pushbrk 12,232]

Whether professional services are a good idea, depends on more than whether the case is straight forward, etc.  Without significant study, a person doesn't know whether their case is complicated or not anyway.  If you have the language skills, aptitude and motivation to do the needed study to learn the process, there's no reason not to attempt it yourself unless you have a sex crime against a child on your criminal record.  On the other hand, if your ability or motivation to study, read carefully, competently interpret literally and answer accurately is limited, or you think you have better things to do with your time, or really are too busy, to spend the many hours reading and studying, you would be better off hiring professional help.

 

Unless you have a past immigration related legal issue or an Adam Walsh act conviction, you probably don't have a legal issue.  This is otherwise an "administrative" not a "legal" process.  There are non-attorney Professional immigration services available.  Some of them advertise on this site and at least one is endorsed by Visa Journey.

 

When hiring a lawyer, be certain they are experienced with family/spouse immigration.  Most immigration attorneys don't.  The money in immigration is defending illegals in immigration court and providing services to employers related to work visas.

 

Edited October 20, 2017 by pushbrk

[Lee & Lei 42]

On 10/18/2017 at 8:59 PM, Rachel Rauf said:

Good afternoon everyone hope you all are having a good day I'm feeling a bit discouraged but I just wanted to ask has anyone did the Visa process for their spouse and has been successful without a lawyer all of these certain requirements can be a bit overwhelming! 

I did mine without a lawyer, and thus far it has been just dandy. No RFEs, currently waiting an interview date. Total process has been about 8 months, but we dawdled a bit gathering supporting documents for the NVC. I have many colleagues going through it also though, and I have studied Visajourney thoroughly, as well as googling as much information as I could find.

 

That said, I did hire a "visa service" to assist with the I-130 step. You input your data on their website and it will auto generate the I-130 with everything filled in based on your data. They also have a Q&A center where you can submit questions and get answers. Cost me $600 for it, but I feel it helped me avoid missing small details.

 

I personally believe you do yourself a disservice by involving a lawyer -- for one, it adds a middleman into your case so every step along the way, you are going You -> Lawyer -> USCIS/NVC instead of just You -> USCIS/NVC. It makes it take quite a bit longer and costs a significant amount of money. And... using a lawyer doesn't even guarantee you won't receive an RFE either. They aren't infallible.

[courey 2]

On 10/18/2017 at 2:15 PM, Ahmed&Freda said:

I agree with the above poster.  Save the money for the attorney if you need it later for any type of appeal.  Everything up to the Embassy stage I've been able to handle on my own.  I did meet with an attorney in the beginning but when he quoted me 1200 for the i130 (that I had already completed on my own just wasn't confident) I decided to hold off.   I used the money to make other trips to see my husband and hopefully won't need to, but am prepared to use the same attorney if we run into any issues after his interview.  Pakistan does seem to be a difficult embassy according to VJ but I'm hopeful.

 

 

Could you give me some advice on filling the I-130 out where it speaks about your address history I have moved around several times for the past five years an there’s limited space there  to fill it in. 

[pushbrk 12,232]

There is not limited space.  Scroll down to the pages with extra text fields precisely for that purpose.  If you don't see them, you have an outdated version of the form.

 

[CharlesAdams 0]

Thanks for the positive ideas!