Necessity of hiring a lawyer? (merged)

[Deitrickatie 0]

Hi friends. Long story short, my husband and I have been married for a few months now, have been together almost 2 years, and am expecting a baby girl in September. I moved to Belize 2 years ago which I just moved back to the states a month ago for better financial opportunity. Our primary goal is to get him here, obviously before the baby is born is not an option but we would like to start the Visa process as soon as we can. The thing is, on his original birth certificate his grandparents are listed as his parents, he was raised by them. Everything else is correct, including his name, birth place, etc. 

I am just wondering if it could do us any harm to go ahead and start the application process. We are trying to save for a lawyer to help us change the names on his birth certificate but if we could surpass that time and financial stress, it'd be good to know. 

[britishandusa 446]

11 minutes ago, Deitrickatie said:

Hi friends. Long story short, my husband and I have been married for a few months now, have been together almost 2 years, and am expecting a baby girl in September. I moved to Belize 2 years ago which I just moved back to the states a month ago for better financial opportunity. Our primary goal is to get him here, obviously before the baby is born is not an option but we would like to start the Visa process as soon as we can. The thing is, on his original birth certificate his grandparents are listed as his parents, he was raised by them. Everything else is correct, including his name, birth place, etc. 

I am just wondering if it could do us any harm to go ahead and start the application process. We are trying to save for a lawyer to help us change the names on his birth certificate but if we could surpass that time and financial stress, it'd be good to know. 

Hello! Welcome to VJ! I would personally solve the birth certificate issue first before sending anything in! 

 

However, K-3 is obsolete  now. It will be converted to a CR-1 which is currently taking 13 - 15 months from start to finish. 

[geowrian 22,335]

Nope. K-3 is obsolete. It's still on the books but would end up as CR-1 or IR-1 (based on length of the marriage). It's better off to just apply for the CR-1 and not deal with the extra paperwork IMO.

Guide: http://www.visajourney.com/content/i130guide1

 

With regard to the BC issue, getting that corrected will likely be needed. The beneficairy's BC is provided later in the process (likely 6-9+ months from initial filing).

[Lemonslice 4,553]

50 minutes ago, Deitrickatie said:

Hi friends. Long story short, my husband and I have been married for a few months now, have been together almost 2 years, and am expecting a baby girl in September. I moved to Belize 2 years ago which I just moved back to the states a month ago for better financial opportunity. Our primary goal is to get him here, obviously before the baby is born is not an option but we would like to start the Visa process as soon as we can. The thing is, on his original birth certificate his grandparents are listed as his parents, he was raised by them. Everything else is correct, including his name, birth place, etc. 

I am just wondering if it could do us any harm to go ahead and start the application process. We are trying to save for a lawyer to help us change the names on his birth certificate but if we could surpass that time and financial stress, it'd be good to know. 

Was he legally adopted?

[ItsSunny2Day 17]

I cannot speak about Belize, but in Mexico, having a lawyer only complicates simple matters, stretching out something which can be done quickly and for less money, if managed directly.

 

Have your husband line up all the supporting documents the court needs, and go visit the court that is likely to manage everything. Get friendly with either the supervisor of the clerks, or the court manager. If discretion is absolutely needed, have him invite the person for coffee or lunch to discuss business. At the meeting negotiate a flat fee with a fixed deadline to get the paperwork handled. 

[Ryan H 3,790]

Moved from K3 Process & Procedures to IR-1/CR-1 Process & Procedures.

[Going through 5,668]

Is the birth mother listed on the document at all?

 

This is very interesting as I've never heard of a birth certificate issued with another person listed as the original birth mother, if they didn't actually physically give birth to the child.

 

Unless you meant somewhere on the document the grandparents were listed as legal guardians, or something to that effect, and the actual birth mother is listed on the document elsewhere..

[Hypnos 6,576]

You cannot knowingly use a document which you know to be inaccurate, so you would need to have his birth certificate corrected, if necessary, before he could submit that document to the US embassy in furtherance of his visa application. 

 

Not doing so may be considered fraud. 

[pushbrk 12,106]

It's possible to start the process without the foreign spouse's birth certificate but you would have  a big problem months later if you submit a birth certificate showing different parent or parents from what you listed on the I-130 and/or I-130a.  Be certain of the fix before filing a petition.