Attorneys

[ram1009 42]

I'm considering hiring an attorney named Michael Gurfinkel to handle my K1 visa.  Does anybody have anything good or bad to say about him?

[Roel 7,191]

Why do you need an attorney? 

[ram1009 42]

4 minutes ago, Roel said:

Why do you need an attorney? 

I probably don't "need" an attorney however I may want one depending upon cost and what they actually do for the process.  I'm very new to this and I don't know what I don't know and I can't afford any time consuming mistakes.  My assumption is that an attorney can steer me through the maze as quickly as possible.  However, I do not have unlimited funds so there's still that.  This Gurfinkle guy has come to my attention as competent but I'd like to hear from clients if possible.  

[Nov2017AD 52]

If you don't have unlimited funds, you shouldn't pay $1000+ to have a lawyer who could care less about you do the job of a minimum wage worker. 

 

You literally fill out a form with simple instructions and attach some documents. Unless you a straight up criminal or fiance/spouse is banned from the country, or illiterate, don't bother and spend an hour reading the instructions.

[Paul & Marina 53]

57 minutes ago, Nov2017AD said:

If you don't have unlimited funds, you shouldn't pay $1000+ to have a lawyer who could care less about you do the job of a minimum wage worker. 

 

You literally fill out a form with simple instructions and attach some documents. Unless you a straight up criminal or fiance/spouse is banned from the country, or illiterate, don't bother and spend an hour reading the instructions.

What a wonderful message of kindmess & support.

 

If you want to why not.

[Nov2017AD 52]

11 minutes ago, Paul & Marina said:

What a wonderful message of kindmess & support.

 

If you want to why not.

Because lawyers will waste your time and money usually and end up complicating things because they could care less about the outcome of the case.

 

OP is under the impression this process is a maze when in actuality it's really fill out your name, check some boxes, attach a few photos, write a letter you willing to get married, provide proof of citizenship, provide proof you visit in last 2 year eg a plane ticket. Sign it, throw money at USCIS, and call it a day.

 

There are certain situations where a lawyer may be warranted eg. serious crime, fraud, bans.

[MeghanK 625]

This forum is better than all the lawyers in the world combined and help here is up to speed, and free. EDIT: As long as you're willing to do a bit of your own leg work, i.e. read simple instructions. 

Edited February 28, 2019 by MeghanK

[Limey 550]

11 hours ago, ram1009 said:

I'm considering hiring an attorney named Michael Gurfinkel to handle my K1 visa.  Does anybody have anything good or bad to say about him?

 

This site is largely people who didn't hire attorneys - if they'd hired attorneys they'd ask them the questions, rather than asking here.

 

Impossible to say without knowing your situation, but unless you have issues like a criminal record (for the immigrant) or other issues that might complicate the process, its unlikely you need a lawyer. The process might seem overwhelming, but its just a case of following check lists. Many of us here have done it - we had no issues, and I've since got my 10 year green card all without using a lawyer.

 

A lawyer won't know your parents' names, dates of birth, your previous addresses, previous marriages etc. They won't be able to obtain your full birth certificate, or divorce certificates, etc. So guess what - they'll just give you a list of things that YOU need to do. You're still going to end up doing most of the work. So why not cut out the middle man and just do the application yourself?

Edited February 28, 2019 by Limey

[Prizm123 1,084]

15 hours ago, ram1009 said:

I probably don't "need" an attorney however I may want one depending upon cost and what they actually do for the process.  I'm very new to this and I don't know what I don't know and I can't afford any time consuming mistakes.  My assumption is that an attorney can steer me through the maze as quickly as possible.  However, I do not have unlimited funds so there's still that.  This Gurfinkle guy has come to my attention as competent but I'd like to hear from clients if possible.  

if funds are limited, then you would be wasting a lot of it for an attorney

you will still do the vast majority of the work in getting all of the documents together, filling them out, sending them etc

 

an attorney will not be able to make the process go any faster, that is determined by caseload and how complicated your case may be. if you do not feel confident enough you could research some of the document preparation services which would be much less expensive and can help you navigate through this

[JoeJ1979 4]

16 hours ago, ram1009 said:

I'm considering hiring an attorney named Michael Gurfinkel to handle my K1 visa.  Does anybody have anything good or bad to say about him?

Hey Ram1009 I sent you a message

[carmel34 3,531]

OP, also keep in mind that when you pay all those thousands of dollars to hire "an attorney," that the person who actually fills out forms for you based on information you provide, and submits documents that you have to gather, is not an attorney, but a low-paid clerk that they hire to do the work for them.

[SalishSea 16,770]

3 hours ago, carmel34 said:

OP, also keep in mind that when you pay all those thousands of dollars to hire "an attorney," that the person who actually fills out forms for you based on information you provide, and submits documents that you have to gather, is not an attorney, but a low-paid clerk that they hire to do the work for them.

Exactly.  Attorneys cannot speed things up or affect an outcome.  

[ram1009 42]

14 hours ago, Nov2017AD said:

Because lawyers will waste your time and money usually and end up complicating things because they could care less about the outcome of the case.

 

OP is under the impression this process is a maze when in actuality it's really fill out your name, check some boxes, attach a few photos, write a letter you willing to get married, provide proof of citizenship, provide proof you visit in last 2 year eg a plane ticket. Sign it, throw money at USCIS, and call it a day.

 

There are certain situations where a lawyer may be warranted eg. serious crime, fraud, bans.

I have a very different opinion of the immigration service.  I believe they consider it their mission to place every obstacle possible in the way of every applicant.  This seems obvious to me just from knowing about a section of immigration law called section 214b which states that all non-immigrant visa applicants shall be assumed to intend to overstay their visas unless proof to the contrary exists.  Isn't their intent obvious?

[ram1009 42]

Well, I'm a little surprised by this response.  It's pretty obvious that lawyers are frowned upon around  here and in general, I agree.  I wish I had as much confidence in myself as the rest of you seem to have in me.  At the moment my problem isn't filling out the I-129F which I have already done but rather what to do with the large quantity of paperwork required to be filed with the form.  What have some of you done to organize this mass of evidence or have you all just thrown it all together in a pile and left it tothe examiner to sort through?  Please advise?

[geowrian 22,335]

The US issued 5,779,411 new/renewed tourist visas last year alone (plus Canadian visitors and VWP travelers). I would hardly consider that "every obstacle possible" in the way of every applicant.

Edit: My bad..I missed Border Crossing Cards (BCCs). The total was actually 6,811,878.

Edited March 1, 2019 by geowrian