On our own or lawyer (split)

[Sam_Har 0]

Hi all,

 

We are planning to apply for K1 visa and was wondering if its better to go through a lawyer or apply on your own. We meet all the minimum requirements and our application is ready to be submitted. Please advise.

 

Thanks in advance!

 

 

[KristineGB 56]

3 minutes ago, Sam_Har said:

Hi all,

 

We are planning to apply for K1 visa and was wondering if its better to go through a lawyer or apply on your own. We meet all the minimum requirements and our application is ready to be submitted. Please advise.

 

Thanks in advance!

 

 

Many do it themselves and they are approved. If your case is straightforward (no criminal record, no illegal stays in the US, etc) you may wanna do it yourself especially if you’re on a budget. I think it’s a matter of preference. If I had the money i would have gotten a lawyer just because. 

[Ontarkie 13,920]

~~Post split off and related reply. Please do not post your question in other members thread.~~

[Ben&Zian 4,397]

Agreed. If there is no major legal issues, you can do it all yourself. There are things to consider though about the petition and it's assembly and amount of information provided initially. These factors to consider are what country the beneficiary is from, how many visits and how much face time (in person time) you have, any large age gaps, religious differences, ect.

Edited May 11, 2019 by Ben&Zian

[Cathi 5,614]

Unless you have a difficult case with several red flags there is no need whatsoever to hire an attorney. It's a waste of time and money.

[Mrsjackson 300]

Have you also looked into a spouse visa? Why K1? We did the K1 and should have done the spouse. No need for a lawyer whatsoever. Save your money. 

[SMR&JDR 6]

1 hour ago, Sam_Har said:

Hi all,

 

We are planning to apply for K1 visa and was wondering if its better to go through a lawyer or apply on your own. We meet all the minimum requirements and our application is ready to be submitted. Please advise.

 

Thanks in advance!

 

 

We didn't hire a lawyer and it all went smooth. The main thing is to be organized and include as much evidence as possible and you'll be fine.

 

All the best to you both! 😊

[futurecoloradogrl 82]

2 hours ago, KristineGB said:

Many do it themselves and they are approved. If your case is straightforward (no criminal record, no illegal stays in the US, etc) you may wanna do it yourself especially if you’re on a budget. I think it’s a matter of preference. If I had the money i would have gotten a lawyer just because. 

I agree! We decided to consult a lawyer just because we had some questions specific to our situation that we wanted to get a professional opinion on. It was really helpful to us just to have a meeting where we could throw any dumb questions we had at him and receive an answer that applied to our specific situation, especially at the stage after we'd got engaged and had no clue what we were doing to make things happen. However if you have a straightforward case there is plenty of information on here to help you through the process - lots of couples are approved every day who didn't use a lawyer (and saved the money for something else). 

[KristineGB 56]

@futurecoloradogrl yeah I wouldve loved to have that available to me... to just throw out questions and have concrete answers. The searching for answers kinda stressed me out but Im a naturally anxious person. 

[Pitaya 2,576]

I suspect that you may not get very many unbiased answers comparing "Lawyering up" or DIY for immigration matters, on this primarily a DIY site. As others have said, if your case is simple, pretty plain vanilla and you like a sense of accomplishment, suggest DIY is the way to go. If you have a case with complications.i.e, past legal entanglements, domestic or international, you may want to consider lawyering up.

 

YMMV

[KristineGB 56]

11 minutes ago, Pitaya said:

I suspect that you may not get very many unbiased answers comparing "Lawyering up" or DIY for immigration matters, on this primarily a DIY site. As others have said, if your case is simple, pretty plain vanilla and you like a sense of accomplishment, suggest DIY is the way to go. If you have a case with complications.i.e, past legal entanglements, domestic or international, you may want to consider lawyering up.

 

YMMV

Very good point!

[USN_MSC 16]

Print out the I-129F and go through it line by line while referencing the guides available here and online. It is not a hard form to fill out and assemble a packet with organized supporting documents. 

 

My opinion is unless you do not feel confident in completing it yourself (lots of "explanations" i.e. divorce(s)), you should do it yourself and save the money.

[Mike E 11,723]

If you can afford it, get a lawyer for the i129-F, the K-1, the AOS,  removal of conditions, and the N-400.  

 

I did not get one for the I129-F and K-1 and it cost us a month for an RFE and caused us to file AOS just before the 90 days were up.  

[payxibka 10,044]

3 minutes ago, Mike E said:

 

 

I did not get one for the I129-F and K-1 and it cost us a month for an RFE and caused us to file AOS just before the 90 days were up.  

How does an RFE on the petition or Visa have any influence on when you file AOS

[Mike E 11,723]

5 minutes ago, payxibka said:

How does an RFE on the petition or Visa have any influence on when you file AOS

Sorry for being unclear.    The RFE did not have any influence on the AOS. DIY work on the K-1 cost us time on the AOS. Had we used a lawyer for everything I believe my wife would had an EAD by now.  

Edited May 12, 2019 by Mike E