I130 spousal visa lawyer area Orlando florida

[Grace Zambrano 0]

Hello, my husband will start the spousal visa process soon. He is in orlando florida and will be sponsoring me from canada. Any good lawyers available to expedite this process? I heard waiting period is around 18-24 months. That's way too long. Please advise 

[Dashinka 26,687]

Yeah, lawyers cannot expedite the process, and if you see a lawyer claiming they can, I would continue looking.  Also keep in mind there are many stories of lawyers actually delaying the process through mistakes they make. 

 

That being said, the processing time is what it is unless you or he has exceptional circumstances where an expedite request may be approved (you can search USCIS expedite for a list of some of those reasons).  Beyond that, plan for the 18-24 months, and do what you have to do to maintain your long distant marriage, and make sure you do not abuse the privilege of being able to cross the border relatively freely to visit with each other during the process.

 

Good Luck! 

[wildbug100420 447]

2 hours ago, Grace Zambrano said:

Hello, my husband will start the spousal visa process soon. He is in orlando florida and will be sponsoring me from canada. Any good lawyers available to expedite this process? I heard waiting period is around 18-24 months. That's way too long. Please advise 

Why do you think you need an attorney? If it's a straight forward case and you can follow instructions on the forms then you can file yourself and save your money.

[Grace Zambrano 0]

I want to get to Florida as soon as possible and do noy want to have any errors on my forms as this will delay the process. I just someone specializing in this daily to assist. 

[Sukie 1,524]

Grace, what a lawyer does is ask YOU to provide all the information, and then someone in their office types up the form.  And...they can make errors!  I had to correct the attorney that submitted our initial forms.  YOU are the one who is going to have to proofread the forms after the attorney's office fills them out.  So you might as well do it yourself if you have a straightforward situation.

 

It is going to take 1.5 to 2 years to get through the process (unless you have an expedite).  All of us have had to do this, with a lot of us having it take much longer.  

 

Most of us here on Visa Journey have done the process ourselves.  We used an attorney for the first part only because we had some unusual circumstances.  We did the rest (all the way through citizenship) by ourselves.

 

We will help you along the way, and will probably be WAY more responsive than your attorney (and a helluva lot cheaper).

 

Susan in NY

 

 

[Crazy Cat 46,495]

40 minutes ago, Grace Zambrano said:

I want to get to Florida as soon as possible and do noy want to have any errors on my forms as this will delay the process. I just someone specializing in this daily to assist. 

Our attorney made an error and it delayed my wife's spousal visa for 3 months.   As stated above, an attorney cannot expedite the process, and YOU still have to do all the leg work.  After the attorney's mistake, wife and I took charge and completed the interview process, Removal of Conditions, and wife's N-400 citizenship processes ourselves....with no issues or errors. 

 

18-24 months is average time from I-130 submission to spousal visa in hand.  Why?  Because there are thousands and thousands of people already in the pipeline ahead of you.....and EVERY form must be scrutinized and vetted by human eyes at USCIS, NVC, and the Consulate.

Edited 10 hours ago by Crazy Cat

[Grace Zambrano 0]

Makes sense, thabks for the advise. 

[Crazy Cat 46,495]

The immigration process requires a great deal of knowledge, planning, time, patience, and some money.  A failure in any of those areas can cause delays.  Becoming an "A student" of the process and the forms will be priceless.   Hiring an attorney can be fine, but it isn't a guarantee of a fast process.  Good luck on your journey.

Edited 9 hours ago by Crazy Cat

[wildbug100420 447]

57 minutes ago, Grace Zambrano said:

Makes sense, thabks for the advise. 

Once you start, complete your timelines. 

[Devarj 49]

I had a lawyer and wasted time and money. He sent in the application unsigned and I had to start the waiting period over. Wasted 5 months.

I finally did the application myself. Everything from I130 to the entire process. Now my spouse is a naturalized US citizen. 

The application is self explanatory - just do it yourself.

[Boiler 48,913]

As an aside Immigration Law is federal and like most things is done on line.

[appleblossom 5,981]

3 hours ago, Grace Zambrano said:

I want to get to Florida as soon as possible and do noy want to have any errors on my forms as this will delay the process. I just someone specializing in this daily to assist. 

 

A lawyer will often delay the process, simply because it's an extra step that adds time. Example - you get your Welcome Letter once the case reaches NVC. If you receive that directly, you probably log on and start the visa application process the same day, pay the fees immediately, etc. If the lawyer gets the letter, it may take them a few days to let you know it's arrived and forward it on to you, and then again a few days to tell you the payment has cleared and you can start the next step. So that thing that would have taken one week if you did it, potentially takes 2 or 3 weeks. 

 

I would just submit your I-130 asap (it's not complex, you could get it submitted this week with the help of VJ on anything you're not sure of), then that starts the clock ticking. Then once that's in, you can start reading up on the rest of the process and understanding the next steps, and start gathering the documents you'll need to avoid any delays at the NVC stage. https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/immigrate/the-immigrant-visa-process/step-1-submit-a-petition.html

 

Best of luck. 

[Gary Rich 373]

9 hours ago, Dashinka said:

Yeah, lawyers cannot expedite the process, and if you see a lawyer claiming they can, I would continue looking.  Also keep in mind there are many stories of lawyers actually delaying the process through mistakes they make. 

 

That being said, the processing time is what it is unless you or he has exceptional circumstances where an expedite request may be approved (you can search USCIS expedite for a list of some of those reasons).  Beyond that, plan for the 18-24 months, and do what you have to do to maintain your long distant marriage, and make sure you do not abuse the privilege of being able to cross the border relatively freely to visit with each other during the process.

 

Good Luck! 

A few days ago, my wife and daughter had to redo their biometrics. While we were waiting, I had a chance to talk with some of the DHS security staff.

We started talking about my situation, and you know what they told me? They said my case really wasn’t that bad. They mentioned that they see people come in all the time with lawyers who are completely unprepared and don’t even have the correct paperwork. Sometimes, they said, lawyers send their clients in without the proper documents at all.

That really opened my eyes.

So honestly, if a lawyer tells you they can “move your case quickly,” I wouldn’t believe it so easily. A lot of times, it feels more like a money grab than anything else.