Ron and Rhea

John, thanks friend...will heed.

Hey all, let me ask you guys this, on the example forms section, it looks like they have examples put it the blanks, and you can change it to your own info, so its a fillable form. And could my fiance fill them out and email or forward them to me, so I can print them, or me do the same for her?

Please do not hire the lawyer... my fiance did (now my husband) and truthfully... we can do it on our own... but for him that time, he just wanna make sure... 4K for a K-1 is quite pricey... we did pay for around like that also but its a package up to my citizenship... We already sent our change of status and I have proven to my husband that we do not need the lawyer coz basically what she did... was sent the package... and she did not even do a good job during our K-1 process, she was asking a lot of documents that was not necessary, made my husband print a lot of stuff that she (the lawyer) did not sent to me and missed a lot of information on the affidavit of support that I have to point out... i wasn't impress!

Oh ok, thanks for the info...I have given this link to my fiance and hopefully she will read and click link and be happy to do this, lol

WE wish you all the best!! <3 you both will succeed !!

aww, thanks

Hi jetdoc...welcome to VJ...

Chinook and I are K-1erz too.

Thanks to Chinook, we successfully completed the K-1 fiancée visa process, the adjustment of status process, and the removal of conditions process without using an attorney.

Before we started the K-1 process, I consulted with a well-regarded immigration attorney here in Seattle. He quoted me $1500 to complete the K-1 fiancée visa process. The quote didn't include adjusting status or removing conditions.

Chinook found VJ and convinced me that we could do this ourselves. And she was right. I now realize that an attorney would not only have been an unnecessary expense, but they also would have slowed down the process. Brit Abroad said it best!

Save your bank for the wedding and the honeymoon.

Great post and thanks so much...you guys have given me so much confidence to do this on our own, with all the support from you guys.

I'm divorced too, but just include a copy of your divorce decree with your package and that's all that is needed. Be sue to include ALL the pages. I submitted my papers in May and the they got them 5/12/2011. I was just approved last week, so it was right at 90 days.

My girl is from Manila too. I was there in late April of this year and really enjoyed myself.

good luck,

Jim

Hold on, it took you 90 days? Am I reading that right Jim? Wow we were there around the same time, I was there in May, had a blast...then we just got back from Bangkok, had a super blast there. 90 days, really? She used the Manila consulate then..?

Yeah... lots of us do this ourselves. Use the 129F instructions from the USCIS website. If you read them carefully and ask VisaJourney when you need advise, you will have very few problems (if any) doing this on your own.

You can also refer to the GUIDES section on the top menu, as needed.

Good luck! It's not a difficult process... just kind of long.

Thanks, will do...what is also comforting is you guys that seem to be done come back to help....kewl

You're very welcome. Read the guides on here...you can't go wrong. They're given step by step and it's really not hard...you just have to be super organized and triple check everything. You can do it all yourself...K-1, AOS, ROC...all of it. If you need any kind of help, just ask on here

Thanks, will do..thats the advise from everyone on here....why make a lawyer even more rich..? hahah

Oh my goodness, no no no nooooo, don't pay an attorney. You can do it yourself...most of us on Visa Journey did and we made out superfine. NO ONE knows you or your information better than yourself. Plus, I can't tell you how many people have used immigration attorneys and received an RFE! No way. You're smart...you can handle it.

Thank you so much...really.

AOS means Adjustment Of Status and yeah it is for the Green Card. After your fiancee enters US, and you get married within 90 days of entry, you apply for AOS so she can get her conditional Permanent Resident status.

Good Luck on your journey.

BTW, we also did K-1... our whole process from filing to interview took just 5 months (and we did it all by ourselves)... so even without a lawyer, depending on the Service Center handling your case, the process can take as short as 5 months!

Good Luck again!

Oh ok...she lives in Manila, and I live in the DC area. Thanks for the info.

We finally made it without any lawyers though;-) My Ex-fiance (now my hubby) found this site and we both working together and study the guide as mentioned here in VJ. Get familiarize with the guide and surely you can do it too!

Also during our next stop which is our AOS journey we both accustomed with the entire process and less stressed as we finally made the first journey with flying colors!!!

Good Luck and welcome to VJ!

So you're here now? I have to look up the acronyms, not sure what AOS is, greencard?

Holy Mole! That is no small sum. Your effort to acquire the information and gather docs, you might as well fill in the blanks yourself. You'll feel better for having done it yourself. That is cash better saved and spent on your wedding, the honeymoon, airline tickets and the visa process.

VJ is more than a website...its a community, you will get lots of help here.

Hey Marine, Semper Fi....yea its a lot of 'chedda', no doubt. Good points for sure...I am finding out this site is not just a site, it IS a community of people who are trying to do the same thing. Seems like a lot of good folks on here.

My wife smarter also and better looking.

Too funny, the better looking part was given, lol

Congrats you two kids, haha. We are just starting our journey. Daven, thanks for your service to our country, what branch, is you don't mind me asking...? I am USMC, and retired Air Guard.

When I started the process, it looked really complicated and I looked at lawyers too. After a week of looking at this site and the forms, I decided to try myself. You are going to spend about $2000 for fees anyway, so it is not cheap. I'm with everyone else, no lawyer needed unless you have some issues like a record or something.

I was just approved, so I know it works.

Good luck,

Jim

Hey Jim, good point. There is no record for either of us, I have a divorce, that is it.

Can I ask, from start to finish, how long was your process, since your fiance is Filipina, (mine lives in Manila), thx.

You can do this yourself, just follow the directions here and read the instructions fro USCIS, you do not need to pay an attorney for K!. Keep three copies one for each of you and an extra for them in case they loose everything. Good luck,

Thanks bigdog, will heed your advise.

Hmmm .... the same advice I give to everyone else:-

You're going to PAY this guy to fill in a form with information that YOU provide, he'll give it back to you to check he hasn't made any mistakes. Then he'll ask YOU to go and get all the paperwork he needs to send as supporting evidence, photocopy it, mail your forms in and bill you mightily for the privilege.

You do the work, he sits back and counts his pot of gold. Don't fall for it, you can easily do this process with your fiancee, the same as the rest of us. The Guides section at the top of the page will walk you through it, and if you have questions, ask 'em here and you'll be bombarded with advice.

A great response, thanks 'BA'....I can see, you guys on here will help us along the way, and very fast responses. I actually mentioned to the lawyer I had found a site that seemed to be helpful if we did this on our own, visajourney...(I was a lurker for a while before joining recently)...when I mentioned the name of this site he just sorta did a, 'hmm'..and kept going, lol

Wow 4k..? Definitely a rip off, you can definitely do it yourself, this website is all you need. Your right save that money for your wedding. Having a lawyer speeds up nothing. Check out the k1 visa guide on here. Gather everything they require and send it off. Your pockets will be happier in the end that you didn't choose the lawyer route. Lawyers will say anything to get your $$. Plus any questions you have ppl on this site are willing to answer... Free of charge! Lol... Wish u guys the best! Good luck with your journey!

Akaitay, no it was over 4k, about 4600.00 and then if we wanted to do the greencard when she gets here the total for both would be over 8k...I was like, hmmmm, let me sleep on it.

But the advise I've been given here from you guys, why blow all that money for no reason...? We will for sure use you guys for help...you've already helped, thanks. And yes, 4k more for our wedding, haha

You can do this yourself. Follow the directions on VJ and USCIS web site. Save the money you wold pay for an attorney.

Thanks....!!

I recommend downloading all the forms from USCIS and Embassy websites since the forms usually have expiration date printed on them. Forms on VJ might be of an expired version since they're meant to be used as examples.

Thanks P.A.T...will do. I really do not understand how the lawyer made it seem like it would be better to use him, I guess its his job.

Oh, cool! Yep, I live in Manassas

I live on the Eastern Shore, but work at BWI airport.

You should be able to do it on your own. Paperwork is relatively easy, nothing that you can't do by yourself. Honestly, lawyers are just a waste of money and time when your case is straight forward. There are guides on top of the page that you should study before you file and if you have any questions you can always ask here. Good luck!

I was thinking that, and this site was recommended...I mean, if he were charging 1000 or so, not bad, but over 4000 is kinda expensive...we could use that for our wedding.

I will ask here and tell my fiance about this place.

Go to Regional Discussion --> Philippines Using a lawyer will not expedite the process, approval time depends on work load of the Service Center the US and the Embassy abroad. All the forms are available on www.uscis.gov and the US Embassy website in the Phillipines, you could fill them all out right now if you REALLY wanted and send in when the time comes.

Ok, will check it out, thanks. It looks like the forms links on here are fillable, that is so helpful. Thanks for your advise.

I did that too, don't feel bad! Good luck on your K1! I'm also starting the process soon

Thanks, I see you're NOVA, I live in the DC/Balt area.

BTW, I saw an Asian forum but not Filipino, am I missing it? The lawyer said he can't get it done quicker on the surface, but did say that he is proactive on forms to file and will request them in advance and they know what errors that are committed usually. He said the whole process can be done in 6 months if everything goes as planned and from when the forms are first filed.

Not sure if any of this was BS

I think you mean the K-1 visa....not F-1

Haha, yes I continually call it an F-1 visa for some reason.

If you can follow directions, you can do it yourself. Only reason to have a lawyer would be if you had some issues (criminal convictions, etc) or you absolutely hate filling out paperwork. Follow the K1 guide on this site and join the Filipino regional forum, that should take care of any questions you might have during the process.

Thank you P.A.T..we both are very good at such tasks and both intelligent, (she is way smarter than me truth be told)...Thanks for the tip on the Filipino regional, I will go there now.

Hey all, new here. My fiance and I are just starting the F1 visa journey, should be fun...not, lol. I am American, she is Filipina. We've known each other for going on 2 years. We've met in person twice, once in May in Manila and in July in Bangkok. I've met her family and we are very much in love.

She has never been married, no kids, no criminal record. I am divorced, with 3 grown kids, no criminal record.

I interviewed several immigration lawyers, I live in the DC/Balt area. I have chosen Matthew Glinsmann of Gaithersburg. His firm is high recommended. I had an initial meeting and went over all particulars. Got a good vibe from him, the only thing is the fees..the seem high, but maybe not. He charges a little over 4k to secure the F1 visa, then more if we do the green card once here.

I don't mind paying for excellent service, but man, that seems a lot, but is it worth it? Do we need to go this route? Any advise would be helpful.