smpcole

3 hours ago, MarlinCobon said:

That's what I would of done if I knew, I would still pay for the first part but would of have never paid that second part but I found out about Visa journey after I had signed the contract to pay. God bless you!

Thanks for the tip!  In your experience, what about the NVC part of the process do you think made it easier than the USCIS part?  Just the fact that NVC is second, so by that time you are more familiar with the immigration process overall?  Or was there something specific about it that made it easier?  God bless you too!  Thank you so much for your help.

41 minutes ago, smpcole said:

One thing that I've seen some people mention are "red flags."  What are some examples?  Neither of us has ever been convicted of a crime or anything like that, but we met under somewhat unusual circumstances, and I send my fiance money periodically to help her make ends meet (she's putting herself through university and supporting her unemployed mom).  Do you think either of those things would raise eyebrows at immigration?

Other possible "red flags":

- We are planning to apply immediately after getting married.

- We are going to sign a prenup before getting married.

- We have never lived together before.

All, thank you so much for your detailed and thoughtful comments!

We are still leaning towards hiring a lawyer.  The bottom line is that we are simply not comfortable doing it ourselves and would feel better if we had a single person we could go to with all of our questions, who would be with us from start to finish.

One thing that I've seen some people mention are "red flags."  What are some examples?  Neither of us has ever been convicted of a crime or anything like that, but we met under somewhat unusual circumstances, and I send my fiance money periodically to help her make ends meet (she's putting herself through university and supporting her unemployed mom).  Do you think either of those things would raise eyebrows at immigration?

Thanks for the help, all!

I guess the biggest concern I have is proving our relationship is genuine and knowing exactly what evidence to include in our application.  We love each other very much and have every intention of building a life together in the US, but we have only been together for a little over a year, most of which has been long distance.  We video chat every single day (I think we literally have not gone a day without talking since we met), have met each other's family and friends, etc., but we have only spent about a month total together physically.  So I am kind of worried that immigration will think we are trying to pull a fast one on them if we don't provide the right sort of evidence.

4 minutes ago, Luckycuds said:

I want to add yes it may streamline the process but you still will have to provide him/her all your details; past address, jobs, parent information etc. You will provide copies of passport stamps, proof of

meetings, you will label the photos, etc. provide your financial documents, so you do a lot of the work yourself.

 

The main advantage I see to having a lawyer is that they could tell us exactly what we need to do, and when.  If we did it ourselves, in addition to the amount of work to actually assemble all of the necessary documents, we would have to spend a lot of time researching what we have to do next, exactly which documents to include, etc.  I am both very thorough and very indecisive, so I could easily see that doubling the amount of time it would take!

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Also- if you chose a lawyer for the CR1 it doesn’t mean you need to use them for removal of conditions later on- you may feel comfortable doing that yourself. 

True, in fact the lawyer we talked to splits up the spousal visa application process into two parts, so theoretically we wouldn't even need to hire her for all of it.

Thanks again for all your advice--that is a huge help!

@Luckycuds Thanks so much for your detailed reply! 😁

I can afford a lawyer, though it would be a tough financial pill to swallow.  However, since our marriage/life together is on the line I want to make sure I do things RIGHT.  I am not very confident in my ability to DIY it--I've never dealt with immigration before and I don't really know anyone personally who's been through the process.  Plus I am about to move to a new city and start a new job, which I expect to be pretty demanding, so idk if I will have time/energy to spend hours pouring over forms, forums, etc. in my free time.    So having a lawyer might help streamline the process...

Hi all! New here.  I'm a US citizen and my fiancé lives in Latin America.  We are going to get married as soon as COVID allows, then start the spousal visa application process.  We're trying to decide whether to lawyer up or use a service like Boundless, SimpleCitizen, etc. Based on what I've read, it seems like the general consensus is that it's better to lawyer up if you can afford it, but I am wondering what the SPECIFIC advantages of an attorney over these services are, especially since Boundless and SimpleCitizen provide you with an immigration attorney as part of their services. I would certainly feel more comfortable with a lawyer (and we consulted with one who seems really good), but our case is pretty straightforward (no previous marriages, kids, crimes, etc.), so maybe it's completely unnecessary?

Anyone out there have experience with Boundless, SimpleCitizen, etc.?  If so, how was your experience? Did they actually connect you with an immigration attorney? If so, how available were they? Were you able to consult with them as much as needed?  Did they seem competent and trustworthy?

Thanks for all your input!