Just starting the K-1 process. Lawyer needed? Fees?

[saralan 0]

Hi, all. I'm new, and confused! I live in the US and my fiancé is from Canada. We just visited an attorney and were given the fees as follows:

Attorney flat fee: $2100

Adjustment of status: $1080

Filing fee per person: $1300 (=$2,600)

In the end she is expecting over $6,000 from us.

Does this make any sense? I've not seen anywhere where any site says that it will cost over 1,000 dollars per person to file. Our case is pretty straight forward and we're wondering if we would be better off hiring someone to prepare the documents, or do it ourselves, rather than hire a lawyer.

I've done a fair amount of research so far, but am still having trouble with these particular concerns.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

[LeftCoastLady 441]

If you read through the I-129F instructions and ask any questions on things you don't understand, you can do this on your own. If your situation is straightforward, then involving an attorney may not be the best use of your money. You can do it for far less than $6k, that's for sure.

Read the K-1 guide on this site to get an idea of what is needed for a successful petition: http://www.visajourney.com/content/k1guide

[tinman 33]

You do not need an attourney......they charge worthless fees.....you can do this yourself...someone here will be glad to help you......it really is not difficult

Hi, all. I'm new, and confused! I live in the US and my fiancé is from Canada. We just visited an attorney and were given the fees as follows:

Attorney flat fee: $2100

Adjustment of status: $1080

Filing fee per person: $1300 (=$2,600)

In the end she is expecting over $6,000 from us.

Does this make any sense? I've not seen anywhere where any site says that it will cost over 1,000 dollars per person to file. Our case is pretty straight forward and we're wondering if we would be better off hiring someone to prepare the documents, or do it ourselves, rather than hire a lawyer.

I've done a fair amount of research so far, but am still having trouble with these particular concerns.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

[Andrea&Henry 311]

NOOOOOOO DONT WASTE YOUR MONEY ON LAWYERS!!! I DID IT WITHOUT A LAWYER AND IM NOW IN THE MIDDLE OF MY AOS! ALL YOU NEED IS READ STEP BY STEP HOW TO FILL 129F (K1 VISA) AND ASK ANY QUESTION

[del-2-5-2014 1,339]

Unless you are financially well of and/or you are a busy CEO of a billion dollar company who can't carve out a few hours and/or have a record of crimes of a moral fortitude then IMHO you don't really need an Attorney. It involves detailed paperwork and understadning goverment language. AT best a parallegal can do this for you.

That being said, there are fees involved, filing fees, etc.

Based on my ear to the ground on this forum I have found out that some Lawyers, not all, are clueless, and end up slowing the process down.

[TnJ 131]

Hi, all. I'm new, and confused! I live in the US and my fiancé is from Canada. We just visited an attorney and were given the fees as follows:

Attorney flat fee: $2100

Adjustment of status: $1080

Filing fee per person: $1300 (=$2,600)

In the end she is expecting over $6,000 from us.

Does this make any sense? I've not seen anywhere where any site says that it will cost over 1,000 dollars per person to file. Our case is pretty straight forward and we're wondering if we would be better off hiring someone to prepare the documents, or do it ourselves, rather than hire a lawyer.

I've done a fair amount of research so far, but am still having trouble with these particular concerns.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Ouch! Alot of unnecessary fees and that is just up to the AOS. You can do this without a lawyer.

I-129F filing fee=$340

K-1 interview application fee (after petition is approved)=$240

Adjustment of Status (I-485)=$1070

Removal of Conditions (I-751)=$590

etc...

...save that money for your traveling and the rest of your expenses towards citizenship!

Edited July 27, 2012 by ToddnJessa

[Loida and Ed 11]

<P>todd an Jessa have it pretty much dead on : for costs <BR><BR>be sure to note: the AOS and removal of conditions are "After" she ( or they) are here</P>

Edited July 27, 2012 by Loida and Ed

[newlyweds2010 208]

IMHO, lawyers are like insurance companies: useless and despicable, except when you need one. Saying that lawyers charge for nothing is not correct: you want a service done by someone, you pay for it. Otherwise you do it yourself. Like everything else. This said, if you have a straightforward case and you have time to read the instructions and take care of your own application, you can save that money and file on your own.

[TnJ 131]

IMHO, lawyers are like insurance companies: useless and despicable, except when you need one. Saying that lawyers charge for nothing is not correct: you want a service done by someone, you pay for it. Otherwise you do it yourself. Like everything else. This said, if you have a straightforward case and you have time to read the instructions and take care of your own application, you can save that money and file on your own.

I agree except the service that one would be paying for (up to $3000 or more in this case) would be only for filling out paper work and organizing a petition. Unless there is a specific criminal past or anything else that falls under IMBRA, that money is simply not being put to good use IMO.

[Mateo&Raquel 28]

If you do use an immigration attorney, i suggest Lawrence R. Holmes, www.kvisas.com.... He is our lawyer. His fee was $1795 and if needed for the aos he gives a discount since you hired him for the petition. There are no filing fees with him. He went through this same process, by himself, and realized how uninformed many people are about it. So he wanted to help others in the process. Many people here will tell you that you do not need a lawyer, but go with what makes you feel comfortable. People will say that a lawyer increases waiting time, but we all wait the same, my time has not increased due to hiring a law firm. Also when we have a question, whether it may be serious or not, his team never fails to reply all phone calls and/or emails if not same day then next day. AND THEY DO NOT CHARGE FOR CALLS. The $1795 was for everything. There is nothing hidden with them. Check the website and just see what you think. He also gives a free consultation. Someone else here at vj has used Mr. Holmes's law firm and experienced excellent results as well. Mr. Holmes's firm is not only a Lawyer and great team of Paralegals, but they have become our very good friends, too. You can't say that for most law firms. Remember, DO WHAT MAKES YOU FEEL COMFORTABLE. Good Luck and God Bless.

[newlyweds2010 208]

I agree except the service that one would be paying for (up to $3000 or more in this case) would be only for filling out paper work and organizing a petition. Unless there is a specific criminal past or anything else that falls under IMBRA, that money is simply not being put to good use IMO.

In a free market goods and services cost exactly as much as somebody is willing to pay for them. Nobody is forcing anybody to pay anything. It's like going to the restaurant instead of cooking at home. Some don't have the skill, or the tools, or the time, or the patience to do it themselves.

[TnJ 131]

In a free market goods and services cost exactly as much as somebody is willing to pay for them. Nobody is forcing anybody to pay anything. It's like going to the restaurant instead of cooking at home. Some don't have the skill, or the tools, or the time, or the patience to do it themselves.

No doubt. I wasn't disagreeing with anything you mentioned. In a free market, we also have the option of bargaining or finding the exact same service being offered for less. I stick to my opinion that an estimated $3000 or more is "over priced" for the service being offered. I also believe that VJ is a more powerful tool than some might give it credit for, and the best part about it is the exchange of valuable and free information!

Edited July 27, 2012 by ToddnJessa

[saralan 0]

Wow. We've gotten such helpful responses. What an amazing community to benefit from here. Thanks so much to all of you. We're leaning towards hiring a paralegal. Of course, we will post often and keep updating as we go. And I assume we'll have several more questions!

[Thomas and Kristi 17]

From experience...I also used a lawyer for our K-1 (on the insistence of my now husband) and it was a lot of unneeded wasted money. Plus, they made a mistake which delayed our decision. There are tons of sample forms here and step-by-step instructions on how to file on this forum (and an awesome community to help!). Unless you have extenuating circumstances that would likely cause a raised eyebrow you should be perfectly fine to file on your own. It's a lot of paperwork, but honestly that extra money in your pocket will come in handy when your case is transferred to CSC and you're pending a decision, lol.

$6000 is highway robbery, IMHO.

[Moomin 292]

I'm thinking of becoming a k1 lawyer, exclusively handling straight forward i-129f petitions/AOS. They make a bunch load of money on sending the papers you filled out and documents/evidence you collected for them.

With lawyer, the petition(i-129f, the first stage only) and lawyer fees will cost you.. 3740 dollars or something similar.

Without the lawyer, the petition(i-129f, the first stage only) will cost you.. 340 dollars (plus shipping it through mail). PLus you'll get the notifications directly from USCIS.

When your case is straight forward, save that lawyer fee, put it into an account and use it for the later fees you're going to run into. Medical, a neat honeymoon, AOS, an extra car after arriving in the US, or anything unforseen.

However, if you're more comfortable with having a lawyer, then go for it. From my own personal aspect, I'd be freaking out if somebody else was in control of my immigration journey. If anybody makes a mistake, I'd rather I'd be me not checking a box instead of an attourney.

Edited July 28, 2012 by moomin