Very Overwhelmed

[LaurenR 0]

Does everyone feel so overwhelmed by all these forms and stuff??

A few other questions:

Is it more helpful to hire a lawyer to help with this process? And what form do I fill out if I can't support my fiance but could have a relative sponcer him? And my last question, can he work once he's here on the K-1 Visa?

[YuAndDan 153]

1) For the most part a lawyer is a very expensive paper shuffler, many times they mess up the petition, K-1 is an easy petition to file, the guide and example forms here on VJ are Excellent. A lawyer is useful for complex cases for dealing with issues like an overstay. A lawyer will not make anything go any faster, if one tells you they can, RUN AWAY!

2) This comes much later you and your joint sponsor will provide an I-134 and supporting financial evidence for the visa interview.

3) NOTE: K-1 is not a work visa, it is a fiancee visa for entry to the USA and marriage, K-1 is "Work Auth" primarily to be able to get the SSN, some states are strict in their interpretation of a federal law that requires persons applying for a "license" to have SSN, this can cause a problem with marriage license if only one person has SSN and the other (the K-1 holder) does not.

Only way to guarantee work authorization is to marry first and apply for a CR-1 Immigrant visa, this visa results in green-card upon entry, this authorizes work immediately.

[LaurenR 0]

1) For the most part a lawyer is a very expensive paper shuffler, many times they mess up the petition, K-1 is an easy petition to file, the guide and example forms here on VJ are Excellent. A lawyer is useful for complex cases for dealing with issues like an overstay. A lawyer will not make anything go any faster, if one tells you they can, RUN AWAY!

2) This comes much later you and your joint sponsor will provide an I-134 and supporting financial evidence for the visa interview.

3) NOTE: K-1 is not a work visa, it is a fiancee visa for entry to the USA and marriage, K-1 is "Work Auth" primarily to be able to get the SSN, some states are strict in their interpretation of a federal law that requires persons applying for a "license" to have SSN, this can cause a problem with marriage license if only one person has SSN and the other (the K-1 holder) does not.

Only way to guarantee work authorization is to marry first and apply for a CR-1 Immigrant visa, this visa results in green-card upon entry, this authorizes work immediately.

Thank you so much for your help! The guides really are great, I'm so glad I found this site.

Our case is a little different and I'm trying to get a free consult with an attorney just to see whether or not we'll need help. I'm just so overwhelemd with it all!

[SnowyTater 0]

Well of course an attorney is just going to spend his time trying to convince you you need his or her help...

Just read the guides a lot. As soon as you get used to the terminology you'll get the hang of it and see that it's not that bad. All you have to worry about for the first step is Petition for the Alien Fiance, which is the I-129F and all the accompanying materials.

[Josh and Nathalie 0]

1) For the most part a lawyer is a very expensive paper shuffler, many times they mess up the petition, K-1 is an easy petition to file, the guide and example forms here on VJ are Excellent. A lawyer is useful for complex cases for dealing with issues like an overstay. A lawyer will not make anything go any faster, if one tells you they can, RUN AWAY!

2) This comes much later you and your joint sponsor will provide an I-134 and supporting financial evidence for the visa interview.

3) NOTE: K-1 is not a work visa, it is a fiancee visa for entry to the USA and marriage, K-1 is "Work Auth" primarily to be able to get the SSN, some states are strict in their interpretation of a federal law that requires persons applying for a "license" to have SSN, this can cause a problem with marriage license if only one person has SSN and the other (the K-1 holder) does not.

Only way to guarantee work authorization is to marry first and apply for a CR-1 Immigrant visa, this visa results in green-card upon entry, this authorizes work immediately.

Thank you so much for your help! The guides really are great, I'm so glad I found this site.

Our case is a little different and I'm trying to get a free consult with an attorney just to see whether or not we'll need help. I'm just so overwhelemd with it all!

Feel free to post on the forums about why your case is different and perhaps someone else has dealt with a similar situation and can provide advice about what they did.

I'm mailing out all my paperwork for the k1 visa this Saturday. At first, I agree, this seemed very overwhelming, but after sitting down and going through the paperwork...you'll get a handle on it. It's really not that hard.

Best of luck to you with whatever you do.

[Karena 0]

I hired a lawyer and I am not having a good experience with it. I end up telling him more info about the process.

[Eric-Pris 1,604]

I hired a lawyer and I am not having a good experience with it. I end up telling him more info about the process.

I bet your lawyer reads VJ.

A lawyer is not needed for a k-1 petition. Follow the guides exactly and you'll be fine.

[David_n_Amber 3]

we filed our i-129f without ever looking online for help and it went smoothly and only got 1 RFE and all they asked us was for a dated picture. Lawyers are useless unless theres a complex history for the person as most people said. If you're clean, never married, no customs trouble in the past then just do it on your own. its already expensive enough.. its much better to spend the extra time researching than paying a lawyer to tell you the same stuff we can tell you here... but we wont charge 1000/hr of service

[rebeccajo 14]

Hello.........

Are all you anti-lawyer immigration experts reading Post #3 wherein the OP states their case is "a little bit different"?

Are you just opening your mouths and openly deciding, without knowing the details of the case, that a lawyer is unnceccessary?

I am very sorry to be harsh in my admonitions, but really folks, this is serious business. Every case is different. And every case has details that we as readers likely never see written down in the forums. Do any of you ever want to be responsible, with your advice, no matter how well intentioned it might be, to cause someone go down a road that could lead to their case being denied?

Please be careful what you post. Please.

[mox 298]

Hello.........

Are all you anti-lawyer immigration experts reading Post #3 wherein the OP states their case is "a little bit different"?

Are you just opening your mouths and openly deciding, without knowing the details of the case, that a lawyer is unnceccessary?

I am very sorry to be harsh in my admonitions, but really folks, this is serious business. Every case is different. And every case has details that we as readers likely never see written down in the forums. Do any of you ever want to be responsible, with your advice, no matter how well intentioned it might be, to cause someone go down a road that could lead to their case being denied?

Please be careful what you post. Please.

I'm in agreement RJ, I don't think the answer to "do I need a lawyer?" should automatically be no. My personal opinion is that it will wind up being "no" in the vast majority of cases, but I also recognize that there are times when a lawyer is either necessary or at least provides a service that the filer is willing to pay for instead of doing it themselves. I also believe that the vast majority of immigration lawyers don't screw up to near the extent that is claimed on these boards. However, I think the onus is on the OP to provide the necessary details of his case if he's asking for the advice. Granted, repliers might want to ask about what those circumstances are, but posters need to understand that answers are only going to be as helpful as the information they provide.

So...having said that...OP, what are your special circumstances?

[rebeccajo 14]

Hello.........

Are all you anti-lawyer immigration experts reading Post #3 wherein the OP states their case is "a little bit different"?

Are you just opening your mouths and openly deciding, without knowing the details of the case, that a lawyer is unnceccessary?

I am very sorry to be harsh in my admonitions, but really folks, this is serious business. Every case is different. And every case has details that we as readers likely never see written down in the forums. Do any of you ever want to be responsible, with your advice, no matter how well intentioned it might be, to cause someone go down a road that could lead to their case being denied?

Please be careful what you post. Please.

I'm in agreement RJ, I don't think the answer to "do I need a lawyer?" should automatically be no. My personal opinion is that it will wind up being "no" in the vast majority of cases, but I also recognize that there are times when a lawyer is either necessary or at least provides a service that the filer is willing to pay for instead of doing it themselves. I also believe that the vast majority of immigration lawyers don't screw up to near the extent that is claimed on these boards. However, I think the onus is on the OP to provide the necessary details of his case if he's asking for the advice. Granted, repliers might want to ask about what those circumstances are, but posters need to understand that answers are only going to be as helpful as the information they provide.

So...having said that...OP, what are your special circumstances?

Mebbe they don't wanna post it on a message board? Not everything is our business, yaknow.....

[mox 298]

Mebbe they don't wanna post it on a message board? Not everything is our business, yaknow.....

Agreed. But then I'm not sure we're capable of helping the OP make the decision if that's the case. I mean, if the "special case" is that the fiancee was the beneficiary of a K-1 2 years ago, then the special case really isn't so special. But if the fiancee has a drug or communicable disease history, then yeah...I'd totally advise a lawyer.

I do agree that we need to be careful with the advice we dispense though.

[rebeccajo 14]

Mebbe they don't wanna post it on a message board? Not everything is our business, yaknow.....

Agreed. But then I'm not sure we're capable of helping the OP make the decision if that's the case. I mean, if the "special case" is that the fiancee was the beneficiary of a K-1 2 years ago, then the special case really isn't so special. But if the fiancee has a drug or communicable disease history, then yeah...I'd totally advise a lawyer.

I do agree that we need to be careful with the advice we dispense though.

Eh, I'm just cranked up. Besides, even if the poster told us the details, are we still expert enough to say?

You know what I think? Anybody considering this process should at least have a consult with a competent immigration attorney. Consults don't cost a lot. We had one. Because we chose a competent, experienced and ethical practitioner, we got to hear it from his lips that we didn't need to hire him. It was nice to know.

It's not like you're buying a loaf of bread here, you know. This is your spouse and your future.

[mox 298]

It's not like you're buying a loaf of bread here, you know. This is your spouse and your future.

Absolutely.

[SnowyTater 0]

Actually yeh, I didn't pay nearly enough attention here to the "our case is a little different," I'm sorry I haven't meant to sound so insistent about not needing a lawyer. Especially if you can get a consultation for free or very cheap (I didn't know that), and the lawyers might actually advise you truthfully (this surprises me), then I say totally be careful and safe and go for that.

I guess one thing I don't think about enough when it comes to whether or not to get a lawyer's aid is it might help a lot in the case where the fiance's or even the US citizen's english isn't very good. The government instructions seem pretty illegible oftentimes to all of us though, I think. If there's a way of checking a lawyer's track record, then "better safe than sorry" seems a valid point and totally true. It just seems like so many people end up in a much worse situation when they hire a lawyer and like someone else said, that the lawyer just ends up going and reading up on VJ himself, if you're lucky.

Of course every case is different. But I just think of it more casually when someone asks if they need a lawyer; it sounds to me like "in your experience do most people need a lawyer," very general and 'what do you think' ish. If there's special circumstances, then yeh obviously we need to know about them before advising properly, but it's still completely the person's decision.

Sorry especially rebeccajo.