Is it worth it to hire an agent/immigration lawyer??

[metinspain 0]

Is it worth the expense of hiring an agent or immigration lawyer for the entire K3 application process (including I-130, I-129F and final stages with I-134/I-864)?

I would imagine it can help speed things up a tiny bit because an expert will help you fill everything out correctly (and therefore avoid delays due to mistakes). But aside from that, are there any other benefits?

My husband and I have been investigating the process thoroughly and reading all the forms. It looks reasonably easy to do the I-130 and I-129F on our own. Only the last packet looks more difficult.

We'd really appreciate people's opinion on this...we don't want to make the process even more expensive if we can do it ourselves!

Thanks,

Mariel (and Vern)

[Married_my_love 0]

Is it worth the expense of hiring an agent or immigration lawyer for the entire K3 application process (including I-130, I-129F and final stages with I-134/I-864)?

You will get many opinions, but mine is, if it is a basic case it is NOT worth the expense. Learn the process here, also there is a book by Nolo Fiance & Marriage Visas (I read this cover to cover I bought it used for about $20). If you have complications with your case, then it may be worth having a lawyer. I have read about people hiring a lawyer and having the lawyer screw things up. I preferred knowing that it was in my hands to screw things up!!

I would imagine it can help speed things up a tiny bit because an expert will help you fill everything out correctly (and therefore avoid delays due to mistakes). But aside from that, are there any other benefits?

Again, I've read that an Expert fudged the paperwork.

My husband and I have been investigating the process thoroughly and reading all the forms. It looks reasonably easy to do the I-130 and I-129F on our own. Only the last packet looks more difficult.

it's just a lot of filling in forms, checking them 5,000 times, posting questions here and sitting around trying to be patient while you wait for response.

[Mand 1]

Doing it yourself depends on a few factors...Is your case relatively straight-forward? And are you fairly ok with paperwork and following specific directions? If you answer YES to these, then definately give some thought to saving some money and doing it yourselves.

Download and print the Example Forms above regarding the various petitons. Give yourself a week to read over it all and digest what is required, and then decide if you feel comfortable enough to do it yourself.

Even if you do hire a lawyer, you will still have to collect all the relevant documentation...birth certs, pay slips etc.

Good Luck and I wish you luck whatever you choose!

[Marilyn. 340]

having a lawyer doesn't neccesarily mean everything is going to be filled out correctly...

We hired a lawyer but we should have just done it ourselves.... our lawyer didn't know what he was doing at all....

I guess if your case is more complicated you might want to hire a lwayer but make sure you check around for a good one

Edited February 7, 2006 by MarilynP

[ladybutterfly 0]

Now you have found this site I would do it yourself, its only a matter of filling out some forms.

[Jasman0717 9]

Study the guide here on VJ and weight over your decision. An attorney can be very expensive. Good luck

[Criag 0]

Pay attention to detail and be organized and professional look to all your documents. They even want them submitted in a certain order, content sheet, tabs, etc.

I think you can do this...it is a type of adventure into documents and forms and filing ...this site offers alot of help and guidance as well as USCIS hot line which i called ofter for every single little detail that i didnt understand. I always found them helpful...one i spoke with for half hour...

even if you hire a lawyer you still have to pull all the details of the two of you together...so go do this...

stay up late, find a manual typewriter like i did....

[metinspain 0]

This is great info...thanks to everyone.

We think our situation is pretty straight-forward: he's British, I'm American. We don't have any children or previous marriages. We are both professionals/financially secure and I will be starting a reasonably well paid job in the US. The only forseeable issue is that I haven't worked for the second half of 2005 since I've been living in the UK, so I'd probably need a sponsor for the I-134/I-864. Does this constitute a straight-forward case?

We are definitely comfortable following procedures, triple-checking documents, reading tips/examples as we went through a lengthy process for my UK Fiance Visa. And this forum is the BEST for getting tips!

Thanks,

M &V

ps...pardon the stupid, unrelated question, but...how on earth do we get our photo to show at left?! We've uploaded one and it doesn't appear! We are truly newbies!

[nina9 0]

What is the USCIS hotline?

[Yodrak 7]

Mariel,

Agents - I think not.

Attornies - a consultation to discuss the process and the facts of your situation is always a good investment, and will better prepare you with information on which to base a decision as to whether or not to retain the attorney.

Yodrak

Is it worth the expense of hiring an agent or immigration lawyer for the entire K3 application process (including I-130, I-129F and final stages with I-134/I-864)?

I would imagine it can help speed things up a tiny bit because an expert will help you fill everything out correctly (and therefore avoid delays due to mistakes). But aside from that, are there any other benefits?

My husband and I have been investigating the process thoroughly and reading all the forms. It looks reasonably easy to do the I-130 and I-129F on our own. Only the last packet looks more difficult.

We'd really appreciate people's opinion on this...we don't want to make the process even more expensive if we can do it ourselves!

Thanks,

Mariel (and Vern)

nina,

A waste of time.

Yodrak

What is the USCIS hotline?

Mariel,

What you've written seems straight-forward.

The bigger question is, what have you not written that may turn out to be not so straight forward? What are the issues that are not forseeable by you, but might be forseeable by a competent, experienced immigration attorney?

Yodrak

This is great info...thanks to everyone.

We think our situation is pretty straight-forward: he's British, I'm American. We don't have any children or previous marriages. We are both professionals/financially secure and I will be starting a reasonably well paid job in the US. The only forseeable issue is ......

[CanadaGirl 0]

If your situation is straight forward, I would not hire a lawyer. My situation is straight forward and I hired a lawyer to ease my mind however, that was a mistake. I'm not sure if it's my lawyer or all lawyers but I feel like if I had done it on my own, I would have my interview by now. My lawyer seems to take sooo much time filling out the forms and mailing them.

Since I am near the end of my K3 visa process and I now see how easy it was, I really regret hiring a lawyer.

[meddykomp 0]

Everyone has a different experience. Personally I like that we got professional assistance. The organization we went to was also highly reccommended though. Everything gets mailed in the same day I get the forms to my caseworker which is also the same day that I would have a chance to do it myself. The cost where we went isnt that significant and I have someone else who is able to give advice and tell me the next steps I need to take. She is easy to work with and does everything she can to make the process as simple as possible. With my busy schedule I need that. My husband and I are both capable of doing everything ourselves, but I think the money was in our case well spent since I have so little time to spare as it is.

[marty24 0]

Everyone has a different experience. Personally I like that we got professional assistance. The organization we went to was also highly reccommended though. Everything gets mailed in the same day I get the forms to my caseworker which is also the same day that I would have a chance to do it myself. The cost where we went isnt that significant and I have someone else who is able to give advice and tell me the next steps I need to take. She is easy to work with and does everything she can to make the process as simple as possible. With my busy schedule I need that. My husband and I are both capable of doing everything ourselves, but I think the money was in our case well spent since I have so little time to spare as it is.

How do I find jone that is "highly recommended"?

Where is the USCIS hotline/

[Euro 3]

Is it worth the expense of hiring an agent or immigration lawyer for the entire K3 application process (including I-130, I-129F and final stages with I-134/I-864)?

I would imagine it can help speed things up a tiny bit because an expert will help you fill everything out correctly (and therefore avoid delays due to mistakes). But aside from that, are there any other benefits?

My husband and I have been investigating the process thoroughly and reading all the forms. It looks reasonably easy to do the I-130 and I-129F on our own. Only the last packet looks more difficult.

We'd really appreciate people's opinion on this...we don't want to make the process even more expensive if we can do it ourselves!

Thanks,

Mariel (and Vern)

We didnt use a lawyer......all the info you need can be found right here on VJ, if unsure about anything just ask, however silly the question may seem to you!!...........The only reason i would use an immigration lawyer would be if i had what could prove to be a difficult case E.G overstay, deportation, things like that!!.....also Lawyers dont realy save you any time at all!!

but this is only my opinion, Good Luck on whatever you decide to do!!

[morocco4ever 63]

As everyone has said, if your case is straightforward then a lawyer is a waste of money. Now what is straight forward? Certain things come to mind.

1 has your fiance/spouse been to the US before? If yes, did he/she overstay?

2 have you petitioned anyone before? (doubtful or you wouldn't be asking)

3 do you make enough money to sponsor? If not will it be easy to get a cosponsor?

4 has your fiance/spouse ever been petioned before?

Thats all I can think of so far. Any input?

Also, you must be organized!! You must take the time to read through all of the required forms and how they want them submitted. If you look at the entire process you might be overwhelmed but the fact is that you can learn as you go. You usually have plenty of time to read and start preparing the next step when you are waiting for approvals.

The only thing I can think of that you might want to watch for is the actual interview. Everything else is pretty much self explanitory, but when it comes to the interview they try to trick you. I wouldn't necessarily hire a lawyer for that but I would search this forum for all types of interview experiences and denials. Maybe this will give you a good idea of what to expect.

Good luck on your journey!