Lawyers?

[B&P 0]

We have a lawyer and the I-29F arrived in Vermont on May 18th 2010. We have a few questions about this. Does it speed up the process any to have a lawyer? What controls speed of the process I notice some peoples journey is far shorter than others? Basicly is there anything to make it go faster? these are probbally dumb questions but its killing us to wait!

Brant & Paulina

[Darnell 8,478]

IMO, for a K-1 visa, having an attorney does not slow down the process.

OTOH, again, IMO, if you filed an I-130 petition, having an attorney SLOWS DOWN the process (unless the attorney is quick with turnaround during NVC processing).

[B&P 0]

Also, would you recommend a lawyer for green card process or could we do this ourself?

[mike101 8]

IMO, for a K-1 visa, having an attorney does not slow down the process.

OTOH, again, IMO, if you filed an I-130 petition, having an attorney SLOWS DOWN the process (unless the attorney is quick with turnaround during NVC processing).

I dont think there is anything a lawyer can do to file the petition that you cant do yourself. All the information you need to file your case is available on this website. they will basically act as a middle man and may take longer to funnel all of your information to them to prepare the package.

[Florianns Man 7]

if it weren't for visa journey i would have been lost, but with this place as a quide I didn't see any need for a lawyer. Seems like all they do is tell you what to collect and what forms you need, you still have to do all the leg work and like the last person said, all they are is a middle man in the process.

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

We have a lawyer and the I-29F arrived in Vermont on May 18th 2010. We have a few questions about this. Does it speed up the process any to have a lawyer? What controls speed of the process I notice some peoples journey is far shorter than others? Basicly is there anything to make it go faster? these are probbally dumb questions but its killing us to wait!

Brant & Paulina

If it is killing you to wait...you will die before it is over.

Attorneys CAN NOT speed the process and can only slow the process. There is no way they can complete forms faster than you can do the same thing yourself.

Unless you have been notified by USCIS that you have some sort of problem, an attorney is a waste of money and time. Even then, there is very little to nothing an attorney can do. Generally they pay a clerk $12 an hour to fill out forms on a computer, the same forms you can download here for free, with information and documents YOU provide. Then they call you back to sign it and stuff it in an envelope and mail it. After that it is in the service centers hands. The process time will depend on the backlog of work at the service center and nothing else. Your attorney cannot even call the service center, they do not even have incoming phone lines open to the public and certainly not to attorneys. If he says otherwise, he is a liar.

Read the pinned topic at the top of the K-1 forum regarding my interview with a director at the VSC, he addresses lawyers in that interview.

The ONLY people that can get through to the service centers are congressional representatives, each service center has a congressional liason that works only with congressional people. They wil not call unless something is out of the ordinary or outside normal processing times. Usually 6 months for a K-1.

Calling the 1-800 number is completely worthless for you or an attorney. That line is answered by contracted phone operators. You will never get a viable or worhtwhile information from that info line. USCIS does not do business by phone, they do not have a tracking system like Fedex, there is really very little you can do or information you can get. You will be notified if they need something and when you are approved. In your case, your attorney will be notified.

Before your interfview, you will realize the attorney was a waste of money. They do not go to the interview with your fiancee. Aks him NOW for a copy of everything he sent to USCIS, you need that.

Edited May 23, 2010 by Gary and Alla

[Darnell 8,478]

What controls speed of the process I notice some peoples journey is far shorter than others?

There's LOTS of variables on that, back at USCIS.

The one I try to pay attention to, is CASELOAD. A single case takes x amount of time. The thing that drowns the caseload, IMO, is an influx of other petition types, such as applications for H1-B visas or the Haitian Special 'thing' that's going on.

[Rebecca Jo 1,962]

If it is killing you to wait...you will die before it is over.

Attorneys CAN NOT speed the process and can only slow the process. There is no way they can complete forms faster than you can do the same thing yourself.

Unless you have been notified by USCIS that you have some sort of problem, an attorney is a waste of money and time. Even then, there is very little to nothing an attorney can do. Generally they pay a clerk $12 an hour to fill out forms on a computer, the same forms you can download here for free, with information and documents YOU provide. Then they call you back to sign it and stuff it in an envelope and mail it. After that it is in the service centers hands. The process time will depend on the backlog of work at the service center and nothing else. Your attorney cannot even call the service center, they do not even have incoming phone lines open to the public and certainly not to attorneys. If he says otherwise, he is a liar.

Read the pinned topic at the top of the K-1 forum regarding my interview with a director at the VSC, he addresses lawyers in that interview.

The ONLY people that can get through to the service centers are congressional representatives, each service center has a congressional liason that works only with congressional people. They wil not call unless something is out of the ordinary or outside normal processing times. Usually 6 months for a K-1.

Calling the 1-800 number is completely worthless for you or an attorney. That line is answered by contracted phone operators. You will never get a viable or worhtwhile information from that info line. USCIS does not do business by phone, they do not have a tracking system like Fedex, there is really very little you can do or information you can get. You will be notified if they need something and when you are approved. In your case, your attorney will be notified.

Before your interfview, you will realize the attorney was a waste of money. They do not go to the interview with your fiancee. Aks him NOW for a copy of everything he sent to USCIS, you need that.

I saw only two responses from your friend the Director regarding attorney representation. In one case you asked him if an attorney was needed and he answered with the two words "for what". In the second case he advised an AILA attorney for petitioners with certain criminal backgrounds.

I always find it funny that if you, Gary, have a couple of contacts at VSC, you haven't thought about the fact that professionals who deal with the Service every day might also?

Irregardless of that, it isn't hard to get a petition through the Service Centers. It's the consular phase where attorneys can touch the case far more efficiently than a layperson can. Many lawyers have contacts within the consulates themselves, some as deep as the waiver units.

None of this is to say that a layperson cannot successfully manage this process on their own. It's a disservice however to licensed professionals to say they are of no help to the process.

While we are on the topic of contacting the Service Centers, here's a USCIS memo from last fall which might help.

http://www.californiaimmigrationlawyerblog.com/USCIS%20update.pdf

Step 1: Contact the National Customer Service Center (NCSC) at 1-800-375-5283. The NCSC can assist

customers, community-based organizations and liaison groups with case related inquiries.

Before calling the NCSC please have available your receipt number, alien registration number, type of application filed

and date filed. During your call we recommend that you take note of the following information:

The name and/or id number of the NCSC representative

The date and time of the call

Any service request referral number, if a service referral on a pending case is taken

Step 2: If more than 30 days have passed since you contacted the NCSC and the issue has not been

resolved or explained you can email the proper USCIS Service Center to check the status of your case.

California Service Center: csc-ncsc-followup@dhs.gov

Vermont Service Center : vsc.ncscfollowup@dhs.gov

Nebraska Service Center: ncscfollowup.nsc@dhs.gov

Texas Service Center: tsc.ncscfollowup@dhs.gov

Please note: Emails should be sent to the Service Center that has jurisdiction over your case. The

receipt notice will indicate EAC for the Vermont Service Center, SRC for the Texas Service Center,

LIN for the Nebraska Service Center, and WAC for the California Service Center.

When contacting the Service Centers by email you will need to provide the information outlined in

Step 1. If the NCSC did not issue a service request after your call, please indicate the reason the

NCSC representative did not issue the request.

Step 3: In the event you do not receive a response within 21 days of contacting the appropriate Service

Center, you may email the USCIS Headquarters Office of Service Center Operations by email at:

SCOPSSCATA@dhs.gov. You will receive a response from this email address within ten days.

[Ready2Kl 1]

We have a lawyer and the I-29F arrived in Vermont on May 18th 2010. We have a few questions about this. Does it speed up the process any to have a lawyer? What controls speed of the process I notice some peoples journey is far shorter than others? Basicly is there anything to make it go faster? these are probbally dumb questions but its killing us to wait!

In my opinion having an attorney might speed up things to the extent that all the things are done correctly and no inadvertent mistakes are made in the application process or something important is not left out thereby avoiding an avoidable RFC. If you can afford an attorney it will never hurt to have expert working for you. If you cannot afford an attorney its not a very complicated process to do it by yourself either.

Brant & Paulina

[Ready2Kl 1]

Attorneys CAN NOT speed the process and can only slow the process.

That is a very big statement which I respectfully disagree. I totally agree that a person willing to spend time researching on community sites like VJ can fill the forms and go through the process but saying that ATTORNEYS slow the process is making a big statement without any sustainable proof other than minority hearsay.As an examle, a simple thing like filling an expired form can slow the process drastically which a reasonable attorney WILL never do. There are State Bar ethics committee's and in case an attorney slows down the process because he is not well versed in the law he can be disciplined by the Bar for malpractice and perhaps even get his license revoked.

[SuperDuper! 230]

For the common, vanilla K1 or CR1 visa, you do not need a lawyer, unless you really want someone to hold your hand for $250 USD/Hr.

Why hire a middleman to help you fill out forms and do the paper shuffle?

You are on VJ now, read the guides and ask questions here.

Proceed with caution, the sharks are out there. Good Luck!

Edited May 23, 2010 by Hopp

[B&P 0]

Thanks everyone! I guess the main reason we have a lawyer is Paulina is a from Colombia but is a resident of Costa Rica. We just thought it would be better to have one for the first process!

[Rebecca Jo 1,962]

For the common, vanilla K1 or CR1 visa, you do not need a lawyer, unless you really want someone to hold your hand for $250 USD/Hr.

Why hire a middleman to help you fill out forms and do the paper shuffle?

You are on VJ now, read the guides and ask questions here.

Proceed with caution, the sharks are out there. Good Luck!

And they aren't all lawyers either.

[JordanP 0]

We have a lawyer and the I-29F arrived in Vermont on May 18th 2010. We have a few questions about this. Does it speed up the process any to have a lawyer? What controls speed of the process I notice some peoples journey is far shorter than others? Basicly is there anything to make it go faster? these are probbally dumb questions but its killing us to wait!

Brant & Paulina

Basically, no, there is nothing you can do to make it go faster. Visa processing centers and USCIS offices have a constant influx of paperwork and each applicant must wait his or her turn. I'm presuming you are applying for adjustment based on marriage to a U.S. citizen. If this is the case, there is no wait time for a visa number to become available, which could slow down the process much longer (by several years). Having an attorney does not put you any further ahead in line nor does it give your case any priority with processing cetners; as the other responder indicated, it may slow down the process depending on how quickly your attorney files all necessary paperwork. However, missing something in your application that the attorney might not have would also slow down your case.

Best of luck!

[sara..... 371]

we can not advise anyone to not hire an attorney as we are not attorneys and have no idea what complications their case may or may not have

with that being said..........most of the time an attorney is not needed in my case my attorney did not address the two very issues that we hired him to do and was no help getting thru csc or even at the interview time........when it went into ap again no help when it was sent back again no help.......and watch out for the ones that promise money back if no visa is issued when i tried to get my money back i was told that they never agreed to refund if no visa was received but had agreed to refund if noa2 was not received.....he had in fact agreed to refund if no visa was issued was one of the reasons i hired him.

we were the only ones that were aggressive for our own case.....our attorney was not in fact we got pushed off on to someone else in the office and the original attorney we hire pretty much left us after it was almost two years waiting for noa2........

IF was ever to decide to apply again for anyone I would NOT use an attorney

this is just my own opinion

sara

Edited May 24, 2010 by sara.....