Any Lawyer + NVC experiences?

[JuneFirst 1]

Hey,

we are using an attorney but for some reason some poeple here make it sound like it will take forever to get through the NVC using an attorney.

So, I guess I am wondering if anybody here has used a lawyer and how long did it take you from start to case complete?

[Darnell 8,478]

did you flesh out the 'some reason' domain, yet?

[JuneFirst 1]

did you flesh out the 'some reason' domain, yet?

I asked for experiences, Darnell. Have you made any?

Edited July 29, 2010 by JuneFirst

[Darnell 8,478]

A lot depends on how well-versed yer attorney is with the concept of 'speed' at NVC.

MANY are un-aware of the online payment portal.

MANY are un-aware of the 'self-generated cover sheets with barcode', available at the online payment portal, as well.

MOST want to get some postal mail from NVC, on each step at NVC, prior to submitting anything on yer behalf. Receiving POSTAL mail delays each part, up to 3 months, each time.

There's 3 parts, aye? DS-3032, I-864, DS-230. Sure, the DS-3032 is not required with a G-28 in place, prior, but ...

'Staying Postal' is a time-killer.

If yer attorney wants to 'stay postal', then NVC will play along, sending postal letters out in their regular '3 month cycle and drain'.

If you want to get some speed at NVC, ya don't need attorney involvement at all, if you follow these steps:

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/221785-ds-3032-slowdown/page__view__findpost__p__3560467

Now - is yer attorney a 'postal person'? Or is he/she aware of the online payment portal and self-generated coversheets?

Which is it?

(PS - if I seem cranky about this topic, it is because I AM cranky about this topic - as VJ is a DIY immigration web portal, with emphasis on 'D' and 'Y' - inclusion of attorney during NVC process has huge propensity to delay processing at NVC, if yer attorney is old-school and untrainable for the 'new process' at NVC)

Edited July 29, 2010 by Darnell

[Darnell 8,478]

I asked for experiences, Darnell. Have you made any?

ME? with immigration attornies? HECK NO !!! I'm a fan of DIY, instead.

[JuneFirst 1]

Some people might not be able to afford going through this with an attorney by their side.

So what are the choices? Fire him now after all the $$$$ and time and then have to start all over if something does come up later on? Or give him a chance to get us through the NVC?

That is why I am asking for experiences.

[Darnell 8,478]

This may be useful for ya -

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/263035-immigration-attorney-rant/page__p__4036158__hl__attorney__fromsearch__1#entry4036158

----

Some people might not be able to afford going through this with an attorney by their side.

So what are the choices? Fire him now after all the $$$$ and time and then have to start all over if something does come up later on? Or give him a chance to get us through the NVC?

That is why I am asking for experiences.

IMO, specifically for this, it all depends on just 'how trainable' yer attorney really is.

If you want speed, and the attorney is trainable, then by all means keep the attorney.

[JuneFirst 1]

This may be useful for ya -

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/263035-immigration-attorney-rant/page__p__4036158__hl__attorney__fromsearch__1#entry4036158

----

IMO, specifically for this, it all depends on just 'how trainable' yer attorney really is.

If you want speed, and the attorney is trainable, then by all means keep the attorney.

how trainable? if it was only that easy.

[Darnell 8,478]

Sorry, you'll only know when you present yer 'NVC plan of attack' to him/her, face to face.

[I & G 1]

You are the client. Like me I have an attorney but it was prior to me finding this site. When my case is at NVC I will take control and advise my attorney of what I am doing. If he doesnt like it he can get lost. Remember you pay him. Run the case through NVC yourself keep your attorney in the loop and if you have a problem he is there. Whats your thoughts.

[JuneFirst 1]

Boah, my husband and I have been arguing about this whole our-attorney-is-a-loser-but-what-if-we-need-an-attorney-issue since December and I feel like (once again) we are at a point where we can make a choice...

Face to face ? Next problem: Noa2 a week ago and my husband will be here in G with me the next 1,5 weeks...my husband got in a car accident and could not attend the meeting he would have had yesterday.

Oh well, time to sit down and make a choice and call/email him...

If it wasn't for the time factor we would keep him for sure.

[CanAmBride 5]

We had an attorney and we fired him right after our case was sent to the NVC

Once we received I-130 approval, I found VJ, and realized that our attorney hadn't preparred us at all for the NVC phase.

He didn't know about electronic payment or the emailed barcode. He told us we had to wait for a packet to arrive in the mail before we proceeded with submitting our I-864 and DS-230.

He also didn't tell us in advance that we should get my husband's police certificate and certified birth certificate, which delayed our case by almost 3 weeks.

So yes, his lack of knowledge (an ours by proxy), did slow down our case.

[JuneFirst 1]

You are the client. Like me I have an attorney but it was prior to me finding this site. When my case is at NVC I will take control and advise my attorney of what I am doing. If he doesnt like it he can get lost. Remember you pay him. Run the case through NVC yourself keep your attorney in the loop and if you have a problem he is there. Whats your thoughts.

That is what I would just LOVE.

But: we are not so sure he would still be willing to help us out if we don't let him do this now (attorneys...).

And if we run into problems later (denied change of status, denied F1 and age-difference...) on we would have to start this all over with a differnt att. and pay again.

What are you going to tell your attorney (reason) for not having him do that? I mean it is like questioning their abilities and that's sorta rude....

[GnE Walker 2]

When we worked with lawyer was bad and lost time, begun K3...CR1 and now are with IR1.

In first time many frustration with lawyer so my Husband found VJ and I www.travel.state.gov

if we had or have some question help us with V.J and travel. But if Lawyer can do some thing for give us interview time faster now is ok but NVC and USCIS have time stadistics or programs for step or process...but if a Lawyer can change it so continue with lawyer

[Brian_Toma 0]

I used an attorney, and for me it was a HUGE mistake. I'm sure there are good attorneys out there that do this right. But it is almost impossible to know beforehand whether you are dealing with a good one or not. In my situation, the lawyer only added much expense and very much time to the completion of our case. First, it's another layer to process things through, and they hardly do anything anyway. My lawyer filled out the forms initially (or rather had his assistant fill them out), then emailed them to me. I corrected the numerous errors, printed and signed the forms and physically mailed them back to him, before he (his assistant again), sent the forms to the NVC. He did not tell us anything about obtaining the police certificate which should be ready before the I-130 is approved, otherwise you will have to wait another month potentially to get it. Now that I understand the process, I know that this was handled terribly and was just a silly waste of money. The people on this website are far better informed about every step of this process and far more concerned about helping you get through it quickly than any lawyer.