Hiring an attorney or getting congress help?

[Steph1988 11]

Ok so we filed an recived the I-130 on the 24th of may, been 16days so far, my hubbys british im born an raised US citizen as is our 1year old baby, the wait is HORRIBLE, we wanted to no after reading alot of things if hiring an attorney or more likley gettn help from congress would speed things up, the goal is to get my husband home before christmas he has already missed our sons birth an first birthday, the time line here says between 14 september an 29th, i pray we get it before then but thats out of our hands, also whats the current times from when nvc recieve package to final interview in london, so many questions, so much time, this is a cruel way for a family to be living

[Brother Hesekiel 2,235]

May 24th of 2010 or 2009?

An attorney will cost you a few thousand dollars; the involvement of Congress will probably cost you a few hundred thousand dollars as you will have to give at least $100K to a few Congressmen to get them off their chairs. An attorney is probably much cheaper.

[Steph1988 11]

May 24th of 2010 or 2009?

An attorney will cost you a few thousand dollars; the involvement of Congress will probably cost you a few hundred thousand dollars as you will have to give at least $100K to a few Congressmen to get them off their chairs. An attorney is probably much cheaper.

may 24th 2011 we got NOA1 back an thanks for ur comment

[Indy90 21]

Ok so we filed an recived the I-130 on the 24th of may, been 16days so far, my hubbys british im born an raised US citizen as is our 1year old baby, the wait is HORRIBLE, we wanted to no after reading alot of things if hiring an attorney or more likley gettn help from congress would speed things up, the goal is to get my husband home before christmas he has already missed our sons birth an first birthday, the time line here says between 14 september an 29th, i pray we get it before then but thats out of our hands, also whats the current times from when nvc recieve package to final interview in london, so many questions, so much time, this is a cruel way for a family to be living

Getting a congressman involved will not really do anything because you are in the same boat as everyone else-missing your relative while waiting your turn for an interview. A lawyer in all likelihood will not speed up the process either, except a good attorney is perhaps slightly less likely to get an RFE. Everyone, including congressmen and attorneys, still has to operate under the rules presented, and simply missing missing your loved one is not a valid reason to scoot around the rules; if it was, everyone would do it and you would be back to square one, having to wait behind everyone that also gets to operate outside of the rules.

[Anh map 2,098]

An attorney cannot help the processing speed. They can help you to fill out the forms and check to make sure there are no mistakes in those forms.

A congressperson can check on the status of your case, not speed it up.

Do some reading in the UK regional forum to get a sense of the London timeframe.

[Ning 619]

Ok so we filed an recived the I-130 on the 24th of may, been 16days so far, my hubbys british im born an raised US citizen as is our 1year old baby, the wait is HORRIBLE, we wanted to no after reading alot of things if hiring an attorney or more likley gettn help from congress would speed things up, the goal is to get my husband home before christmas he has already missed our sons birth an first birthday, the time line here says between 14 september an 29th, i pray we get it before then but thats out of our hands, also whats the current times from when nvc recieve package to final interview in london, so many questions, so much time, this is a cruel way for a family to be living

A lawyer will become an expensive filter & slow down the process because you will provide them with all the exact same info to fill out the exact same forms for you. Then you are sent those forms to sign. Right after you pay the lawyer.

Bob is right. Hiring Congress will set you back a ton. Of course these are the same people that havent done anything about the immigration laws since they were elected. You can find them on a golf course or on Twitter in their underware. Congress nor a Congressman has any impact on USCIS unless your case has some aspect that is very unusual.

Your question about the timing of your case is impossible to answer as written. I think you mean 2011. If it is NOA1 you will need different Xmas plans. There are many people that report 6 months at least to get NOA2. Then it goes to NVC ect.

[Dave and Kinnari 31]

Get in line behind all of us... Getting an attorney will not speed up the process at all. A congress person can not expedite your case, he can check on it after it has been past the 5 month timeline that USCIS provides.

Good Luck, it's hard.

[Done--Really 331]

Steph--

it all comes down to following the directions even when they don't make sense, sending every document, being meticulous to be sure you haven't overlooked anything, and then it goes really smoothly most of the time. Yes, you will see a horror story here and there, but when we dig into them, there was usually something that wasn't quite right in the submission.

Plan on 9 - 12 months, and be pleasantly surprised when you are done in 8. But don't target Christmas or you will likely be very disappointed.

[Brusik 11]

Save money on the attorney and if the process takes you through Xmas you can take the money you were planning on an attorney and take a trip to see your spouse.. :thumbs:

[Halo33 0]

Ok I get it that everyone wants to be helpful and honest. What I did not yet read in response to your question was a little bit of empathy. We are ALL going thru the misery in some sense. Either being without our spouses, children, or both in my case, and YES you are right, it is HORRIBLE.

Just be prepared to find alot of PATIENCE in this process because your family will need it. Good luck and be strong, it will take a toll on you and your husband while you wait apart. We are going on six months and no interview yet.

By the way, we have almost spent every penny we've earned flying back and forth for our son's birth, our wedding, our son's first birthday, and every holiday including Christmas. If I give any advice at all, save the money you would pay a lawyer or congress (as if) and put it into your savings account/travel fund. You are going to need it.

[A and T 82]

may 24th 2011 we got NOA1 back an thanks for ur comment

LOL you just applied, try waiting almost 2 years............ (such as myself) Also a lawyer and congressman calls do no good, the same with service requests and the ombudsman.

[JerseyJoe 0]

We all must understand that we are dealing with fat, lazy, union government works. If they could make a living in the private sector they would not be in the government. We need to bring in out love ones thru Mexico or replace the people running the government and chnage our laws to stop and deport the illegals and to make it easier for real US citizens to bring their loves into this county. Write your senator, congressman and the White House for change. As we see in the news lies and not doing your job is good for the governemnt works. We need to stop this and replace them all.

[marjus's girl 6]

Save money on the attorney and if the process takes you through Xmas you can take the money you were planning on an attorney and take a trip to see your spouse.. :thumbs:

agreed i waited 4 months visited my husband and thank God i did because now at almost 7 months nothing...so im glad i did everything myself and saved money..

[Glyn and Kathy 288]

Sorry to say you have a long wait ahead of you. PLEASE save yourself the money of an attorney. They only help if you have a complicated case. You've already started the process and now its just a matter of waiting. It really sucks, but in the end it will be worth it. As others have said, save that money and use it towards a trip to see your spouse. Come here often for support, we've all been separated from our loved ones at some point so we ALL understand.

[Justine+David 218]

Yep, sorry to say. Back in 2009, wait times were MUCH less than what they are now; you just got the bad end of the draw I agree with everyone else to save the money to see each other...my husband and I saw each other 5 times while waiting.