Will a lawyer make this go faster?

[Kym 0]

One more thing.....

I see on your profile that you are applying for a K-1 visa at the Missouri Service Center. Please please double check this info...that is exactly what happened to me...our lawyer sent it to the Missouri Service Center and it royally screwed us all up. If you are indeed applying for a K-1 it absolutely should not be at the Missouri Service Center. You should have filed at the Nebraska Service Center and then it will be transfered on to the California Service Center. You only file at the Missouri Service Center if you are applying for a K-3.

[Kym 0]

Kym, what's your update? Were you able to confirm the location of your petition and has it been approved? What happened with the scumbag lawyers?

I updated on a new post so I didn't take away the importance of this particular thread

[KarenCee 3]

For some reason, they look differently at cases where the female is older than the male. I'm not saying you will get denied, just that your case might need some additional proof of validity. You mentioned you met online in January... of 2007? This may be something they will look at to evaluate your relationship before issuing a K1. Based on what I've seen on VJ, 4 months is a tad bit short. But love is love, and more power to you.

I don't think the chemical engineer thing will be that big of a problem, shows you both have similar fields/interests, not necessarily terrorist plots.

About your previous K1, this should not have any effect. It was a long time ago, no fraud involved. If you did it just recently in the last 2 yrs, you'd need a waiver & some explaining

Good luck on your healing process

I am 14 years older than my husband. We were not required to send any additional proof of our relationship at all and our petition (K1) was approved with no problems. I do think, however, it depends on the consulate.

We decided to use a qualified attorney because we believe it will help the process go faster. No, not because he has an inside phone number or special processing queue. But a good experienced attorney can help you prevent unnecessary delays. This process is very unforgiving and small mistakes can cost you weeks, months or worse. Like all other paid professionals, there are good and bad in the field. You should choose carefully. Even with an attorney, you can still have problems.

Many people file successfully on their own without the help of paid professionals. This site is wonderful, and chock full of good information. It is a great tool and I am very grateful for it. But most of us are going through this process for the very first time and as individuals have no experience outside of our own cases.

If money is an issue, you can probably gain enough knowledge to pull this off without paying a professional. It seems most people using this site do just that. In our case, we felt the attorney was very affordable for the most important decision of our lives.

Good luck on your journey!!!!

Has it made the process go faster? I've not seen a case yet where a lawyer has sped up this process in any way at all. I do agree that sometimes a lawyer is necessary, for the most part they aren't. Some have successful stories with their lawyers...many do not. It doesn't, however, speed up the process no matter how darn good the lawyer is.

[Caladan 19]

What counts as a red flag seems to depend on the consulate. Canada's not exactly high fraud because someone intent on sneaking into the U.S. doesn't really need to dupe an American to do it. I don't know whether Turkey is considered to be high fraud. Age isn't an automatic denial, either, just something that fraudulent cases might have in common with legitimate cases.

A lawyer won't make it go faster in that there's no special lawyer line. A good lawyer who knows what he's doing can advise you about how best to prepare your petition for your consulate, and that can prevent a delay if your case is complicated such that you would have screwed it up on your own. But no matter whether you hire a lawyer or not, at the end of the day, you're responsible for your own petition and case.

[kengumbo 0]

We decided to use a qualified attorney because we believe it will help the process go faster. No, not because he has an inside phone number or special processing queue. But a good experienced attorney can help you prevent unnecessary delays. This process is very unforgiving and small mistakes can cost you weeks, months or worse. Like all other paid professionals, there are good and bad in the field. You should choose carefully. Even with an attorney, you can still have problems.

Many people file successfully on their own without the help of paid professionals. This site is wonderful, and chock full of good information. It is a great tool and I am very grateful for it. But most of us are going through this process for the very first time and as individuals have no experience outside of our own cases.

If money is an issue, you can probably gain enough knowledge to pull this off without paying a professional. It seems most people using this site do just that. In our case, we felt the attorney was very affordable for the most important decision of our lives.

Good luck on your journey!!!!

Has it made the process go faster? I've not seen a case yet where a lawyer has sped up this process in any way at all. I do agree that sometimes a lawyer is necessary, for the most part they aren't. Some have successful stories with their lawyers...many do not. It doesn't, however, speed up the process no matter how darn good the lawyer is.

Yes, it can speed up the process. Read the post again. You missed something (like the entire paragraph).

[Nancy and Ramos 0]

Your evidence of a relationship is your best way foward. Have lots and not all pretty pictures.

[john_and_marlene 162]

We decided to use a qualified attorney because we believe it will help the process go faster. No, not because he has an inside phone number or special processing queue. But a good experienced attorney can help you prevent unnecessary delays. This process is very unforgiving and small mistakes can cost you weeks, months or worse. Like all other paid professionals, there are good and bad in the field. You should choose carefully. Even with an attorney, you can still have problems.

Many people file successfully on their own without the help of paid professionals. This site is wonderful, and chock full of good information. It is a great tool and I am very grateful for it. But most of us are going through this process for the very first time and as individuals have no experience outside of our own cases.

If money is an issue, you can probably gain enough knowledge to pull this off without paying a professional. It seems most people using this site do just that. In our case, we felt the attorney was very affordable for the most important decision of our lives.

Good luck on your journey!!!!

Has it made the process go faster? I've not seen a case yet where a lawyer has sped up this process in any way at all. I do agree that sometimes a lawyer is necessary, for the most part they aren't. Some have successful stories with their lawyers...many do not. It doesn't, however, speed up the process no matter how darn good the lawyer is.

Yes, it can speed up the process. Read the post again. You missed something (like the entire paragraph).

I have to say that getting an attorney involved early did speed the process for us too. I had 2 choices at the time I wanted to file: 1, research and try to determine the forms/procedures on my own prior to filing and then attempt to prepare everything correctly and submit it appropriately. This would have taken some time. 2. I hired an attorney who immediately told me what to prepare and how to prepare it. I prepared what the attorney told me to and submitted it for review. I was able to ask questions at any time (and did) and after making a couple of revision suggestions/corrections, my attorney immediately sent off my application (within 24 hours of my submission). I think I gained several weeks doing things this way. I had not found VJ at that time and had no idea how to proceed. The attorney made it quick and easy. Even if I had found VJ on day 1, it would have taken me some time to read the guides, ask appropriate questions, and prepare the application package. I was able to bypass all of that and submit the package immediately. I do realize that there are attorneys out there that are not as competent as mine was, and I am glad that I chose the attorney that I did. Low price was not part of my selection criteria. I did, however, look for an attorney very familiar with the consulate where Marlene interviewed.

Edited May 15, 2007 by john_and_marlene

[KarenCee 3]

We decided to use a qualified attorney because we believe it will help the process go faster. No, not because he has an inside phone number or special processing queue. But a good experienced attorney can help you prevent unnecessary delays. This process is very unforgiving and small mistakes can cost you weeks, months or worse. Like all other paid professionals, there are good and bad in the field. You should choose carefully. Even with an attorney, you can still have problems.

Many people file successfully on their own without the help of paid professionals. This site is wonderful, and chock full of good information. It is a great tool and I am very grateful for it. But most of us are going through this process for the very first time and as individuals have no experience outside of our own cases.

If money is an issue, you can probably gain enough knowledge to pull this off without paying a professional. It seems most people using this site do just that. In our case, we felt the attorney was very affordable for the most important decision of our lives.

Good luck on your journey!!!!

Has it made the process go faster? I've not seen a case yet where a lawyer has sped up this process in any way at all. I do agree that sometimes a lawyer is necessary, for the most part they aren't. Some have successful stories with their lawyers...many do not. It doesn't, however, speed up the process no matter how darn good the lawyer is.

Yes, it can speed up the process. Read the post again. You missed something (like the entire paragraph).

Then I humbly apologise for offending you. I did read the entire paragraph however. Maybe a lawyer can make sure every "i" is dotted and every "t" is crossed, but it doesn't technically speed this process up any more than anyone else's. If that were the case don't you think EVERYONE would be using lawyers?

[TimsDaisy 0]

I'm with KarenCee on this one - a lawyer doesn't per se speed things up. With diligent, careful study, I think someone would lose only a week by starting from complete, I-know-nothing scratch to put together a petition. I did it without even having found VJ (and trust me, my legal degree had NOTHING to do with the process, if anything, it hurt me - read into everything way too much, complicated things for no reason).

We DID consult with an attorney, but not about the K1 process (we contacted her for some past issues). She answered about 4 questions for us that, had I known about VJ, I would've been able to find the answers for myself.

And even WITH an attorney, it would be wise to make sure you're educated about the process too. God and lawyers help those who help themselves - you'll always be your best advocate. The lawyer can aid the process, but for simple I-129F filings, they are not essential. ESPECIALLY if you have found your way here and you can read smart (ie: make sure you take a moment to weigh what might be conjecture and what is based on actual, accumulated information from USCIS).