PREFERRED ATTORNEY SUGGESTIONS?

[Removed-2015May22 0]

FIRST TIME POSTING, MET A TERRIFIC WOMAN IN PERU, WONDER ABOUT WHETHER A TERRIFIC ATTORNEY CAN MAKE THIS PROCESS SIMPLE/BARABLE AND WHO WOULD BE RECOMMENDED.

I LIVE IN CHICAGO, MY FIANCE IS IN PERU THE EMBASSY IS IN LIMA.

HOLMES & LOLLY OUT OF LA JOLLA,CA SEEM MENTIONED ALOT.

JENSEN & HUGHES OPERATE OUT OF LIMA, PERU.

ARE ANY IMMIGRATION ATTORNEYS REALLY PREFERRED OVER OTHERS?

WHAT DO I LOOK FOR? THANX

[Merk 0]

FIRST TIME POSTING, MET A TERRIFIC WOMAN IN PERU, WONDER ABOUT WHETHER A TERRIFIC ATTORNEY CAN MAKE THIS PROCESS SIMPLE/BARABLE AND WHO WOULD BE RECOMMENDED.

I LIVE IN CHICAGO, MY FIANCE IS IN PERU THE EMBASSY IS IN LIMA.

HOLMES & LOLLY OUT OF LA JOLLA,CA SEEM MENTIONED ALOT.

JENSEN & HUGHES OPERATE OUT OF LIMA, PERU.

ARE ANY IMMIGRATION ATTORNEYS REALLY PREFERRED OVER OTHERS?

WHAT DO I LOOK FOR? THANX

From my experience you do not need an attorney!!!! If you found this site there are plenty of resources and information on this site alone!!!!!! You and your wife/girlfriend can do it yourself!!!!! Unless of course money is not an issue..... then by all means.

[Zee Bee 61]

A lot of us here use the guides and are fine without lawyers. As long as your case is not complicated you should be able to do it on your own.

When looking for a lawyer make sure you use one that specializes in immigration, an AILA lawyer.

Take a look at the guides. Some people still choose to use lawyers. But my advice is even if you decide to get a lawyer be sure you understand each step of the process.

Good luck!!!

[Steve'sGirl 0]

Welcome to VJ!

From personal experience, and what I've read as well here on VJ, I would not recommend getting lawyer involved. We did hire a lawyer and it didn't make things simpler or for that matter less complicated. We have spent an awful lot of time so far following up with the paralegal our case has been assigned to. It has become quite a headache. It may be worth mentioning that our lawyer as well has an outstanding reputation, that's why we chose this particular lawyer. K1 cases are usually handled by paralegals and not directly by the lawyers.

If your case is straight forward, i.e. no previous visa-overstays, both of you free to marry, etc. you will be perfectly fine compiling all the documents for the petition yourself. Go through the "Guides" section here on VJ. There's loads of information. And in case there are still questions, there are many people on here that have in-depths experience with all sorts of circumstances and issues that may come up during the process.

Good luck for your journey!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Usui Takumi 1,562]

Honestly? Most people around here will tell you that their lawyers actually did more to screw up their petitions then help. Myself included. When I was living in Cardiff with my fiance we thought we should get a solicitor to help, so we had a talk with one in Birmingham. His fees were steep so we decided against hiring him but he still screwed us in one respect. We wanted to get married in the UK so that we could do a direct consular filing which at the time i thought was faster. HE said it would be much slower and suggested the K1 which we are in at the moment and i'm in the USA getting things ready for her.

Had I been smart and ignored his advice, we probably would be setting up shop in California together with everything sorted for my SO.

[Kazan' Tiger 1]

Attorneys are not needed. They do nothing to make the process faster. They can actually slow down things. They wait in the same long line with no special treatment or powers. Just follow the instructions and you will be fine. If you get confused, come to these forums. There are tons of folks that have been through this with answers. Save yourself the grief and the money!

Stop feeding the lawyers! If we do, they should weaken enough to stop breeding. Over time, we might be able to drive them into extinction. The world will be a far better place!

Oh, BTW, you need to turn off the Caps Lock key! It is SHOUTING!

[MaxxumUSA 0]

I used holmes and lolly. They did a good job for me. BUT... I did not find this forum until long after I filed the paperwork. They quite honestly knowing what I know now they were not needed.

The only problem you might have is if you have a criminal history. But even that you can get help with here.

Like others noted the attorney will probably only add time to your case. It did for my case. My wife would have been here probably 2-3 weeks sooner had I filed my own papers just because of the extra steps I had to take to communicate through the attorneys.

Good luck.

- Maxxum

[~Laura and Nick~ 5]

Sure, I can recommend someone great....YOU!

You do not need a lawyer.

If you have a straight forward case, open and shut, file yourselves and save yourself thousands of dollars.

I believe that lawyers are just glorified proof readers. You have to gather all the information for them anyway, you are really doing the work yourself at a way higher price.

All my time on VJ I haven't read one positive thing about a lawyer. In fact, I've read dozens of people whose lawyers have messed up drastically by sending their petition to the wrong center, losing information and papers, etc. etc.

Now, if you have a major road block in your case such as an overstay in the States or have a serious criminal background then I would suggest using an immigration lawyer.

Save yourself the money for the petition fee ($455) and the AOS process ($1010)

Read the Guides here at VJ with your Fiance. Take a break, come back and re-read everything again. Stay organized and have fun!!!

Best of luck to you!

~Laura

Edited January 16, 2008 by ~Laura and Nick~

[MandR 0]

Welcome to VJ.

Save your money for trips down to Peru.... you don't need an attorney.

Follow the guides on here. There are a number of couples from Peru including ourselves who have gone throught the

K-1 visa process and we are always willing to help another Peruvian / American couple.

When you first starting looking around the guides and the entire process it looks overwhelming, but infact in the end

you'll sit back and say WOW, that was not bad at all and I saved a bunch of money not using an attorney.

Edited January 16, 2008 by MandR

[Kil 0]

Congrads on meeting a nice Pervian women. My bride to be from Peru arrived 3 weeks ago and everything is wonderful.

I agree with all the others that replied. You don't need a lawyer. In fact, the only people that told me I needed to get a lawyer were lawyers. Big surprise huh?

Follow the guides on VJ and you should do just fine. We got the K1 in 4 months.

FIRST TIME POSTING, MET A TERRIFIC WOMAN IN PERU, WONDER ABOUT WHETHER A TERRIFIC ATTORNEY CAN MAKE THIS PROCESS SIMPLE/BARABLE AND WHO WOULD BE RECOMMENDED.

I LIVE IN CHICAGO, MY FIANCE IS IN PERU THE EMBASSY IS IN LIMA.

HOLMES & LOLLY OUT OF LA JOLLA,CA SEEM MENTIONED ALOT.

JENSEN & HUGHES OPERATE OUT OF LIMA, PERU.

ARE ANY IMMIGRATION ATTORNEYS REALLY PREFERRED OVER OTHERS?

WHAT DO I LOOK FOR? THANX

[kgas 0]

I'm an attorney, and I can honestly say, you don't need me or anyone else to do this petition for you. I don't want to be made extinct and there are lots of immigration matters where attorneys can come in handy (usually business related), but this isn't one of them.

Read all the guides on this website and triple check your application to make sure you have everything on there. Be honest about everything. Many of the delays are usually because a person omitted a prior address or place of employment or didn't have all the divorce decree stuff together.

[FaSa2008 0]

You wont need an attorney! My fiance is in Lima peru and i did it all bymyself! Be extra careful with the requirements and follow them !

save ur money ....

[Kazan' Tiger 1]

Unless you have some very special circumstances, hiring an attorney does nothing but drain funds better spent on yourselves and your future together. An attorney stands in the same line we do, with no time savings what so ever. The paperwork is far from complicated if you can read and follow instructions. Have a question? There are tons of folks here that are in your same shoes.

Too many here have tossed hard earned money on overpriced useless attornies. Do not feed the lawyers. It only keeps them strong causing them to breed out of control and further weakening us.