Immigration Lawyers in London / Uk

[kevin74uk 0]

Hi

I was wondering if anyone has any recommendations on good immigration lawyers based in the UK (preferably in London) who specialise in fiance or spouse visas to the USA.

Weighing up which visa is the best to apply for, work complications and other things seems to be a bit of a minefield and it would be good to sit down and speak to an expert. I have tried seeing if there are any fee helplines and came up blank and phoned one law firm picked from google who sounded competent but as they wanted to charge £300 for a consultation (and not actually processing anything), wanted to make sure that if it really does cost this much to get good legal advice I go to a receommended law firm.

Many Thanks

[danielle46901 0]

Hi

I was wondering if anyone has any recommendations on good immigration lawyers based in the UK (preferably in London) who specialise in fiance or spouse visas to the USA.

Weighing up which visa is the best to apply for, work complications and other things seems to be a bit of a minefield and it would be good to sit down and speak to an expert. I have tried seeing if there are any fee helplines and came up blank and phoned one law firm picked from google who sounded competent but as they wanted to charge £300 for a consultation (and not actually processing anything), wanted to make sure that if it really does cost this much to get good legal advice I go to a receommended law firm.

Many Thanks

In all honesty, I thought there was no way I could do this myself and my fiance is fromt he United Kingdom, but you can. Visajourney.com has all the guides and people with personal experience to help. We thought about getting an attorney, but once we started reading the guides and asking questions we were able to do it ourselves. I'm sure there are good attorneys out there, but from what I've heard it is just a waste of time and money and you would be better off doing it yourself. Good luck to you!!!

[kevin74uk 0]

Thanks. We may well end up filing all the paperwork ourselves, but would like to sit down and speak to an expert before deciding what visa to file for, where and when, as a lot depends on what is happening with work and which visa they send me to the usa on. Hence any recommendations from anyone would be really helpful - especially if there is a free help line or advice line on this topic anywhere....

[Darren&Laura 3]

Hi

I was wondering if anyone has any recommendations on good immigration lawyers based in the UK (preferably in London) who specialise in fiance or spouse visas to the USA.

Weighing up which visa is the best to apply for, work complications and other things seems to be a bit of a minefield and it would be good to sit down and speak to an expert. I have tried seeing if there are any fee helplines and came up blank and phoned one law firm picked from google who sounded competent but as they wanted to charge £300 for a consultation (and not actually processing anything), wanted to make sure that if it really does cost this much to get good legal advice I go to a receommended law firm.

Many Thanks

This site has everything we needed to ensure our application was approved without any problems or delays without the need for a lawyer. We were as daunted as you when we started but reading the guides on this site should start to clear the minefield for you. Specifically, if you are and your significant other are unmarried and legally free to marry each other, then look at the K1 guide on this site here : http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.ph...mp;page=k1guide It proved invaluable to us in our application and I hope it will for you too.

If you are unsure about what visa you need and require, please ask specific questions in the forums as there are some really friendly and knowledgeable people on here that will strive to assist you - for free! Ensuring things are done properly and thoroughly isn't anywhere near as hard as you think - most of the time is spent waiting!

Best of luck!

[PlatyPius 5]

Well.....

Are you married or not?

If not, you can only apply for a K1.

Should you get married before coming to the US?

It isn't any quicker, really.

If you ARE married, then you have a couple of options.

I'm sorry, but I don't understand the "expert" designation being given to lawyers. I've read more instances of an immigration lawyer screwing up the process with disastrous results than I have the USC doing so by filing him/herself.

[Darren&Laura 3]

I'm sorry, but I don't understand the "expert" designation being given to lawyers. I've read more instances of an immigration lawyer screwing up the process with disastrous results than I have the USC doing so by filing him/herself.

Was thinking the very same thing myself as I replied earlier to this thread!

I would never recommend a lawyer as the first port of call in applying for a K1 visa. Sure, some people may have problems in their past, whether civil or criminal, that would perhaps dictate that legal advice is perhaps necessary, but for that vast majority of us a lawyer would be an expensive waste of time and a needless extra link in the chain.

[Taylorlove 0]

I'm sorry, but I don't understand the "expert" designation being given to lawyers. I've read more instances of an immigration lawyer screwing up the process with disastrous results than I have the USC doing so by filing him/herself.

Was thinking the very same thing myself as I replied earlier to this thread!

I would never recommend a lawyer as the first port of call in applying for a K1 visa. Sure, some people may have problems in their past, whether civil or criminal, that would perhaps dictate that legal advice is perhaps necessary, but for that vast majority of us a lawyer would be an expensive waste of time and a needless extra link in the chain.

www.visapro.co.uk is a UK site for lawyers specialising in all sorts of visas, including K1 visas. Just incase you change your mind!

[kevin74uk 0]

Thanks. I managed to get a bit of free time with a lawyer in the end whilst asking about consultation fees and found out what I needed to know. My dilemna has been over which visa to apply for and if I move with work to the US, which visa my firm should apply for and whether this changes things and how.

It seems if I manage to get an L1 visa then I should get married in the US and file for change of status and if I get another visa like a B1 then there is not much of a difference between a fiance visa and spouse visa in terms of waiting times so may be best to go for a fiance visa and have time to plan a nice wedding.

Not sure if this advice helps anyone else, but thought I would post it anyway....

[zalala 0]

Thanks for posting! I apparently do need a lawyer as I was recently refused entry into the US under the visa waiver program. So apparently a lawyer has to determine whether or not I need a "waiver of inadmissability", and it does seem to start at £300 for a consultation. If anyone has used a lawyer in the UK and has had a good experience, would be great to hear about it. Thanks!

[VisaJourneyLady 33]

If i were you, before you get a lawyer involved, I would post the details of your situation on this forum, and then decide if you need a lawyer.

As far as I know, people in the K-1 process can often get refused to travel under the VWP because of not being able to show strong enough ties to their home country at the border, and can be refused on the grounds that the immigration officer feels they are an overstaying risk. It shouldn't have any impact on your K-1 application. You're not supposed to immigrate on the VWP, but with a K-1 you are legitimately moving to the US, and on the road to being a permanent resident. They are totally unrelated.

But like I said, post the details. See what happens. I have heard of many people who end up knowing much more about the process from this forum than their lawyers do!

[Toshtishtash 1]

I posted this for someone a few weeks ago, so I will just re post it here, lol

You don't 'really' need a lawyer as most of the information can be found on this site free of charge. I would have found it to be a complete waste of money. I think the only reason to really get a lawyer would be if you had any extreme circumstances that would be either difficult to explain or difficult to sort out.

If you do think you need one then my Dad and Step Mum used a VERY good immigration lawyer in London, she certainly knows her stuff. She is very expensive... But as their case was quite a difficult one, they said that she was worth every penny. The initial consultation cost £500.

Their website is here: www.usvisalawyers.co.uk and her name is Susan Willis McFadden

Good luck

Edited February 23, 2008 by toshtishtash