lawyer

[Bobby+Umit 161]

MY lawyer charged me $2000.00 for just filing I-129 f.

is it reasonable?

does it cost extra for further procedure? ( after marriage?)

thanks alot

That price is about the range for this service.

Does that include the petition fee of $455.00?

Reasonable is based on what you feel it is. If you have lots of money, then perhaps it is! A lawyer could perhaps save you time with filling out forms (correctly) and give you some piece of mind.

Sometimes, you don't get the value you paid into it...

____________

Yes, there are costs during the whole process (and not related to a lawyer).

Cost of medical exam, any other country specific fees, visa, tickets for plane, travel expenses, then the marriage, licenses, AOS ($1010.00).

You are looking at maybe 2k-5k for the whole ball of wax (very liberal with that price though )

A lot depends on where your located, cost of the different things, etc...

But - you will pay ($1465.00) just for the two USCIS forms (129/485)

[bayojona3231 4]

MY lawyer charged me $2000.00 for just filing I-129 f.

is it reasonable?

does it cost extra for further procedure? ( after marriage?)

thanks alot

Hiring a lawyer, in my opinion is a waste of money. YOU only need a lawyer if you have a complicated case. I DID EVERYTHING MYSELF; SO it cost me $0.00. We are going for AOS interview on FEB. 23. I have since then helped 2 other friends do the same.

[rebeccajo 14]

Did not use a lawyer so the cost was $0.

All a lawyer does is fill out the forms and submits them.

Untrue.

That is all some lawyers do.

That is not all that the best ones can do.

[rebeccajo 14]

Lawyers , Lawyers, lawyers...Don't get me started on the LAWYER thing. All I can tell you is that IF there were a laywer that was sincere and could honestly say he was WORTH his fees, he would have been here ON THE SITE, already defending his actions on VJ's site.

If just ONE DECENT attorney would just charge a REASONABLE fee of $500-1000, and do a nice job and explain every step, etc, and dp follups, he would get all sorts of referrals from this site alone, enough to stay in business from VJ by itself.

Yes, I did it all myself and with the help of VJ and many personal friends who already were helped by VJ. The application and process went smoothly, NO RFE's, not even a touch showing and 135 days until approval, but there are tons of people who are not this organized to read and compile all this junk, or don't want to, & need someones help. They also need translation help in compiling info, etc.

I am SERIOUSLY thinking of starting this SERVICE business and let my fiance run it when she comes in February. I already have my personal attorney who said he would standby if needed, but you do not NEED an attorney to do anything. Maybe this is my new calling???

It makes me sick to see people paying thousands of dollars and get this poor treatment!!!!

Good luck in your journey....J

There used to be one.

And if you start such a 'service business' be prepared to defend yourself against possible charges of unlicensed practice of law.

There's no malpractice insurance for people with an idea like you have. Good luck with your first case that goes south. You could find yourself in bankruptcy court.

[MactanLove 0]

MY lawyer charged me $2000.00 for just filing I-129 f.

is it reasonable?

does it cost extra for further procedure? ( after marriage?)

thanks alot

No, this is NOT reasonable at all. Can I make a suggestion? If you haven't paid him yet...tell him many lawyers only charge $600-$1,000 for this service. Offer to pay him $1,200. He'll take it.

[MactanLove 0]

I like many others used VJ was my guide and did it myself.

Between research, preparation, and working on everything with my fiance I spent about 40 ~ 60 hours on mine. (Yes I went overboard:) The money was an issue for me because preparing the I-129 is just step 2 or 3 in a 2 year process with all kind of expences along the way. I just concidered the work as my new part time job I also think it makes a statement to your fiance and others about the commitment to your new life. Last but not least there is no way anyone else would have put in the time and attention to detail as I was willing to do.

My I-129f cover letter included a 10 section table of contents with the Proof of Relationship area broken down into 8 subsections. I arranged the baggies holding the checks and photos to open out to the examiner when the page was lifted...

Yes, I went overboard. No I am not on medication.

EIGHT SUBSECTIONS for proof of relationship?? Nah, you didn't go overboard We sent just the letter saying we intend to marry. For proof of meeting my fiance wrote two sentences on form and attached his board passes. But it all depends on comfort level and whether you're worried about not getting NOA2. My fiance has very high comfort level! I was worried, he wasn't!

[sjr09 155]

MY lawyer charged me $2000.00 for just filing I-129 f.

is it reasonable?

does it cost extra for further procedure? ( after marriage?)

thanks alot

I’m not advocating the use or none use of an attorney, for some people it’s very useful and there are some very good attorneys out there that don’t charge an arm and a leg! The problem with most of us is who, how do we find the right one. Well first you need to do your home work, don’t just go thru your phone book and pick one make a list of ten attorneys that only work on immigration or better k1/k3 immigration and has gone thru the K1 K3 petition, for his or her family member. Stay away from visa mills, family attorneys or the jack of all trades attorney, your just asking for it!

Call and interview them, yes interview them after all they will be working for you! Ask if the fees are flat rate? How much down? What the fees will cover I-130 G325a I-129f and so on. Check with the bar and make sure the attorney is in good standing. If you don’t like the vibe or they seem to busy to talk cross them off your list and go on. If you don’t ask the question then you’re just asking for it! I have seen so many posts on this forum protesting attorneys, and only to read that OP had a divorce or family attorney or they don’t know what there getting for the fee. Look it’s like this; if you need brain surgery would you go to a psychiatrist.

[Elghazi2008 4]

MY lawyer charged me $2000.00 for just filing I-129 f.

is it reasonable?

does it cost extra for further procedure? ( after marriage?)

thanks alot

Well....To be honest, that seems like A LOT for just the I-129F... Maybe your case is somewhat more complicated than ours is, but we filed the I-129F alone. We had help from here and we read the requirements on the I-129F instructions... We had no trouble at all. I would have said to do as much of the process as you can by yourself and then if you run into some difficulty, consider consulting a lawyer... However, since you've already paid the lawyer a pretty penny, take full advantage of his/her services. Since we haven't yet reached the marriage part of our process yet, I can't give you advice from experience regarding that, but you may want to either consider losing the lawyer until you need one or consider looking for a lawyer with more reasonable prices if you don't want to hassle with the stresses of making sure your paperwork is complete and done on time.