K1 visa lawyer?

[daboyz 36]

How do you know if they are qualified?

That's the big question -- it's hard to tell if we don't know the right questions to ask when we're trying to qualify them!

This is serious business. To put your future into someones hands that could care less is a big deal.

Absolutely correct.

May god have mercy on everyone that hires that guy.

This is just the sort of information that's valuable for people to know.

I lobbied to have an attorney entry put in the timelines. I was shot down big time. My argument was this:

If an attorney did a great job, people should know. If an attorney did a bad job people should know that as well.

I got beat over the head. I am in know way telling people not to hire an attorney. I am saying that by the nature of the USPS, it will slow you down. Also, why should they care? They get paid up front. Why pay $1800?

I had 221g at the embassy. My lawyer didnt even answer my calls. I worked through it thanks to people on VJ. Rebeccajo and I have butted heads alot, but when it came time for help, she was there for me. No lawyer is going to give you that.

[TBoneTX 46,167]

I got beat over the head. I am in know way telling people not to hire an attorney.

And that's something that I respect about your contributions to these "attorney" threads -- despite your unspeakable experience, you merely state what happened to you and you refrain from saying "you do not need an attorney." That's remarkable, considering the trouble that you had.

I had 221g at the embassy. My lawyer didnt even answer my calls. I worked through it thanks to people on VJ. Rebeccajo and I have butted heads alot, but when it came time for help, she was there for me. No lawyer is going to give you that.

There are a lot of good & helpful posters on here. They helped me during my 221(g), too. My best advice, ironically, came from the attorneys at the largest immigration-law firm in Houston -- http://www.fosterquan.com -- who in fact gave me far more than my (very reasonable) e-mail consultation fee. One of the attorneys there was formerly a vice-consul in Venezuela. This is one reason why -- with virtue of hindsight -- I suggest that potential filers at least run their circumstances by an immigration attorney with that kind of experience. What a pleasant difference from having to deal with "any" attorney of unknown qualifications who later turns out to be a shyster!

[daboyz 36]

I think we're on the same page. I agree that attorney's can be helpful in certain situations. VAWA, IMBRA, 221g, 212, etc. I would make this statement:

If you have no issues, and you are not filing in HCMC, then I don't see a need for a lawyer. The only lawyer that I have seen that is worth anything is Marc Ellis. I'm not flying his flag, but he seems to have helped out alot of people here going through Vietnam.

[TBoneTX 46,167]

I think we're on the same page.

Si, man. Also, I think that an "Attorney" page on VJ is a smashing idea in theory, but it would almost certainly open up VJ and many individuals to some serious ethical & legal trouble. A bunch of lawyers (legitimate and shysters) could also end up disguising and "recommending" themselves. Remember the old saying: "99% of all lawyers give the rest of them a bad name!"

[Mr Bill 0]

I had the same question when I started. If you are VERY careful, put the work into it, follow the advice from this website and ask questions when you are not sure, you should be OK. However, after I had finished the application, I had an immigration lawyer look at it and she DID find a couple of mistakes. She only charged me $100 for this service.

[SuperDuper! 230]

OK, here is the sane advice that you have been waiting for. If you feel you would like the assurance of being able to obtain legal advice on specific immigration/visa questions or issues when they occur, the compromise move here is to get a Pre-Paid Legal plan.

I have one, and have well gotten my money's worth by the 5 times I have called to the atty. Besides immigration issues, the Pre-Paid Legal lets me sleep better at night knowing that I can call an atty 24/7 at no charge for any legal issue, other than the $26/month I pay for a family plan.

The Plan has come in handy on numerous occasions. In todays litigious society, it makes a lot of sense to me. Feels so good to be able to say, "Let me consult with my atty and I will get back to you."

Edited July 13, 2009 by itzallgood

[ilovefood 0]

A family member recommended a lawyer, and being overwhelmed with work, grad school, and giving my now-fiancee attention I felt letting someone else might be easier on me. She had a $130 consultation fee for an hour of her time, which we gladly paid. I asked her if it was OK if I got my fiancee on the phone as well as my dad, she said OK, and I went over my situation with the lawyer following up with routes we can take. As my family was discussing our options, the lawyer told us to leave and take our time discussing this. She then proceeded to ignore us and started doing other work.

We left shortly, and called her up a few hours later with a follow up question. She never returned our calls - I'm thinking she wanted us to pay another $130 to answer our question. Oh, and did I neglect to mention she wanted $5000 to take care of the paperwork?

I ended up putting everything together and honestly though it's a chore it's extremely simple thanks to the guides here on VisaJourney. I recommend reading over the guides on this site, on other sites, go over sample forms, and you should be fine to start. Good luck!!

[daboyz 36]

I think we're on the same page.

Si, man. Also, I think that an "Attorney" page on VJ is a smashing idea in theory, but it would almost certainly open up VJ and many individuals to some serious ethical & legal trouble. A bunch of lawyers (legitimate and shysters) could also end up disguising and "recommending" themselves. Remember the old saying: "99% of all lawyers give the rest of them a bad name!"

I would be happy if they just put a check box on the time line as to whether an attorney was used. I think that would tell alot. As you you can see at the top of the VJ home page, there is alot of lawyer advertising going on.

This website is more important than any attorney. My wife would probably still be in Thailand if it wasn't for this place. For that, I am grateful.

[daboyz 36]

OK, here is the sane advice that you have been waiting for. If you feel you would like the assurance of being able to obtain legal advice on specific immigration/visa questions or issues when they occur, the compromise move here is to get a Pre-Paid Legal plan.

I have one, and have well gotten my money's worth by the 5 times I have called to the atty. Besides immigration issues, the Pre-Paid Legal lets me sleep better at night knowing that I can call an atty 24/7 at no charge for any legal issue, other than the $26/month I pay for a family plan.

The Plan has come in handy on numerous occasions. In todays litigious society, it makes a lot of sense to me. Feels so good to be able to say, "Let me consult with my atty and I will get back to you."

Just curious. For that 26 USD will they file a K-1 petition? Or is that some kind of insurance policy if something goes wrong later?

[TBoneTX 46,167]

I would be happy if they just put a check box on the time line as to whether an attorney was used. I think that would tell alot.

That shouldn't be hard to do. Have you raised the matter with Cap'n. Ewok recently? Is it time to do so again?

Regarding Pre-Paid Legal, I am also a member, and they have helped me in many matters unrelated to immigration. The attorney with PPL whom I consulted about the K-1 petition did have consular experience, but not since the mid-1980s, and he was able to help only with general questions about form-filling (which he had current knowledge of). I had to go "outside" to Foster & Quan (web URL above) for more meaningful insights regarding my consular crisis.

[TBoneTX 46,167]

Just curious. For that 26 USD will they file a K-1 petition? Or is that some kind of insurance policy if something goes wrong later?

They will not fill out the paperwork for you, but they will help you complete it yourself if you get stuck. The monthly membership fee enables you to call the provider law firm any number of times on any legal matter (including immigration), and an attorney from the firm is supposed to call you back within 6 business hours. If you require actual legal help in person, they can refer you to local attorneys who will give you a discounted rate (25%, for me, on other matters). I never asked them for referrals regarding immigration matters.

[daboyz 36]

I would be happy if they just put a check box on the time line as to whether an attorney was used. I think that would tell alot.

That shouldn't be hard to do. Have you raised the matter with Cap'n. Ewok recently? Is it time to do so again?

Regarding Pre-Paid Legal, I am also a member, and they have helped me in many matters unrelated to immigration. The attorney with PPL whom I consulted about the K-1 petition did have consular experience, but not since the mid-1980s, and he was able to help only with general questions about form-filling (which he had current knowledge of). I had to go "outside" to Foster & Quan (web URL above) for more meaningful insights regarding my consular crisis.

Yeah I brought it up. It ended up being a pi$$ing match with the very person that helped me in the end.

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.ph...t=0&start=0

[sara..... 371]

i agree with the part that there should be a box to click to show if u used an attorney or not but i would like to see it taken one step further and be able to right a review of that attorney just like there is a place to do it for embassies and po

sara

[daboyz 36]

i agree with the part that there should be a box to click to show if u used an attorney or not but i would like to see it taken one step further and be able to right a review of that attorney just like there is a place to do it for embassies and po

sara

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.ph...t&p=2276646

[Joe_&_Nadiya 1]

Does anyone feel that it would be best to hire a lawyer? How has it been doing this on your own? I am not ready to get one yet. but i am trying to inform myself with what is the best thing to do. So i am just trying to ask questions and see what i can find out.

I hired a lawyer....although it brought me some peace of mind at first (because he was "working" for me... I did all the leg work...IRS transcripts, bank letters, employer letter, etc. etc , etc ....the list goes on and on...), I found out that it would have been so much easier to file for a K-1 visa myself with the help of this site... after all, I would have to do all the work anyway....

The immigration proccess doesn't care whether or not you have a lawyer... all they care about is the documentation you have to support your case.

got it?

Good luck