Need A great Lawyer - Marc Ellis is the one.

[Joe&Diane 0]

I've already posted my experience with Marc Ellis somewhere in VJ but since I see another post about him I have to chime in. I had a horrible experience with Marc Ellis and the only thing I have to say is that he might have alot of knowledge about the process but he didn't show that in my case. Actually he, his co partner Mr Nam nor and his secretary assembled my packet right. They had many errors on the applications and wrong dates on labeling the photos. My wife and I had to spend 2 hrs of our time helping the secretary put together the packet. Before I head back to the States, Mr Nam handed me my I-130 packet. He told me that packet is not complete to be mail off. I have to wait until Marc Ellis finish 1 more affidavit letter. So when I was back in the States I waited, waited, and waited until i got pissed off I emailed him. He never replied, until I became more aggressive to drop him as my lawyer he finally replied and I played the email game with him and Mr Nam for months. It was horrific and stressful. I demanded a refund and luckily he gave back $500. But I lost $500+$100 (consulation fee) = $600. My incomplete packet cost $600. Wow! so my advice is to try to do most of the stuff yourself. However, if your case is complicated and you need and want a lawyer then meet with him and see if he can help you. Hopefully you will have a better, smoother experience than mine. Good luck!

Currently i'm preparing and about to mail out the I-864 affidavit of support. Hopefully my wife will get her packet 3 soon!

[JimVaPhuong 4,863]

I've already posted my experience with Marc Ellis somewhere in VJ but since I see another post about him I have to chime in. I had a horrible experience with Marc Ellis and the only thing I have to say is that he might have alot of knowledge about the process but he didn't show that in my case. Actually he, his co partner Mr Nam nor and his secretary assembled my packet right. They had many errors on the applications and wrong dates on labeling the photos. My wife and I had to spend 2 hrs of our time helping the secretary put together the packet. Before I head back to the States, Mr Nam handed me my I-130 packet. He told me that packet is not complete to be mail off. I have to wait until Marc Ellis finish 1 more affidavit letter. So when I was back in the States I waited, waited, and waited until i got pissed off I emailed him. He never replied, until I became more aggressive to drop him as my lawyer he finally replied and I played the email game with him and Mr Nam for months. It was horrific and stressful. I demanded a refund and luckily he gave back $500. But I lost $500+$100 (consulation fee) = $600. My incomplete packet cost $600. Wow! so my advice is to try to do most of the stuff yourself. However, if your case is complicated and you need and want a lawyer then meet with him and see if he can help you. Hopefully you will have a better, smoother experience than mine. Good luck!

Currently i'm preparing and about to mail out the I-864 affidavit of support. Hopefully my wife will get her packet 3 soon!

Everyone has an opinion, and yours is as valid as anyone elses.

And while we're on the topic of opinions, I'll give my opinion on your opinion.

Mr. Nam can be a !@#$%. I think he fancies himself a proxy for a hard nosed CO involved in a Stokes interrogation. I sat next to my wife (she was my fiancee at the time) while he was throwing questions at her. When he got out of hand, I stopped him. I ended up arguing with him several times about his line of questioning. Of course, he could back up what he was saying with actual recent cases where the same questions were asked. My point was that if the interview degrades to the point where your fiancee or wife is being asked humiliating or degrading questions then the case is already lost - she is not going to be leaving that consulate with a visa any time soon.

I told my wife that SHE has control during the interview. They cannot keep her there against her will. If, at any time, she feels like the CO is out of line with their questions then she can refuse to answer. If the CO persists, she can walk away. There are plenty of other avenues that can be pursued. I told Mr. Nam, in no uncertain terms, that he would not ask embarrassing or humiliating questions.

Mr. Nam also made mistakes with our documents. A LOT of them. Given the amount of time you spend with him and his associates, the same thing would happen if F. Lee Bailey were your attorney. They don't know all of the details of your life, and they aren't going to learn them in a few short hours. You have to read each and every document they prepare, and make them correct any mistakes. This doesn't just apply to Mr. Nam and Marc Ellis, but to ANY attorney you hire for ANY reason.

That said, the documents were complete and well organized once I had them correct the mistakes. He knew how to organize them for presentation at the interview. He also had a good eye for selecting photos for evidence, and pointed out some things he thought were good or bad that I wouldn't have noticed. Overall, the interview prep sessions went well, aside from me occasionally interrupting as I mentioned above. My wife felt less nervous and better prepared, and that was the main objective.

I've had a fair amount of experience with lawyers for a variety of reasons (none of them criminal ). In my mind, what you hire an attorney for is primarily their experience. That's the one thing you can't acquire on your own without having been an attorney for an equal amount of time. You already have the knowledge of the facts about your case, and you can learn the applicable laws and the process. You and your attorney are like two halves of the same brain. When you work together you can be successful. If you leave it up to the attorney to do all of the work then you're probably going to fail.

[luckytxn 2,264]

Everyone has an opinion, and yours is as valid as anyone elses.

And while we're on the topic of opinions, I'll give my opinion on your opinion.

Mr. Nam can be a !@#$%. I think he fancies himself a proxy for a hard nosed CO involved in a Stokes interrogation. I sat next to my wife (she was my fiancee at the time) while he was throwing questions at her. When he got out of hand, I stopped him. I ended up arguing with him several times about his line of questioning. Of course, he could back up what he was saying with actual recent cases where the same questions were asked. My point was that if the interview degrades to the point where your fiancee or wife is being asked humiliating or degrading questions then the case is already lost - she is not going to be leaving that consulate with a visa any time soon.

I told my wife that SHE has control during the interview. They cannot keep her there against her will. If, at any time, she feels like the CO is out of line with their questions then she can refuse to answer. If the CO persists, she can walk away. There are plenty of other avenues that can be pursued. I told Mr. Nam, in no uncertain terms, that he would not ask embarrassing or humiliating questions.

Mr. Nam also made mistakes with our documents. A LOT of them. Given the amount of time you spend with him and his associates, the same thing would happen if F. Lee Bailey were your attorney. They don't know all of the details of your life, and they aren't going to learn them in a few short hours. You have to read each and every document they prepare, and make them correct any mistakes. This doesn't just apply to Mr. Nam and Marc Ellis, but to ANY attorney you hire for ANY reason.

That said, the documents were complete and well organized once I had them correct the mistakes. He knew how to organize them for presentation at the interview. He also had a good eye for selecting photos for evidence, and pointed out some things he thought were good or bad that I wouldn't have noticed. Overall, the interview prep sessions went well, aside from me occasionally interrupting as I mentioned above. My wife felt less nervous and better prepared, and that was the main objective.

I've had a fair amount of experience with lawyers for a variety of reasons (none of them criminal ). In my mind, what you hire an attorney for is primarily their experience. That's the one thing you can't acquire on your own without having been an attorney for an equal amount of time. You already have the knowledge of the facts about your case, and you can learn the applicable laws and the process. You and your attorney are like two halves of the same brain. When you work together you can be successful. If you leave it up to the attorney to do all of the work then you're probably going to fail.

Pretty much if all you needed an attorney is do the paperwork then just do it yourself. Attorneys times are very expensive and to top it all off you still need to go over the paperwork anyway to ensure the info is correct.

If there are needs for special stuff then an attorney is very much needed and one needs to get one that is experienced and knows the ins and outs of that particular area. If this is the case then a Marc Ellis is needed for issues related to this consulate.

[tcTTct 37]

Do you think using an attorney adds to the total amount of time the process takes? Especially if documents have to be sent back and forth for checking etc between VN/USA.

[Joe&Diane 0]

Everyone has an opinion, and yours is as valid as anyone elses.

And while we're on the topic of opinions, I'll give my opinion on your opinion.

Mr. Nam can be a !@#$%. I think he fancies himself a proxy for a hard nosed CO involved in a Stokes interrogation. I sat next to my wife (she was my fiancee at the time) while he was throwing questions at her. When he got out of hand, I stopped him. I ended up arguing with him several times about his line of questioning. Of course, he could back up what he was saying with actual recent cases where the same questions were asked. My point was that if the interview degrades to the point where your fiancee or wife is being asked humiliating or degrading questions then the case is already lost - she is not going to be leaving that consulate with a visa any time soon.

I told my wife that SHE has control during the interview. They cannot keep her there against her will. If, at any time, she feels like the CO is out of line with their questions then she can refuse to answer. If the CO persists, she can walk away. There are plenty of other avenues that can be pursued. I told Mr. Nam, in no uncertain terms, that he would not ask embarrassing or humiliating questions.

Mr. Nam also made mistakes with our documents. A LOT of them. Given the amount of time you spend with him and his associates, the same thing would happen if F. Lee Bailey were your attorney. They don't know all of the details of your life, and they aren't going to learn them in a few short hours. You have to read each and every document they prepare, and make them correct any mistakes. This doesn't just apply to Mr. Nam and Marc Ellis, but to ANY attorney you hire for ANY reason.

That said, the documents were complete and well organized once I had them correct the mistakes. He knew how to organize them for presentation at the interview. He also had a good eye for selecting photos for evidence, and pointed out some things he thought were good or bad that I wouldn't have noticed. Overall, the interview prep sessions went well, aside from me occasionally interrupting as I mentioned above. My wife felt less nervous and better prepared, and that was the main objective.

I've had a fair amount of experience with lawyers for a variety of reasons (none of them criminal ). In my mind, what you hire an attorney for is primarily their experience. That's the one thing you can't acquire on your own without having been an attorney for an equal amount of time. You already have the knowledge of the facts about your case, and you can learn the applicable laws and the process. You and your attorney are like two halves of the same brain. When you work together you can be successful. If you leave it up to the attorney to do all of the work then you're probably going to fail.

well said Jim, and congrats on you and your wife! I saw 5 couple in that office and Marc Ellis pissed off the men and Mr Nam made 3 of the ladies cried. I felt for all of them and wish everything will work out. it's all about personal experience. speaking about Mr Nam I have a concern. He and his associate did all the leg work on getting our marriage certificate. All we had to was to show up for the interview and sign the certificate. Even that in itself was a nightmare! But when i carefully looked at the certificate I noticed an error on my birthplace. It's an entire different city! what should I do now. I'm scared it will cause a problem during my wife's interview and it was not our fault!! I brought it up to Mr Nam right away and he assured me it was ok, and no need to worry about it. yeah right easy for him to say since he's not the petitioner and it's his wife he's trying to sponsor. any advice is appreciated.

[ScottThuy 140]

it could add time or save time depending on the case...

[vietazn 1]

Just hire a dich vu in Saigon for a few hundred thousand dong to help with the process. They fill out the paperwork, but

be sure to check back over it because it will have errors. Make them correct the errors, even if they say that there's no

problem. A whole lot better than lawyers that overcharge and make errors anyway. Don't lose control of the process; do the

work yourself with some assistance from dich vu.

[luckytxn 2,264]

We used a family member of my wifes to help her and he was awesome. He did everything and even took her into the city for her medical and the interview. He did all the paperwork and not sure how but emailed documents to the embassy or something. He prepped her also. He works for the commie government though but is a nice guy. My good friend who just got his babe here and married now used him and one other that I know that I hooked up with a family member of my wifes and he got his visa OK also. He is 3 for 3. I appreciate everything he did for us. He charged my friend 400 dollars though and I thought it was expensive but my friend said it was worth it as he got the pink at interview and he had done so much for his fiancee. I heard that the dich vus were way cheaper though.

[Joe&Diane 0]

Do you think using an attorney adds to the total amount of time the process takes? Especially if documents have to be sent back and forth for checking etc between VN/USA.

Like others posted that it depends on the case. with my situation, i wish i never hired any lawyer. i could've done the work myself with less stress. I hired 1 in Vietnam and that didn't work out. Lost 2 months of time and money. An aquaintance referred me to this lawyer whom represented him before and was successful. So I hired him. Just last week his assistant emailed me that they received an approval notice NOA2 of my I-130 packet. Couple week later she emailed and asked me to bring 3 yrs tax papers nothing else. I knew better so I had more evidence prepared, letter from my employer, check stubs, etc. It's been almost 1 week and he hasn't started on my I-864 packet yet! It made me realize that i could've have started the packet myself and it would have been much faster. Now i'm waiting,calling,emailing. It's been nothing but HELL. Not to mention I paid this people to not care about my case and time away from my wife.

[JimVaPhuong 4,863]

Pretty much if all you needed an attorney is do the paperwork then just do it yourself. Attorneys times are very expensive and to top it all off you still need to go over the paperwork anyway to ensure the info is correct.

We didn't need the document prep, but it's sort of a package deal. You pay one price and get doc prep and interview prep. Phuong was nervous about the interview, and she really thought an attorney would help her prepare. I never told her that "Luat Su Nam" was not really a "Luat Su" until after the interview.

From my thinking, it was a placebo thing. She felt she was getting help from someone with a lot of experience dealing with the consulate in HCMC (that much was true), and she had homework every night to study and practice. In the end, she was cool as cucumber at the interview. The practice Q&A sessions didn't mean squat - they only asked her three questions at the interview. But the sessions gave her the confidence she was lacking. That alone was worth twice what we paid Mr. Nam.

The doc prep ended up being useful, as well. We stay in a borderline two star hotel in Tan Phu district when we're in HCMC. We don't have any choice - her cousin owns the place, and we're sort of obligated. The nearest internet cafe with printers is a couple of blocks away. Having Mr. Nam's staff use their computers and printers saved us a lot of trouble. I didn't mind having to read and correct each document, since I didn't have to pay for each messed up copy they printed. It's also a lot easier to proof read documents than it is to actually fill them out.

well said Jim, and congrats on you and your wife! I saw 5 couple in that office and Marc Ellis pissed off the men and Mr Nam made 3 of the ladies cried. I felt for all of them and wish everything will work out. it's all about personal experience.

Yeah, he tried to do the same with us. I think they want everyone to believe that their case is a lot more serious than it really is. I was expecting this. It's happened in every attorney's office I've ever been to, and I've come to expect it. They want to convince you that you REALLY NEED their help or you won't succeed.

First, he quickly flipped through the copy of the petition package we gave him, and then started shooting off the potential red flags. First he said something about only one or two trips, and I told him it was my 5th trip in a year, and showed him the evidence. Then he said something about needing an engagement ceremony (he obviously didn't look very closely at the petition package) so we handed him two photo albums full of pics. Then he said something about "public charge" and strict financial requirements, and I handed three years of tax transcripts (my income is enough to sponsor even if I was supporting two baseball teams). After that he backed off and we got down to business.

speaking about Mr Nam I have a concern. He and his associate did all the leg work on getting our marriage certificate. All we had to was to show up for the interview and sign the certificate. Even that in itself was a nightmare! But when i carefully looked at the certificate I noticed an error on my birthplace. It's an entire different city! what should I do now. I'm scared it will cause a problem during my wife's interview and it was not our fault!! I brought it up to Mr Nam right away and he assured me it was ok, and no need to worry about it. yeah right easy for him to say since he's not the petitioner and it's his wife he's trying to sponsor. any advice is appreciated.

If they really scrutinize the marriage certificate then I imagine they might bring it up. Unless they question whether it's really someone else on the certificate, I seriously doubt this will be a problem. I don't recall reading any "official" documents from the VN government that didn't have at least a few mistakes on them.

[hniHnitsuJ 8]

Just hire a dich vu in Saigon for a few hundred thousand dong to help with the process. They fill out the paperwork, but

be sure to check back over it because it will have errors. Make them correct the errors, even if they say that there's no

problem. A whole lot better than lawyers that overcharge and make errors anyway. Don't lose control of the process; do the

work yourself with some assistance from dich vu.

Yeap, that how I started my paperwork with Dich Vu, Only $250 USD. From A-Z.

- Fill out all my wife paperwork. I-130, GS-325, DS-230, and more.....

- Pickup and drop her off to Checkup, Interview, and etc.

- Help my wife organized paperwork for interview, and questions about interview.

- Read and translate all USCIS, NVC, or VN consulate document.

- Help my wife paid all the vnese fees. (including coffee-money).

[Joe&Diane 0]

Yeap, that how I started my paperwork with Dich Vu, Only $250 USD. From A-Z.

- Fill out all my wife paperwork. I-130, GS-325, DS-230, and more.....

- Pickup and drop her off to Checkup, Interview, and etc.

- Help my wife organized paperwork for interview, and questions about interview.

- Read and translate all USCIS, NVC, or VN consulate document.

- Help my wife paid all the vnese fees. (including coffee-money).

who did you use? may i have the name,number,address? after my I864 is done i'm not going to use any more lawyers. waste of time and money. However, my wife in vietnam is very nervous and anxious, she may need the dich vu help. thanks in advance

[Tuanv 2]

$250 is a very good price for all that, especially for coffer-money.

[wreath 4]

I just wanted to let everyone know that is struggling with their case and might need a lawyer, Marc Ellis would be the one to use. He is patient and understanding of our pain and sorrow. He will help you every bit he can. He is reasonably priced and does what he said he would do. My case was a mess and we did not think that we could do anything about it. Marc talked with my husband and I and wrote our rebuttal and told us what to put together and send in. If it was not for his letter and his work I do not believe my husband would be here with me today. He is a wonderful compassionate lawyer. He is on this site and also on Visa Talk If you need to contact him please contact me and I will pass along his email address to you if you can't find it on this site. It is nice to know we have support. My prayers are with you all that are still waiting or just beginning this journey. God Bless.

just wondering ...why is marc ellis on this site? and visa talk?

[David-Hien 11]

just wondering ...why is marc ellis on this site? and visa talk?

You don't read from beginning of this topic? I don't understand your question.

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@all: About the form and timeline, if you are fluently in English, you search carefully for your case, and your case is simple, you can do it by yourself.

You only need to train your wife to prepare documents and evidence for interview, how to do and answer in an interview, that's the most difficult step that the wife in Vietnam needs help.

If your case is complicated, hiring an attorney is the best way to save time.

If you got blue or white sheet, hiring an attorney is necessary.

Edited August 14, 2010 by David-Hien