I'm getting scared..Please Help

[katydoll 0]

Hi All....I have been reading the forums for awhile and now that I am about to start my journey I am getting very nervous and scared and could use some advice!!

I just left my loved one last week after seeing him in Dubai for our engagement party and to spend some time together...I am beginning to start the paperwork for his K-1 and could use some help. I called a lawyer today to ask some questions and he said that the K-1 visa could take years for me to get because he is from Iran and it would have been better to marry. Is this true!?! I am starting to panic with the thought that I might have to wait years for him to be here with me!!!!

Is getting a K-3 better than the K-1??

Also, is there a much longer wait for those coming from Iran?

Any advice and encouragement is appreciated!!! Thanks

[pushbrk 12,898]

Hi All....I have been reading the forums for awhile and now that I am about to start my journey I am getting very nervous and scared and could use some advice!!

I just left my loved one last week after seeing him in Dubai for our engagement party and to spend some time together...I am beginning to start the paperwork for his K-1 and could use some help. I called a lawyer today to ask some questions and he said that the K-1 visa could take years for me to get because he is from Iran and it would have been better to marry. Is this true!?! I am starting to panic with the thought that I might have to wait years for him to be here with me!!!!

Is getting a K-3 better than the K-1??

Also, is there a much longer wait for those coming from Iran?

Any advice and encouragement is appreciated!!! Thanks

The wait can be a little longer from Iran but K3 is not the currently available spouse visa. K3 is dead. CR1 would be the immigrant spouse visa applicable to a newlywed. For what it's worth, my experience indicates the lawyer you talked to simply doesn't have a clue. Additional administrative processing after interview applies to fiance or spouse equally. How long it takes is case specific, not category driven.

[thelastpetitioner 218]

it doesnt make a difference as all iranian beneficiaries in the end of the day have to go through AP,in CR-1 your fiance / husband will be able to work right away,and get his green card as he arrives,its not the same in k-1,keep in mind in cr-1 you have to prove a marriage,but for k-1 just a bona fide relationship.

at the very tipity top simple cases ( no over stay,no previous marriage,no criminal records ) take about a year.

[Aztec&Taino 144]

The wait can be a little longer from Iran but K3 is not the currently available spouse visa. K3 is dead. CR1 would be the immigrant spouse visa applicable to a newlywed. For what it's worth, my experience indicates the lawyer you talked to simply doesn't have a clue. Additional administrative processing after interview applies to fiance or spouse equally. How long it takes is case specific, not category driven.

He either did not have a clue, or not much experience with Iranian beneficiaries, or he simply wanted to scare her in order to make her feel as though she could not do it alone and would, therefore, require the lawyer's services.

You can choose either the fiance route or the spouse route. There are pluses and cons to both choices, but being that you are back in the US and making it back to Iran to marry would not be the kind of thing you can do on a weekend, it seems to me that you have chosen your route: the fiance visa.

Definitely read the guides over and over again until the process makes complete sense to you and you could explain it to someone without need of looking it up. Befriend some VJ members with beneficiaries from Iran and ask them specific questions as you have them. This is a very helpful community and it enables people to complete the paperwork on their own.

Yes, it is a difficult journey, but it should be encouraging to know that there have been MANY people who have made it. You can, too.

Best wishes!

[katydoll 0]

Thank you all for your words of support and encouragement!!

It is funny, but my dad said the same thing about the lawyer...that he did not know what he was talking about!!

I am just going to do that K-1 and pray and believe for the best....It seems the most it could take is a year....the lawyer was trying to tell me it could take many years since he was in Iran!! I did not like the sound of that and knew I could come here and get some "real" advice! =0)

Just a question, for the i-129F packet....I am putting all our boarding passes and pictures from the engagement party and I am also including three months worth of phone call records showing when I called him...Should this be enough....All this time I did not think to keep everything like I should have and all I really have is the past three months in regards to everything...E-mails, phone logs and such. Is this going to be a problem you think?

[thelastpetitioner 218]

its not USCIS's job to decide whether or not your relationship is bona fide,so the boarding passes ,stamps in your passport and all that will be enough.

they require pictures and emails and over all secondary evidence for the interview.

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

Thank you all for your words of support and encouragement!!

It is funny, but my dad said the same thing about the lawyer...that he did not know what he was talking about!!

I disagree with your dad and the other posters. I presume the lawyer knows exactly what he is talking about. For him to handle immigration cases and NOT know he is lying to you is preposterous. The lawyer is not ignorant, he is lying. Telling you the truth would not be conducive to you giving him large amounts of your money.

Be advised, NOTHING the lawyer can do would reduce the wait time of any application, whether you marry the man first or not. If you feel you cannot do it yourself, then pay someone that doesn't lie to you. I wold suggest a visa service that has more experience and actually handles VISAS. This is not a process requiring an attorney, it requires someone honest and knowledgeable. Anyone faling on either of those two qualifications should be eliminated from consideration.

It should not be assumed lawyers that handle immigration filings do "not have a clue". Assume they are lying. It is to their benefit to LIE, it is not to their benefit to be ignorant. They do this for THEIR benefit.

[Ursa Tripudio 2]

I'll risk being contentious about lawyers.

We went through the process without ever paying for legal services. America is not much fonder of China then it is of Iran, it was not a major setback.

Lawyers love clients like us: It's easy money. Most are not going to tell you that you don't need them; on the contrary, they will tell you that you cannot succeed without them (even if you're their first immigration client and they are using VJ to get information).

If you feel you need personal assistance: Lutheran or Catholic Social Services is a good option. They're non-profit, charge little, have experience, and really can help.

[C and Lore 3]

I agree with Gary. The lawyer is more likely than not using a dirty trick of inflating the necessary time of processing to get you to take a lawyer. Through careful planning, saving of records, sending of required information, following of instructions, and clarifying anything not understood with those whom have successfully cleared the hurdles required you should be able to file on your own.

All necessary information to file and be prepared is out there on the internet. It's up to you to find it, decipher it, use it, and discard any possible incorrect info (from those not knowledgable/mistaken)

Prior to my filing I had lawyers giving me exaggerated information regarding my filing as to what they could do. Its called trying to sell your services. Weigh what info people give. People do everything for a reason. Weigh there benefits for giving you info. With a lawyer, prior to getting your dime its likely to be for the purpose of landing your business for the long road ahead.

[aoifemc 2]

This is true... i got in contact with a lawyer who told me he could have me in the states exactly 5 months from applying.. of course now i know having a lawyer makes absolutely no difference to how long your visa will take. i would only use a lawyer if there was something definitely stopping your fiance from coming over, like a criminal record, but otherwise dont get one!!!

[katydoll 0]

I'm not sure what the lawyer was trying to say....He just mentioned that he would NOT recommend me to do the Fiance Visa...He said it would take longer to get him here and including the fact he is from Iran could take years...he said it would be faster to marry and then apply. This was just from a free consultation that he said all this to me. I think I am just going to file the I-129F and if it starts to look like it is going to take forever...I either move there or get married and go that route