do i need a lawyer for k1 visa processing?

[marielac 7]

I emailed a lawyer. He charges 1800, plus filing fees. That's quite expensive. Is it bettr to have a lawyer? Because I will hire him if its faster or better. Please help. I really want my fiancee with me. Also, about how long would it take to have him here? Some say about 6 months. Is this true?

[Angelheart1962 6]

Hi marielac

We hired a lawyer - it is no better or faster if your case is straightforward. In fact ours cost us time as well as money because he kept sending us forms with incorrect information on, meaning we had to check everything. We still got an RFE because he needed to submit documentation he hadnt told us about.

I wouldnt bother.

Good luck!

[TwoCats 55]

I emailed a lawyer. He charges 1800, plus filing fees. That's quite expensive. Is it bettr to have a lawyer? Because I will hire him if its faster or better. Please help. I really want my fiancee with me. Also, about how long would it take to have him here? Some say about 6 months. Is this true?

It really depends on how comfortable you are with reading through not only the instructions for each form, but also the guides here and filling out the information yourself. I would say that if you are reasonably organized and you read all the information provided, it isn't a big deal to file them yourself. If you have an overstay, or an otherwise unusual or complex case, then you might want to lean towards getting a lawyer.

As far as I'm aware, it doesn't improve your chances of getting approved, or improve your speed through the process. Either way, I suggest you read the guides and the instructions yourself so you are familiar with the process and what needs to be on each form. That way even if you do get a lawyer, you can double check everything yourself.

Edited January 13, 2011 by TwoCats

[* Kristin * 49]

I haven't hired a lawyer for our case, as we are pretty straightforward.

On the other hand, a friend of mine is going through this, and she did.. only because he had some prior convictions and some issues with entering the US when he wasn't supposed to (long story)...

It will definitely take you longer than 6 months, as it takes at least 5 to receive your initial approval.. you're in for a bit of a wait!

[pushbrk 12,898]

I emailed a lawyer. He charges 1800, plus filing fees. That's quite expensive. Is it bettr to have a lawyer? Because I will hire him if its faster or better. Please help. I really want my fiancee with me. Also, about how long would it take to have him here? Some say about 6 months. Is this true?

Unless there's a legal problem, a lawyer certainly isn't required. If you are confident you can read carefully, interpret literally and respond accurately to questions and have the time and willingness to do your homework, you can probably do quite well on your own. If you have trouble with any of those things, you'd be better off with professional help but it need not necessarily be a lawyer.

[Praise5600 0]

I don't think you need a lawyer, if you carefully follow the directions and supply all the necessary documents. Do some research and read up about what you need to send to USCIS here at VJ. Create a checklist of itmes that you need and review your package several times before you submit.

that is what i did, and I did not get any RFEs. I have a friend who has applied for several of her family members and she does it all by herself. you just need to be careful and pay attention to detail. Save your money, you are going to need it for all the fees, medical, travel etc

GOOD LUCK!!

Edited January 14, 2011 by Praise5600

[pushbrk 12,898]

I don't think you need a lawyer, if you carefully follow the directions and supply all the necessary documents. Do some research and read up about what you need to send to USCIS here at VJ. Create a checklist of itmes that you need and review your package several times before you submit.

that is what i did, and I did not get any RFEs. I have a friend who has applied for several of her family members and she does it all by herself. you just need to be careful and pay attention to detail. Save your money, you are going to need it for all the fees, medical, travel etc

GOOD LUCK!!

My advice is to beware of strangers telling you what you need or do not need. They don't know you, so they definitely don't know your capabilities. Lots of people do it by themselves but none of them, so far, are "you". Lots of people were unwise to try it themselves. None of THEM were you either.

Edited January 14, 2011 by pushbrk

[iampatricias 17]

I agree with pushbrk - only you know what you are comfortable with.

We only hired a lawyer because we didn't know anything about the process or feel confident about doing it correctly. We still got an RFE, but personally, for me and me alone, I feel better knowing he's working through this with us and for us. Now that I've found this site, I guess we probably could've done it without him, but still, I'm more comfortable with our lawyer.

No lawyer, despite whatever s/he says can make this process go faster. And I haven't seen many members on this site who have gone from NOA1 to visa-in-hand in less than 6 months.

[Angela. 0]

A lawyer is definitely not faster or in my opinion better(for me it wouldn't be better, I know it's different for everyone) We were thinking about getting one, because we thought it would be easier or wouldn't make any mistakes, but I am glad we ended up doing it ourselves. Reading this forum helped a lot, I would of probably been lost without it. If you decide to do it on your own, be sure to do everything carefully and don't try to rush through it and make a checklist of everything you need to send with it.Good luck with whatever you choose!

[aynom 0]

This is a little older but wanted to add that we took our time looking for lawyers and paid a really outrageous amount (more then double what you were quoted). We thought it would help us with the comfort aspect but honestly I am so sorry we did.This firm has held us back at least a month with incorrect forms, information and simply having so many cases that we would not hear from them (except when they received our payment; heard from them that day). Each time we asked questions (three times in the past 5 months, by email) they would evenually respond with a short email and a link showing the process we had to go through and no answers to details we had pertaining to the I-864 when I was just starting a new position. EVERYTHING I have done to prepare is thanks only to VisaJourney in all candor and this hasn't changed. I know there can be better lawyers out there but am also certain, after having to do all the research and correct everything anyhow, that I could easily do it myself. No, the time is not faster with a lawyer at all (something we thought could help too).

[Ryan H 3,812]

Prior to today, the last post in this thread was over 3 years ago; closing old thread.