desperate for advice!

[tklove27 0]

Hi guys!

I've been reading a lot on this topic and still not sure what to do...

I'm applying for CR-1 for my husband who is a Bangladeshi citizen living in Canada.

I don't think our case is complicated so:

Should we hire a lawyer, or not??

-I was thinking the main benefit would be that the lawyer would be someone to double/triple check that all the forms are filled out correctly and that all the proper documents are submitted..

-also another benefit might be that the NVC may give a harder time to applicants when they see they don't have a lawyer defending them, not sure if this is true though?

Cons to hiring a lawyer

-i know the process is actually filling out a few forms, all the supporting evidence, and I think I feel comfortable enough to fill them all out on my own accurately. Especially with all the information available about the forms and process from the government sites themselves. I'm a resident doctor in family medicine and have spent a lot of my life filling out forms, following protocol etc,

So I am not sure that spending an extra 2-3thousand for a lawyer would be worth it, on top of my 100thou + student loan debt!

Please I need some insight from your personal experiences! Anyone who didn't hire a lawyer and wish they did? Anyone who did hire a lawyer and found that the lawyer helped them above and beyond the info available online/visa journey?

Please help with your comments!

Thanks

~tasmia~

[canadian_wife 1,808]

You are not on trial so the lawyer is not 'defending' you

This is a DYI site, totally can do it on your own and there is no guarentee that your forms will be flawless if a lawyer does it. They make mistakes too

We had a lawyer, waste of money

Good luck

[Rushton50 10]

Hi guys!

I've been reading a lot on this topic and still not sure what to do...

I'm applying for CR-1 for my husband who is a Bangladeshi citizen living in Canada.

I don't think our case is complicated so:

Should we hire a lawyer, or not??

-I was thinking the main benefit would be that the lawyer would be someone to double/triple check that all the forms are filled out correctly and that all the proper documents are submitted..

-also another benefit might be that the NVC may give a harder time to applicants when they see they don't have a lawyer defending them, not sure if this is true though?

Cons to hiring a lawyer

-i know the process is actually filling out a few forms, all the supporting evidence, and I think I feel comfortable enough to fill them all out on my own accurately. Especially with all the information available about the forms and process from the government sites themselves. I'm a resident doctor in family medicine and have spent a lot of my life filling out forms, following protocol etc,

So I am not sure that spending an extra 2-3thousand for a lawyer would be worth it, on top of my 100thou + student loan debt!

Please I need some insight from your personal experiences! Anyone who didn't hire a lawyer and wish they did? Anyone who did hire a lawyer and found that the lawyer helped them above and beyond the info available online/visa journey?

Please help with your comments!

Thanks

~tasmia~

To be honest its down to the individual, if you will sleep better at night knowing it will be ok then go for the attorney, we on the otherhand did not, we did the I130 ourselves with the help of the wikilink at the top....2-3k can not be justified in our case as we are now in our 4th month of waiting on the USCIS stage of the process so we managed it well enough.

There is a saying in woodworking measure twice, cut once the same will apply to your petition, check twice even three times and send once.

If you are confident with filling in forms of this nature then go for it.

We have an attorney for advisory purposes only and has checked our paperwork over for the NVC stage and will be ready with any wiaver should we need, but he says we should be ok....its horses for courses if you know the saying!

[Wayne and Claudia 40]

I had a lawyer and never regretted it. The main advantage for me was time savings: My wife and I filled out a long form of questions from the attorney and gathered the documents he asked for. We really never heard much from that point except to sign a form here and there or to begin gathering the next document. The lawyer's paralegal did make a mistake and submitted a wrong form which cost us some time so the process isn't perfect. My time is so crunched due to my travel schedule I never regretted hiring him.