K1 visa, just starting.

[bigdog 376]

Hey all, new here. My fiance and I are just starting the F1 visa journey, should be fun...not, lol. I am American, she is Filipina. We've known each other for going on 2 years. We've met in person twice, once in May in Manila and in July in Bangkok. I've met her family and we are very much in love.

She has never been married, no kids, no criminal record. I am divorced, with 3 grown kids, no criminal record.

I interviewed several immigration lawyers, I live in the DC/Balt area. I have chosen Matthew Glinsmann of Gaithersburg. His firm is high recommended. I had an initial meeting and went over all particulars. Got a good vibe from him, the only thing is the fees..the seem high, but maybe not. He charges a little over 4k to secure the F1 visa, then more if we do the green card once here.

I don't mind paying for excellent service, but man, that seems a lot, but is it worth it? Do we need to go this route? Any advise would be helpful.

You can do this yourself. Follow the directions on VJ and USCIS web site. Save the money you wold pay for an attorney.

[Akaitay 2]

Wow 4k..? Definitely a rip off, you can definitely do it yourself, this website is all you need. Your right save that money for your wedding. Having a lawyer speeds up nothing. Check out the k1 visa guide on here. Gather everything they require and send it off. Your pockets will be happier in the end that you didn't choose the lawyer route. Lawyers will say anything to get your $$. Plus any questions you have ppl on this site are willing to answer... Free of charge! Lol... Wish u guys the best! Good luck with your journey!

[Ron and Rhea 42]

You can do this yourself. Follow the directions on VJ and USCIS web site. Save the money you wold pay for an attorney.

Thanks....!!

[Ron and Rhea 42]

Wow 4k..? Definitely a rip off, you can definitely do it yourself, this website is all you need. Your right save that money for your wedding. Having a lawyer speeds up nothing. Check out the k1 visa guide on here. Gather everything they require and send it off. Your pockets will be happier in the end that you didn't choose the lawyer route. Lawyers will say anything to get your $$. Plus any questions you have ppl on this site are willing to answer... Free of charge! Lol... Wish u guys the best! Good luck with your journey!

Akaitay, no it was over 4k, about 4600.00 and then if we wanted to do the greencard when she gets here the total for both would be over 8k...I was like, hmmmm, let me sleep on it.

But the advise I've been given here from you guys, why blow all that money for no reason...? We will for sure use you guys for help...you've already helped, thanks. And yes, 4k more for our wedding, haha

[Brit Abroad 166]

Hmmm .... the same advice I give to everyone else:-

You're going to PAY this guy to fill in a form with information that YOU provide, he'll give it back to you to check he hasn't made any mistakes. Then he'll ask YOU to go and get all the paperwork he needs to send as supporting evidence, photocopy it, mail your forms in and bill you mightily for the privilege.

You do the work, he sits back and counts his pot of gold. Don't fall for it, you can easily do this process with your fiancee, the same as the rest of us. The Guides section at the top of the page will walk you through it, and if you have questions, ask 'em here and you'll be bombarded with advice.

[spikedog 2]

When I started the process, it looked really complicated and I looked at lawyers too. After a week of looking at this site and the forms, I decided to try myself. You are going to spend about $2000 for fees anyway, so it is not cheap. I'm with everyone else, no lawyer needed unless you have some issues like a record or something.

I was just approved, so I know it works.

Good luck,

Jim

[bigdog 376]

You can do this yourself, just follow the directions here and read the instructions fro USCIS, you do not need to pay an attorney for K!. Keep three copies one for each of you and an extra for them in case they loose everything. Good luck,

[Ron and Rhea 42]

Hmmm .... the same advice I give to everyone else:-

You're going to PAY this guy to fill in a form with information that YOU provide, he'll give it back to you to check he hasn't made any mistakes. Then he'll ask YOU to go and get all the paperwork he needs to send as supporting evidence, photocopy it, mail your forms in and bill you mightily for the privilege.

You do the work, he sits back and counts his pot of gold. Don't fall for it, you can easily do this process with your fiancee, the same as the rest of us. The Guides section at the top of the page will walk you through it, and if you have questions, ask 'em here and you'll be bombarded with advice.

A great response, thanks 'BA'....I can see, you guys on here will help us along the way, and very fast responses. I actually mentioned to the lawyer I had found a site that seemed to be helpful if we did this on our own, visajourney...(I was a lurker for a while before joining recently)...when I mentioned the name of this site he just sorta did a, 'hmm'..and kept going, lol

[Ron and Rhea 42]

When I started the process, it looked really complicated and I looked at lawyers too. After a week of looking at this site and the forms, I decided to try myself. You are going to spend about $2000 for fees anyway, so it is not cheap. I'm with everyone else, no lawyer needed unless you have some issues like a record or something.

I was just approved, so I know it works.

Good luck,

Jim

Hey Jim, good point. There is no record for either of us, I have a divorce, that is it.

Can I ask, from start to finish, how long was your process, since your fiance is Filipina, (mine lives in Manila), thx.

You can do this yourself, just follow the directions here and read the instructions fro USCIS, you do not need to pay an attorney for K!. Keep three copies one for each of you and an extra for them in case they loose everything. Good luck,

Thanks bigdog, will heed your advise.

[bigdog 376]

Thank you P.A.T..we both are very good at such tasks and both intelligent, (she is way smarter than me truth be told)...Thanks for the tip on the Filipino regional, I will go there now.

My wife smarter also and better looking.

[Ron and Rhea 42]

My wife smarter also and better looking.

Too funny, the better looking part was given, lol

[Leatherneck 693]

Akaitay, no it was over 4k, about 4600.00 and then if we wanted to do the greencard when she gets here the total for both would be over 8k...I was like, hmmmm, let me sleep on it.

But the advise I've been given here from you guys, why blow all that money for no reason...? We will for sure use you guys for help...you've already helped, thanks. And yes, 4k more for our wedding, haha

Holy Mole! That is no small sum. Your effort to acquire the information and gather docs, you might as well fill in the blanks yourself. You'll feel better for having done it yourself. That is cash better saved and spent on your wedding, the honeymoon, airline tickets and the visa process.

VJ is more than a website...its a community, you will get lots of help here.

[Ron and Rhea 42]

Holy Mole! That is no small sum. Your effort to acquire the information and gather docs, you might as well fill in the blanks yourself. You'll feel better for having done it yourself. That is cash better saved and spent on your wedding, the honeymoon, airline tickets and the visa process.

VJ is more than a website...its a community, you will get lots of help here.

Hey Marine, Semper Fi....yea its a lot of 'chedda', no doubt. Good points for sure...I am finding out this site is not just a site, it IS a community of people who are trying to do the same thing. Seems like a lot of good folks on here.

[Florianns Man 7]

We finally made it without any lawyers though;-) My Ex-fiance (now my hubby) found this site and we both working together and study the guide as mentioned here in VJ. Get familiarize with the guide and surely you can do it too!

Also during our next stop which is our AOS journey we both accustomed with the entire process and less stressed as we finally made the first journey with flying colors!!!

Good Luck and welcome to VJ!

[Ron and Rhea 42]

We finally made it without any lawyers though;-) My Ex-fiance (now my hubby) found this site and we both working together and study the guide as mentioned here in VJ. Get familiarize with the guide and surely you can do it too!

Also during our next stop which is our AOS journey we both accustomed with the entire process and less stressed as we finally made the first journey with flying colors!!!

Good Luck and welcome to VJ!

So you're here now? I have to look up the acronyms, not sure what AOS is, greencard?