Lawyer/Attorney really needed for K-1 process?

[tellemfred 0]

Hello all,

I plan on sending in my I-129F form in mid-October. I live in NYC, and my girlfriend lives in Montreal. We have both drowned ourselves in information relating to this entire process (I must say that after months of reading, this is by far the most helpful website).

At some points, it looks as if having an attorney to help the situation is a good idea, and other times it seems like this is possible to do ourselves. Reading a lot of your posts and timelines really puts me at ease with a lot of my concerns, but it is hard to see who had help and who didn't.

Does it really make the process go quicker/easier? We both are extremely competent people, and it looks like as long as you follow the yellow brick road, everything should work out.

Any advice? Thanks in advance, and thanks to everyone for your stories and thoughts that I have already read. It's a nice feeling to know there are many of us out there who just want to be with the ones we love.

[kitkat1 5]

tellemfred,

If your case is straightforward and you feel comfortable gathering/organizing all of the information (you would have to do the same if you use an attorney), making the copies and sending it yourself, there is zero need for an attorney. It's not worth the money when it's quite simple to do on your own (barring any difficult circumstances and even then, you really don't need an attorney all the time). Using one will not make the process go any faster. Since you are in NYC, your petition will go through Vermont - they are known to be the fastest so you are in good shape. Save you cash and good luck!

[homesick_american 1]

tellemfred,

If your case is straightforward and you feel comfortable gathering/organizing all of the information (you would have to do the same if you use an attorney), making the copies and sending it yourself, there is zero need for an attorney. It's not worth the money when it's quite simple to do on your own (barring any difficult circumstances and even then, you really don't need an attorney all the time). Using one will not make the process go any faster. Since you are in NYC, your petition will go through Vermont - they are known to be the fastest so you are in good shape. Save you cash and good luck!

I agree. Our case is pretty straightforward too. We never considered using an attorney; between the two of us we have three degrees and speak five languages, I figure we should be able to fill in some forms. I didn't even come to this site until after our interview and medical, and that was only because I was freaking out because the doc asked for a letter from hubby's GP over his depression.

(Since his depression was described by his GP as 'mild' and there's no harmful behavior, I'm reasonably confident we'll be approved very soon.)

But to get back to the original topic...kitkat is right!

[dougyceci 0]

If you are as you say competent, do it yourself, follow the directions, check and re-check and all should be fine. I have practiced law, but no longer, and this seems to me be very straight forward, fill out the forms and if you have any questions, look hear first, this is a great resource. I can't say what to do but if you feel comfortable with filling out the forms and gathering the info, have a go at it, you can always get an attorney if you change your mind. This is of course if you have a real straight forward case and no skeletons in the closet. Good luck

Doug

[markvv7 0]

Hello all,

I plan on sending in my I-129F form in mid-October. I live in NYC, and my girlfriend lives in Montreal. We have both drowned ourselves in information relating to this entire process (I must say that after months of reading, this is by far the most helpful website).

At some points, it looks as if having an attorney to help the situation is a good idea, and other times it seems like this is possible to do ourselves. Reading a lot of your posts and timelines really puts me at ease with a lot of my concerns, but it is hard to see who had help and who didn't.

Does it really make the process go quicker/easier? We both are extremely competent people, and it looks like as long as you follow the yellow brick road, everything should work out.

Any advice? Thanks in advance, and thanks to everyone for your stories and thoughts that I have already read. It's a nice feeling to know there are many of us out there who just want to be with the ones we love.

I filed a I-130 after marrying my wife in China, where there is a lot more scrutiny and suspicion than a canadian applicant will receive. I used an attorney, in fact I used two! The first one simply told me to go to China and get married and then file without any advice about documenting the relationship. I then switched to a chinese-american attorney originally from HK since I thought her command of the chinese written language would be helpful since on Chinese immigration application some parts have to be completed in that language. She was a huge disappointment, and actually delayed things by not being proactive about anticipating the the next thing to do. I later discovered this site, and a specifically chinese immigration site and have had more help from the people on the sites than the lawyer ever provided. My advice is that if you have a simple case without any previous visa applications, or marital problems still with any past marriages, you are better off doing it yourself. Get the Nolo Press book "Fiance and marriage Visa's", post questions, and save yourself money. I'm sure there are some good, helpful attorney's out there, but I don't think you need them unless you run into problems. Best of luck, I'm off to China in two weeks for my wife's interview and if she passes we'll be coming home together just shy of two years after we married.

[homesick_american 1]

Hello all,

I plan on sending in my I-129F form in mid-October. I live in NYC, and my girlfriend lives in Montreal. We have both drowned ourselves in information relating to this entire process (I must say that after months of reading, this is by far the most helpful website).

At some points, it looks as if having an attorney to help the situation is a good idea, and other times it seems like this is possible to do ourselves. Reading a lot of your posts and timelines really puts me at ease with a lot of my concerns, but it is hard to see who had help and who didn't.

Does it really make the process go quicker/easier? We both are extremely competent people, and it looks like as long as you follow the yellow brick road, everything should work out.

Any advice? Thanks in advance, and thanks to everyone for your stories and thoughts that I have already read. It's a nice feeling to know there are many of us out there who just want to be with the ones we love.

I filed a I-130 after marrying my wife in China, where there is a lot more scrutiny and suspicion than a canadian applicant will receive. I used an attorney, in fact I used two! The first one simply told me to go to China and get married and then file without any advice about documenting the relationship. I then switched to a chinese-american attorney originally from HK since I thought her command of the chinese written language would be helpful since on Chinese immigration application some parts have to be completed in that language. She was a huge disappointment, and actually delayed things by not being proactive about anticipating the the next thing to do. I later discovered this site, and a specifically chinese immigration site and have had more help from the people on the sites than the lawyer ever provided. My advice is that if you have a simple case without any previous visa applications, or marital problems still with any past marriages, you are better off doing it yourself. Get the Nolo Press book "Fiance and marriage Visa's", post questions, and save yourself money. I'm sure there are some good, helpful attorney's out there, but I don't think you need them unless you run into problems. Best of luck, I'm off to China in two weeks for my wife's interview and if she passes we'll be coming home together just shy of two years after we married.

Two years??? Yikes!

Good luck!

[wanthimhere 0]

If you're good at following directions do it yourself

[joeyjoey 1]

If you and your Fiancee are without criminal records and your case is like most of us (file I-129F and wait!), then I would suggest you do it yourself. It did not make send for us to use a Lawyer when the paperwork to file was only $170! The Lawyer cannot make the process go any faster. Heck, they make errors too!

The process to date, with the information found here at VisaJourney, makes a K-1 Visa a do-it-yourself project.

[tellemfred 0]

Thanks so much to everyone who responded. I guess looking at all the lawyer websites and reading the scare tactics can get a person nervous.

I have to say that after reading countless threads on here, it really does seem like you're all here for oneanother and this is great place to find help along the way. I love the timelines too, they really help give me a sense of what's to come.

Thanks again guys!