Immigration Lawyers..Worth it? Issues with them...

[Rebecca Jo 1,962]

Ohhhh, I thought you were describing the prerequisites for the Bar exam?

You know, I think that's uncalled for. It's a very very very tough examination. I've got a ball point pen and a higher IQ than that and I know it would take more than that to pass. I bet it's the same for you.

[Rebecca Jo 1,962]

Another choice is to use a visa service. Many lawyers in fact send their documents out to these visa service companies. I am using one and it was very beneficial because they made sure everything was detailed and correct before I submitted my package to USCIS. It caused me delays of about 2 weeks but their reasoning was better to be temporarily delayed than to get months into the process and then have USCIS find something wrong and they kick out your package all together or send an RFE that delays you for a month.

They saved me already on a few things, but I didn't know about many of the guidelines, etc. that you can find her on VJ or other immigration websites. So you might have caught some of those things I missed by using the guidelines here.

It's a personal call, but I wanted to make sure it was done correctly the first time since they indicate they have good working relationships with USEM etc. and they know what the folks at USEM are looking for and prepare their packages accordingly.

USCIS doesn't much care for visa service companies.

http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/menuitem.e8b24a3cec33ca34c48bfc10526e0aa0/?vgnextoid=b9563ab7b8f3b210VgnVCM10000025e6a00aRCRD&vgnextchannel=b9563ab7b8f3b210VgnVCM10000025e6a00aRCRD

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

Before you hire a lawyer, download the I-129f and the G-325a right here from this site. Read the questions. Which of those can an attorney answer? Unless the attorney is your brother the answer is NONE. This means you will sit with his clerk and give all the answers and the clerk will fill in the form. Any need for an attorney so far?

Now look at the documents needed to be submitted. Does the attorney have those? No? Big surprise. You mean the attorney you pay thousands to does not have your birth certificate? Your passport? Photos of you with your fiancee? Really? Hmmm. WHERE will he get those? Oh, yeah, FROM YOU! So how much are you willing to pay for his clerk to make copies of your stuff? (he will prbably charge extra for each copy he makes)

So here is the last part...YOU could stay up late tonight, Sunday night, and get the I-129f ready and go to the post office at 8 am tomorrow and mail it. When do you think the clerk will get to it?

You will be paying someone to do what you can easily do yourself and waiting for them to do it.

This is not a court process, there are no pleadings and no interoggatories, no depositions, no court appearances...just filling out two forms with personal information and sending them with copies of personal documents.

That's it.

[The Nature Boy 4,224]

And I am a bit ashamed to admit this. I hired a guy named L. Tod Schlosser for more money than I care to admit. He claimed to have offices in Manila etc etc. He did have someone review my application but I never heard from him again after the NoA2. Come to find out he has been disbarred in Illinois for fraud. I guess lesson learned.

Luckily since I basically did everything myself the only thing it cost me was $$$

http://cis.org/north/one-shady-immigration-lawyer-and-K1-petitions

[southcalhog 43]

I did and it was a waste of money. The K-1 process is straight forward and the Manila is not a hard Embassy. If you meet the the requirements and fill out the forms correctly you will have no problems.

:thumbs:

[Hank_ 9,174]

Ohhhh, I thought you were describing the prerequisites for the Bar exam?

So what is the difference between a lawyer and a carp?

[brian_n_phuong 193]

So what is the difference between a lawyer and a carp?

Now THATS uncalled for Hank !! Carp are God's Creatures!! They are an important part of the food chain, and don't even charge a retainer.

[brian_n_phuong 193]

You know, I think that's uncalled for. It's a very very very tough examination.

Yup, they must struggle with all those ethics questions.

[acuratlsd 11]

Well I am at the medical and Interview portion of the K-1. I have put together two packets for my fiancee visa so far.

I have came to the conclusion that anyone with common sense and data entry skills on a PDF file can file a simple K-1.

I was just wondering how many people went through a lawyer. Then, at the end hit their heads and said I can't believe I spent this much money

on something I could have done.

When I first wanted to do the K-1, I tried to go through Visa pro until they told me it was 1300, then you have the additional K-1 feels along with it.

It seems that when doing my K-1. I had to do most of the work, like 90% of it and then send it off to a lawyer so they can look over it, put it in the envelope and send it off.

The lawyer can't get your photos, fill out your 129F, evidence and Affidavit of support so it just seems he is doing very very little for 1500 dollars.

[brian_n_phuong 193]

.It seems that when doing my K-1. I had to do most of the work, like 90% of it and then send it off to a lawyer so they can look over it, put it in the envelope and send it off.

You mean so a "paralegal (if that) can look it over (for $1500)"

[acuratlsd 11]

You mean so a "paralegal (if that) can look it over (for $1500)"

Something like that LOL

I was just thinking. How much work I had to put in gathering the files. I had to do everything because they were important documents. Birth Certificates, Passports, ect. The lawyer has no control over there.

Thinking about it. I put everything in a folder, send it to him and then he says okay thank you for the 1500 dollars and sends it off to NVC.

If it is just a simple K-1. You can cut out a middle man and save 1500 dollars.

And here they want us to take lawyers seriously and trust them; Here they are ripping people off left and right.

I need to get into the business of immigration. I'll be making some big bucks.

Edited February 12, 2012 by acuratlsd

[brian_n_phuong 193]

I need to get into the business of immigration. I'll be making some big bucks.

Actually immigration law is not as lucrative as most think. The competition comes from all over the country (world?) via the internet, so you would not just be fighting the local guys for business. Also the payoffs are small. Yes $1500 is a lot to you and I, but it takes LOTS of $1500 clients to pay the bills at the end of the month. Have a few slow months and the rent, utilities, and legal assistants don't get paid. There is generally no big court payout to ride them through the slow times, and they depend on quantity over quality. Some of the more lucrative immigration attorneys get through by finding a niche (a particular country or language of expertise), or have mastered their marketing skills via Facebook, blogs. etc to get their name out to potential clients.

[acuratlsd 11]

Actually immigration law is not as lucrative as most think. The competition comes from all over the country (world?) via the internet, so you would not just be fighting the local guys for business. Also the payoffs are small. Yes $1500 is a lot to you and I, but it takes LOTS of $1500 clients to pay the bills at the end of the month. Have a few slow months and the rent, utilities, and legal assistants don't get paid. There is generally no big court payout to ride them through the slow times, and they depend on quantity over quality. Some of the more lucrative immigration attorneys get through by finding a niche (a particular country or language of expertise), or have mastered their marketing skills via Facebook, blogs. etc to get their name out to potential clients.

I guess you are right. As a side job it wouldn't be so bad. It is actually pretty fun if you think about it. The only hard part starting out is getting people to trust you.

Giving them your personal background and credentials is a no no. I look at it this way. Even the bigger companies screw up.

I have seen many of companies like military, steam, ect. to loose credit card information because someone hacked their systems.

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

Well I am at the medical and Interview portion of the K-1. I have put together two packets for my fiancee visa so far.

I have came to the conclusion that anyone with common sense and data entry skills on a PDF file can file a simple K-1.

I was just wondering how many people went through a lawyer. Then, at the end hit their heads and said I can't believe I spent this much money

on something I could have done.

When I first wanted to do the K-1, I tried to go through Visa pro until they told me it was 1300, then you have the additional K-1 feels along with it.

It seems that when doing my K-1. I had to do most of the work, like 90% of it and then send it off to a lawyer so they can look over it, put it in the envelope and send it off.

The lawyer can't get your photos, fill out your 129F, evidence and Affidavit of support so it just seems he is doing very very little for 1500 dollars.

Exactly my point which is why almost all of the people later hit themselves on the head. There is really nothing for an attorney to do.

And do not forget that there are multiple other steps and the visa is the easiest one. Are you going to hire an attorney for the AOS? The RoC? The citizenship? For us the most challenging part, at least in terms of what they wanted to see and what they asked in the interview was the citizenship. But because we had done everything ourselves and KNEW all the documents it was no problem for Alla all by herself.

You also have to consider that the other challenges of life, getting a drivers license, getting an education, learning English (if applicable) ALL of that is far more challenging than the visa application...where is your attorney for that? Are you going to get an attorney for college applications, dealing with the DMV, the SS admistration? And wait until you find out that at least with USCIS you are dealing with trained people who know their jobs and understand the immigration process...not at all the same with DMV, college admissions, SS adminstration. You often have to hack through layers of untrained clerks...how do you do that if you do not understand the process? Call the lawyer?

These attorneys are basically bottom feeders two clicks below ambulance chasers

Edited February 13, 2012 by Gary and Alla

[virola 4]

I also want to put a plug in for free legal advice that seems to be readily available in many large cities with substantial immigrant populations. There are many free clinics (sometimes offered from churches or immigrant foundations) where immigration lawyers are are willing to talk you through your process and take a look at your final application. I personally used one of these services in Boston and think I benefited from it. Though I'm the first to admit it was not absolutely necessary, it gave me substantial peace of mind to know that somebody who processes this sort of paperwork for a living (and usually with much more complicated cases than mine) looked over everything I submitted. VJ has been invaluable to me, but there's something to be said by one-on-one contact. (Also, these lawyers are not in their field for the $$, but to help immigrants charitably.. therefore, they all seemed friendly!)

Note, in my experience, lawyers at these clinics do not charge a fee, nor do they compile your paperwork-- they do not sign your application. But they are happy to look it over for errors.

For anyone interested in the Boston area, here is a link: http://www.iiicenter.org/what-we-do/immigration-legal-services/

Also, I live with a bunch of law students who do nothing but study, study, study. I do not think they would appreciate some of the snide comments on this thread. Not every lawyer is in it for the money, and I doubt immigration-related law is a real breadwinner. You have to get into corporate law for that.