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Lawyer or No Lawyer

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271 members have voted

  1. 1. Did you/are you using a Lawyer for your Visa process


58 posts in this topic

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Karee Grand Master

Karee   4,190

Posted
Filed: Citizen (apr) Country: Thailand
 Timeline
Posted

There's a time and place for everything.......:blink:

Most case's are easily done without one. I feel sorry for anyone who had a bad experience with their lawyer, but the attorney didn't choose them, they chose the attorney, so who's fault is it really?

So by that logic if you buy a car and the engine falls out the next day, it's the buyers fault?

You can click on the 'X' to the right to ignore this signature.

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Karee
Karee

I used a lawyer. It was a nightmare. He set me back 3 months minimum. I had to correct him at every step with info I got here on VJ. $1800 down the drain.

Lalo & Susana
Lalo & Susana

DO NOT HIRE A LAWYER! I actually spoke to USCIS in person and he said that hiring a lawyer is not only a waste of money but a waste of time. They tell you hiring a lawyer makes your visa process faste

CANtoUSlove
CANtoUSlove

Never... I saw way to many horror stories to ever put my faith in one. My husband and I did everything ourselves, and it allowed for us to have total control and correspondance with the folks at the U

NikLR Grand Master

NikLR   13,227

Posted
Filed: Lift. Cond. (apr) Country: Canada
 Timeline
Posted

If you don't do research or get the car checked out, it certainly is!

You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose.  - Dr. Seuss

 

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Stuart and Katie Enthusiast

Stuart and Katie   13

Posted
Filed: Citizen (apr) Country: United Kingdom
 Timeline
Posted

i used a lawyer for a free initial consultation, but don't think we're going to hire one. visajourney has all we need to know :D

11/01/12 - I-129F sent
11/14/12 - NOA1 (email/text)
11/19/12 - NOA1 (paper)
05/17/13 - NOA2 (email/text)
05/22/13 - NOA2 (paper)
05/29/13 - Case forwarded to NVC
06/04/13 - Case forwarded to US Embassy, London
06/06/13 - Medical
06/12/13 - Packet 3 received
06/13/13 - Packet 3 sent
06/25/13 - Packet 4 received
07/19/13 - Interview
07/26/13 - Visa received
08/09/13 - POE (IAD)
08/31/13 - Wedding heart.gif
10/03/13 - I-485 & I-765 sent
10/10/13 - NOA1 (email/text)
10/15/13 - NOA1 (paper)
11/12/13 - I-485 & I-765 Biometrics

12/03/13 - EAD approval

12/10/13 - EAD received

02/22/14 - Green Card approval
03/01/14 - Green Card received

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BenAna Explorer

BenAna   0

Posted
Filed: Citizen (apr) Country: Brazil
 Timeline
Posted

We have been through K-1, AOS and ROC and did everything ourselves, never needed a lawyer.

BenAna's Full Timeline

Removal of Conditions

05/06/2012 - Window opens

05/22/2012 - Mailed I-751 via USPS with delivery confirmation

05/23/2012 - Arrived @ CSC

06/06/2012 - Check cashed

06/07/2012 - NOA1 dated 5/23/2012

06/27/2012 - Biometrics Letter (dated 6/25/2012) for 7/12/2012

07/12/2012 - Biometrics taken

08/06/2012 - Conditional Green Card expired

12/28/2012 - Green Card APPROVED!!!!

01/02/2013 - Approval email received

01/07/2013 - GC received!

pkoym7.png

2Y9Hm7.png

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X Factor Grand Master

X Factor   1,112

Posted
Filed: AOS (apr) Country: Philippines
 Timeline
Posted

No lawyer just VJ

Sent I-129 Application to VSC 2/1/12
NOA1 2/8/12
RFE 8/2/12
RFE reply 8/3/12
NOA2 8/16/12
NVC received 8/27/12
NVC left 8/29/12
Manila Embassy received 9/5/12
Visa appointment & approval 9/7/12
Arrived in US 10/5/2012
Married 11/24/2012
AOS application sent 12/19/12

AOS approved 8/24/13

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N M Enthusiast

N M   96

Posted
Filed: Citizen (apr) Country: United Kingdom
 Timeline
Posted

No lawyer just VJ

This ^^^^^^^^^.

Just fully completed my (near) 4 year journey from the initial K1 petition to naturalization.

No lawyer involvement at any stage.

No RFE's.

Just VJ.

All said, a very, very, smooth process. Thank you VJ community!

11-24-2006 Annette and I meet in Rome

09-09-2008 Engaged!

01-30-2009 Fiance petition filed

03-22-2009 Fiance petition approved. Case moves to U.S. embassy in London

04-01-2009 Package received from U.S. embassy in London

06-01-2009 Visa Medical (London)

06-23-2009 K1 Visa Interview (London)

06-27-2009 Passport returned by embassy. K1 Visa received!!

07-04-2009 Fly to Denver (port of entry - Houston, TX)

07-25-2009 We are married (the joint happiest day of my life)

08-07-2009 Social Security number obtained

08-20-2009 AOS, Advanced Parole and Employment Authorization forms filed

09-24-2009 Biometrics appointment (Aurora, CO)

10-05-2009 Advanced Parole received

10-09-2009 Employment Authorization received

10-13-2009 Colorado Learner's permit obtained and driving test scheduled

10-21-2009 Driving test taken and passed

11-30-2009 Green Card Interview (Centennial, CO)

12-08-2009 Green Card received

01-04-2010 Employed

01-28-2011 Our daughter is born (the other happiest day of my life)!

11-21-2011 Filed for Removal of Conditions

12-28-2011 Biometrics appointment (Aurora, CO)

03-16-2012 Card production ordered

03-23-2012 Card received

09-04-2012 Application for Naturalization filed

10-05-2012 Biometrics appointment (Aurora, CO)

12-11-2012 Naturalization Interview (Centennial, CO)

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FlipgalRN Collaborator

FlipgalRN   19

Posted
Filed: Citizen (apr) Country: Canada
 Timeline
Posted

We used a lawyer for our GC process since it was employment based but no lawyer for our citizenship process.

Our Naturalization Journey (Detailed timeline in About Me section)

01/14/2013 Mailed N-400 to Phoenix, AZ Lockbox
01/18/2013 N-400 fees check cashed
01/18/2013 NOA Received (Biometrics appointment)
02/04/2013 Early Biometrics (Original date 02/14/2013)
02/07/2013 Status changed to in line for interview
02/13/2013 Received 2nd NOA (Interview scheduled)
02/15/2013 Received yellow letter from USCIS to bring DL
03/18/2013 N-400 Interview
03/20/2013 Status changed to in que for Oath ceremony
03/29/2013 Status changed to Oath ceremony scheduled and letter sent
04/01/2013 Received Oath Letter
04/09/2013 Oath Ceremony (N-400 completed in 2 months 3 weeks and 5 days)

event.png

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indiana_sweetie Proficient

indiana_sweetie   120

Posted
Filed: IR-1/CR-1 Visa Country: Kosova
 Timeline
Posted

We used a lawyer because I didn't understand the process and I didn't know about VJ until after filing. I would say our lawyer has been ok, her fee was reasonable, but looking back, if I had known about VJ I probably would have done the paperwork myself. She was way off-base concerning the time-frames.

XMY93gI.jpgXMY9m5.png

AAD1m5.pngThankYouUSA-Kosova.jpg

See my Timeline for details of our visa journey
17-Aug-2011 Our Wedding Day in Kosovo 
07-Nov-2011 Filed I-130
21-Nov-2011 NOA1
23-Aug-2012 NOA2 Approved 276 days
10-Jan-2013 Case complete via email

28-Feb-2013 Interview, result AP
11-Apr-2013 Embassy appointment - VISA APPROVED and issued in 4 hours
30-Apr-2013 POE Chicago O'Hare - He's home!

04-Sep-2014 Moved to northern California

12-Mar-2015 Filed ROC
16-Mar-2015 Documents delivered
18-Mar-2015 Check cashed
19-Mar-2015 NOA1 dated 03/16/2015 received in mail
13-Apr-2015 Biometrics completed
02-Feb-2016 Contacted USCIS about case, was told it's on hold because of security checks (email)
04-Mar-2016 Moved to Wisconsin
12-Aug-2016 New Biometrics appointment
14-Sep-2016 Contacted USCIS again about case (email said we should hear from them by Oct 6)
22-Sep-2016 Letter from USCIS dated 9/20 explaining the Service Request is currently being reviewed by an officer.
22-Sep-2016 Letter from USCIS dated 9/20 with Interview appointment for both of us for 28-Sep-2016
28-Sep-2016 Interview, both of us, separated, not hard, 10 min. each, result---said hubby will get GC in about 10 days
26-Oct-2016 *****STILL WAITING*****
02-Nov-2016 Card is being produced!!!
08-Nov-2016 Card is mailed
10-Nov-2016 Card is Delivered!!!! YAY
CITIZENSHIP: 

Biometrics appointment for 2020-03-27 has been cancelled until further notice as all field offices are closed because of COVID-19.

***NOA dated 12/10/2020 USCIS stated they are able to reuse previous Biometrics***

Interview was easy. My hubby's Oath Ceremony is scheduled for February 25th. I can't watch >sad< but happy he is getting his certificate!

25-FEB-2021 Oath Ceremony! My hubby is a Citizen!

 
 
 
 
 
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erynaught Explorer

erynaught   43

Posted
Filed: Timeline
Posted

Lawyers are like Accountants - you don't need one unless you're in a very complicated, quirky situation.

If you can read, write and understand basic concepts, then filling out the immigration paperwork is easier than filling out your tax forms (which aren't that hard either).

If you can garner a free consult, then it may provide peace of mind to have them give a cursory review to your paperwork and any particular questions you have, but from what I've seen I think you can do all that and more on this forum.

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dwinge Community Regular

dwinge   34

Posted
Filed: Lift. Cond. (pnd) Country: Singapore
 Timeline
Posted

We used a lawyer and are somewhat sorry we did, he's not very good at communicating.

I-129F Sent : 2012-11-02
I-129F NOA1 : 2012-12-06
I-129F RFE(s) : 2013-5-30
RFE Reply(s) : 2013-6-10
I-129F NOA2 : 2013-6-17
NVC Received : 2013-06-28
NVC Left : 2013-07-02
Consulate Received : 2013-07-08
Packet 3 Received : 2013-07-10
Packet 3 Sent : 2013-07-25
Packet 4 Received : 2013-08-24
Interview Date : 2013-09-13
Interview Result : Approved
Visa Received : 2013-09-23
US Entry : 2013-10-25

Marriage : 2013-11-16

Filed AOS
CIS Office : Santa Ana CA
Date Filed : 2013-12-05
NOA Date : 2013-12-12

Biometrics: 2013-12-26

Interview Date: 2014-04-07

EAD Approval: 2014-02-15

EAD Received: 2014-02-26

AP Approved: 2014-02-18

AP Received: 2014-02-26

I-751 Sent: 2016-01-09

I-751 NOA1: 2016-01-11

I-751 Biometrics: 2016-02-29

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Mockingjay Enthusiast

Mockingjay   10

Posted
Filed: F-2A Visa Country: Philippines
 Timeline
Posted

No lawyer since our case is never complicated. And I couldn't find anything on the relationship to get any red flag. 1. We met personally before he went to America 2. He came to see me 3 times 3. We have traveled together outside the country 4. We're of same age (26yo) 5. We talk everyday over the net on the entire ldr 6. Same religion 7. Married with both families present 8. We're on the same field of work so we have a lot in common

Visa Category: F2A

Country: Philippines

Lockbox: Chicago Lockbox

USCIS Service Center: California Service Center

I-130 Sent: November 5, 2013

NOA 1: November 8, 2013

NOA 2: February 5, 2014

Date Received by NVC: February 15, 2014

Case Number and IIN: April 2, 2014

DS-261/AOS Invoice Email: February 19, 2015

Paid AOS Fee: February 21, 2015

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