Hiring an immigration lawyer or filing yourself?

[canadian7 1]

I'm curious as to if you guys found any advantages in hiring an immigration lawyer or filing yourself?

Do you submit all your supporting documents with the I-29 including supporting evidence such as emails, phone bills etc, etc.

I have so many questions but I will start with that!

[turtlegirl 6]

If you follow the guidelines here and ask questions for clarification, there is no reason why you cannot file it yourself. (Assuming you don't have anything super strange about your case that would require a lawyer- if you have a question about a scenario, then ask specific to that.) From the posts I've read on here, it seems that lawyers only seem to delay the petition, since they don't know your case as well as you do, and aren't as invested in it as you are (even if you are paying them an arm and a leg.) I'm not an attorney and I filed mine, double checked my list, triple checked it, and made it through just fine with no RFEs and no delays. Just had to wait like everyone else.

Good luck!

[NikLR 13,227]

Unless you have prior arrests, bans etc.. you likely do not need an attorney. If you have problems with comprehension or are just low on time period, that also might be a reason to hire an attorney.

Which consulate would you be having your interview at? Vancouver or Montreal? In the Canada forum there is a K1 guide just for Canadians going to Montreal. http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/327503-canada-immigration-k1-guide-for-montreal/

[Darnell 8,478]

I'll suggest a coupla things, maybe (maybe...) help you to decide whether you need an attorney or not.

a. read the VJ guides. map the steps out on paper and pencil. See if anything doesn't make sense to you.

b. Read the USCIS web portal about the forms. Map out the steps on paper and pencil. See if anything doesn't make sense to you.

c. Practice filling out the forms, at least 5 times. See if anything still doesn't make sense to you.

d. Have any red flags? Practice writing up attestation letters about each red flag.

Now, after doing (with major emphasis on DOING ) all of the above, if you do NOT understand the forms and the process and potential red flags for your petition,

then I'd suggest getting a good IMMIGRATION lawyer. You are concerned with time, I am concerned with your 'knowledge acquisition', as knowledge is power. You can have 'it' good, fast or cheap - pick 2.

Welcome to VJ, btw - this is a GREAT DIY Immigration Web Portal, with emphasis on 'Y', and 'D'.

[TBoneTX 45,304]

Besides what Darnell has recommended just above, there are dozens and dozens of threads on VisaJourney about the exact same issue. The search function is your friend.

[lost_at_sea 995]

We hired and then fired a lawyer because they screwed up. I am now adamant that I know more about immigration family processes through this website than the 4 different lawyers we've consulted with over the last year.

[Pitaya 2,577]

Since this is primarily a DIY immigration site, this probably isn't the site for you to necessarily receive impartial responses to your line of inquiry. That being said, I generally agree with previous responses.

Good luck on your immigration journey.

[Hank_ 9,174]

I have read many responses from those that had hired lawyers ... most would love to add one more "to the bottom of the ocean"

The GUIDE here is very helpful, as are the folks. K-I GUIDE

[DavidLovesPheap 6]

You have the option of hiring a lawyer, but I've heard lots of stories on the forums of lawyers screwing up. I would recommend you do it yourself, but do it smart. Read the guides, the instructions, everything you can, and double check everything. I got my petition approved in 4 months with no RFEs, and I did not use a lawyer. If you do hire a lawyer, don't just trust them that they'll do everything correctly, double check everything they do. Since it means you have to know the ins and outs anyways, just do it yourself.

[DeeTim1642 1]

I'm curious as to if you guys found any advantages in hiring an immigration lawyer or filing yourself?

Do you submit all your supporting documents with the I-29 including supporting evidence such as emails, phone bills etc, etc.

I have so many questions but I will start with that!

Don't hire a lawyer its a waste of money, if you read all the instructions on here carefully you can do it yourself!

For supporting documents I submitted a few photos, some e-tickets for flights and hotel, all the dates we saw each other and proof we went to the same univeristy. (No phone bills or emails) and this was enough for us!

Feel free to reach out to me if you have any questions! good luck

[canadian7 1]

Thanks everyone! I would be doing the interview in Montreal.

[cee-gee 20]

We hired a lawyer (long story, but we thought it was the right decision at the time), BIG MISTAKE!

I regret it and although we are waiting on our noa2 (it's still early in our journey- hoping to recieve noa2 later this month), I have found a couple of mistakes in the papers we filed. This could potentially mean we could get a rfe. Fingers crossed that we don't, but it is a possibilty. That frustrates me a little bit because I am a perfectionist and I would have made sure the papers would have been flawless (I didn't see the papers before they were filed as I was not in the us at the time.) It is also frustrating to hear our lawyer say that if we were to receive a rfe, it's not a big deal... It might not be a big deal to her, because it's not affecting her. It's putting my life and my fiancés life on hold. We hired you for a reason, we didn't want little mistakes that could have been prevented to slow down the process. As the lawyer should have checked all papers before filing- so we basically paid $2500 (for the first of three phases) for her to print forms that are readily available online and mail them for us? Sounds like a deal!

Sorry, I'm still a little salty about it; hard to tell lol

As everyone else has mentioned, unless you have any red flags; you can file everything yourself. And probably do a better job (as you will probably be more diligent!)

I only wish I had found vj before we decided to go the lawyer route, the one good part is that we hired our lawyer in phases, so when we receive our noa2, goodbye lawyer!!!

And I know getting a rfe isn't the worst thing that could happen (at least we know our file was touched!), it just slows everything down.

Sorry, rant over.

Good luck on your journey!

[Sandra5 0]

We have the same (negative) experience! Just got dissapointing news today from our lawyer - it's been 4 months since we've contacted her and when I asked her for a 'receipt number', after two weeks I got a reply that she is still working on getting the receipt number.

And just a consultation from you guys - you get the 'receipt number' as soon as you appy, as a confirmation youy application is accepted for processing?! I guess this means she hasn't sent the application yet. and we could have been approved by now!!!

We felt we'll be more comfortable with a lawyer since my fiance is working overseas, to handle the documents for us.

Do you have any positive experience with immigration lawyers and have someone you can reccomend to us?