Personal experience

[miteshpatel 1]

Hello everyone here thought just to let everyone know here that please beware of certain laywers.

I am going to share my person experience here so in future no body gets fooled like me.

IF YOU DONT HAVE ANY PROBLEM IN YOUR CASE NEVER EVER APPOINT A LAWYER, bcoz it will only delay your case.

I appointed a lawyer named MICHAEL PHULWANI from New Jersey one of the best immigration lawyer So that my wife can get here at its earliest. I paid $3200 for my case.

He is one of the slowest lawyer, never communicate properly and if you ask for the status always gives you negative reply.

I see many members here get thier spouse quickly then me, even people who had filed after me getting thier visa.

NVC sent lawyer my Case number on Aug 6th and asked for futher processing. I called NVC on 4th and already got my case number and asked lawyer to email me the requirements of AOS, he said he have everything nothing required.

Now on 21st Aug he emailed me the required AOS documents. He is lazy and just delaying my case and always did such kind of thing throughout my whole process of case. Its been around 2 years since i filled.

I made a mistake of hiring him and paid my hard earned money just to get this sort of delays.

Now i feel like crying why i did that mistake.

So everyone here just letting you know that unless there is no problem in your case dont waste your hard earned money and god gifted time by hiring such lawyers.

[davenella 21]

Hello everyone here thought just to let everyone know here that please beware of certain laywers.

I am going to share my person experience here so in future no body gets fooled like me.

IF YOU DONT HAVE ANY PROBLEM IN YOUR CASE NEVER EVER APPOINT A LAWYER, bcoz it will only delay your case.

I appointed a lawyer named MICHAEL PHULWANI from New Jersey one of the best immigration lawyer So that my wife can get here at its earliest. I paid $3200 for my case.

He is one of the slowest lawyer, never communicate properly and if you ask for the status always gives you negative reply.

I see many members here get thier spouse quickly then me, even people who had filed after me getting thier visa.

NVC sent lawyer my Case number on Aug 6th and asked for futher processing. I called NVC on 4th and already got my case number and asked lawyer to email me the requirements of AOS, he said he have everything nothing required.

Now on 21st Aug he emailed me the required AOS documents. He is lazy and just delaying my case and always did such kind of thing throughout my whole process of case. Its been around 2 years since i filled.

I made a mistake of hiring him and paid my hard earned money just to get this sort of delays.

Now i feel like crying why i did that mistake.

So everyone here just letting you know that unless there is no problem in your case dont waste your hard earned money and god gifted time by hiring such lawyers.

I FEEL YOU!

I thought that a lawyer will be the solution. Will be like our guard that will check anc check and check every detail. That will communicate as their webpage said. Even a video on youtube saying how much they communicate with their costumers.... well.... NOT TRUE!

Right now i prefer not to make anything about it because even if i want to send her an email telling her how crapy her service was and put a comment on her page, i can't, she still have our future on her hands.

I understand you. They don't communicate, barely answer. In fact my lawyer hates me. I sent her an email 2 months ago because after investigating i start feeling that we will receive an RFE nad sent her an email. She told me that i should stop investigating that there is a reason why we payed her. what happen after 2 months? RFE!!! yuuuuup! ..... anyway ...

There is nothing we can do. The only advice i can give to you is be nice and polite. He have all those papers in his hand now.

Good luck!!!

[Faycel and Renee 30]

I work in law but not immigration law and you can make a complaint against them and if the state bar finds them at fault they will be reprimanded. At least voice your concerns, perhaps there are others just like you. Nothing beats a failure but a try.

Good luck

[Atif & Sana 3]

OMG this is horrible, Never knew that they are all about the money well good to know. Good luck to you i hope your wife gets here soon.

[Olive4870 10]

yes so true...my fiance also hired a lawyer he did pay $1500 expecting her to help us speed up the case and yet we got RFE after 6 mos of waiting, so disappointing!!! and we got an approval after 11 mos and 17 days...so horrible!!!

[miteshpatel 1]

Thank you all and lets pray everything gets fine.

[LoveMyTico 999]

GUYS.... Lawyers don't have any special "in" with the USCIS. What you are paying for is the document prep. Having an attorney doesn't put you in a priority bin. The attorney won't sit on the phone and get your NVC number. They wait for everything in the mail.

I have an attorney. I have a special circumstance and I definitely need him for the document prep but not until after our interview. He sent me an email last week with a checklist of things I will need for the NVC. I am an April filer. I'm not approved yet. He is on top of things. In the begining, I was also told the approval would be about 6 months. I have it in a few emails... but I was also told that nobody has any control over the approvals. He told me he was going by his experience. After being on this site for years, I know that the USCIS does what it wants. There are lots of threads on this site about having a lawyer.

Having an attorney doesn't mean you can sit back and do nothing. I have made 3 inquiries through my local senators office and I call tier 2 pretty often. I don't expect that from a lawyer. I want to know, so I get busy with phone calls.

[Terry J 50]

GUYS.... Lawyers don't have any special "in" with the USCIS. What you are paying for is the document prep. Having an attorney doesn't put you in a priority bin. The attorney won't sit on the phone and get your NVC number. They wait for everything in the mail.

I have an attorney. I have a special circumstance and I definitely need him for the document prep but not until after our interview. He sent me an email last week with a checklist of things I will need for the NVC. I am an April filer. I'm not approved yet. He is on top of things. In the begining, I was also told the approval would be about 6 months. I have it in a few emails... but I was also told that nobody has any control over the approvals. He told me he was going by his experience. After being on this site for years, I know that the USCIS does what it wants. There are lots of threads on this site about having a lawyer.

Having an attorney doesn't mean you can sit back and do nothing. I have made 3 inquiries through my local senators office and I call tier 2 pretty often. I don't expect that from a lawyer. I want to know, so I get busy with phone calls.

I totally agree with this post. I also have a lawyer due to mitigating circumstances that I personally would rather have a lawyer deal with. However this does not mean one should not double check everything the lawyer submits on your behalf such as forms or question the process. I verified the entire I-130 package before the lawyer submitted it and I caught an error; they are human. My lawyer didn't take it personally and was impressed that I am taking such an active role in the process.

This is my and my husband's future on line so I better be actively involved.

I read up on all the requirements for each stage and ensure we submit everything properly to avoid any potential RFE's. So could I have done this on my own without a lawyer? You bet! But when your case isn't a straightforward one and your visa approval hinges on a waiver approval, I will pay money to hire someone who is successful with those types of cases.

No lawyer should promise any client that they can guarantee a faster processing...that is highly irresponsible of them!

Also, don't just hire the first lawyer you consult with. Research them, see if they have been sanctioned or even disbarred, and consult with at least two or three before selecting your lawyer.

[pryzm 2]

I'm thankful for the immigrant lawyer we got online..we paid him $900.he replies quick even though i'm asking him everyday.(part of his job) He sends reminders,tips and advice,he always remind us what we papers need to get.,with his help we processed our cr1 visa and got it in just (7) seven months ,It should be six months but we are the one who late in giving documents.The Immigrant lawyer and the applicants must work together,they will just check and prepare the documents you sent to him/her.Before hiring Immigrant lawyer try to read reviews bout them online..If he/she still sleeping remind that you are paying him/her and never give 100% payment until you're not in USA.

[LoveMyTico 999]

I totally agree with this post. I also have a lawyer due to mitigating circumstances that I personally would rather have a lawyer deal with. However this does not mean one should not double check everything the lawyer submits on your behalf such as forms or question the process. I verified the entire I-130 package before the lawyer submitted it and I caught an error; they are human. My lawyer didn't take it personally and was impressed that I am taking such an active role in the process.

This is my and my husband's future on line so I better be actively involved.

I read up on all the requirements for each stage and ensure we submit everything properly to avoid any potential RFE's. So could I have done this on my own without a lawyer? You bet! But when your case isn't a straightforward one and your visa approval hinges on a waiver approval, I will pay money to hire someone who is successful with those types of cases.

No lawyer should promise any client that they can guarantee a faster processing...that is highly irresponsible of them!

Also, don't just hire the first lawyer you consult with. Research them, see if they have been sanctioned or even disbarred, and consult with at least two or three before selecting your lawyer.

I also found a few typos and date mistakes. They( my lawyer and his office assistant) were happy to be corrected. That is why there are several sets of eyes looking at the paperwork. Nobody knows the personal information like I do, so of course I was proofreading. I didn't want any RFE's and I didn't want any questions.

[JRF 117]

I totally agree with this post. I also have a lawyer due to mitigating circumstances that I personally would rather have a lawyer deal with. However this does not mean one should not double check everything the lawyer submits on your behalf such as forms or question the process. I verified the entire I-130 package before the lawyer submitted it and I caught an error; they are human. My lawyer didn't take it personally and was impressed that I am taking such an active role in the process.

This is my and my husband's future on line so I better be actively involved.

I read up on all the requirements for each stage and ensure we submit everything properly to avoid any potential RFE's. So could I have done this on my own without a lawyer? You bet! But when your case isn't a straightforward one and your visa approval hinges on a waiver approval, I will pay money to hire someone who is successful with those types of cases.

No lawyer should promise any client that they can guarantee a faster processing...that is highly irresponsible of them!

Also, don't just hire the first lawyer you consult with. Research them, see if they have been sanctioned or even disbarred, and consult with at least two or three before selecting your lawyer.

Ditto here - we also require a waiver for which our particular lawyer has a lot of experience obtaining. At no point has he ever promised quick processing with USCIS or NVC nor did I expect him to speed things up. Both my wife and I are very involved in and educated about the process. I hired him to assist in obtaining the waiver, not as a means of outsourcing the process.

[miteshpatel 1]

I totally agree with this post. I also have a lawyer due to mitigating circumstances that I personally would rather have a lawyer deal with. However this does not mean one should not double check everything the lawyer submits on your behalf such as forms or question the process. I verified the entire I-130 package before the lawyer submitted it and I caught an error; they are human. My lawyer didn't take it personally and was impressed that I am taking such an active role in the process.

This is my and my husband's future on line so I better be actively involved.

I read up on all the requirements for each stage and ensure we submit everything properly to avoid any potential RFE's. So could I have done this on my own without a lawyer? You bet! But when your case isn't a straightforward one and your visa approval hinges on a waiver approval, I will pay money to hire someone who is successful with those types of cases.

No lawyer should promise any client that they can guarantee a faster processing...that is highly irresponsible of them!

Also, don't just hire the first lawyer you consult with. Research them, see if they have been sanctioned or even disbarred, and consult with at least two or three before selecting your lawyer.

I understand that we have to be active and that is the same thing i am doing. But the problem is there is not enough communications, reply or any positive answers.

Only assistant answers the call and says that lawyer has file and he will guide you further.

My case was approved a month ago and now they are asking for I-864 required documents.

So this is the problem why he waited 1 month. Instead i would have sent all my documents month ago as soon as my case was approved and he got the email of invoice. He should have emailed me that same time about the required documents.

Even to file I-130 he took 4 months.

Just slow ,lazy, dont care type and time wasteing.

[Darnell 8,478]

you could learn a bit, about how casefile processing works,

before stating 'we were approved a month ago and just now asking for AOS stuff'.

Seriously.

OTOH, I absolutely loathe lawyers for immigration stuff.

Are these dates accurate?

http://www.visajourney.com/timeline/profile.php?id=162776

http://www.visajourney.com/timeline/profile.php?id=162776

http://www.visajourney.com/timeline/profile.php?id=162776

If so, I suggest you not overdramatize and use words that not represent 'two weeks'.

Edited September 22, 2013 by Darnell

[miteshpatel 1]

I'm thankful for the immigrant lawyer we got online..we paid him $900.he replies quick even though i'm asking him everyday.(part of his job) He sends reminders,tips and advice,he always remind us what we papers need to get.,with his help we processed our cr1 visa and got it in just (7) seven months ,It should be six months but we are the one who late in giving documents.The Immigrant lawyer and the applicants must work together,they will just check and prepare the documents you sent to him/her.Before hiring Immigrant lawyer try to read reviews bout them online..If he/she still sleeping remind that you are paying him/her and never give 100% payment until you're not in USA.

Yes the correct and best thing said "Work Together".

In your case you got lucky that your lawyer was active and i can say PreActive that he lets you know in advance what papers needed.

anyways congrats man.

[CaizLurol 36]

I was about to hire a lawyer. I spoke to a couple of them who wanted anywhere between $3K - $5K so that they could have their paralegal fill out the paperwork for the I-130 (CR-1/IR-1). One of the lawyers even suggested that my husband and I do something that would.... be against the TOS of visajourney.com, so to speak. He suggested my husband come here on his tourist visa, stay, and we file an AOS. We said "umm.. we'll call you later." and never did.

*sigh* Thank goodness for visajourney.com. You guys have been more helpful than any lawyer.

Here's to hoping that we all are reunited with our loved ones, soon!