Sacking An Immigration Attorney

[Sheri&Rich 25]

HI all,

I need some advice........

I am probably only days away from K1 approval at the Texas USCIS and want to know if I 'self sponsor' what information still needs to come from my partner to finish the process.

The immigration attorney says I cannot self sponsor and I have lost confidence in her ability but do not want to sacrifice any further part of the process still left not done.

Best

Rich

[Nich-Nick 3,354]

There is nothing required at the Lomdon interview from the US fiancé except an Affidavit of Support. If you have sufficient funds of your own to present, then nothing from her. If your interview does not happen within 4 months of your approval at the TX service center, then it would be advisable to get a new letter of intent from her, even though they haven't been so picky asking for those of late. You shouldn't go pass 4 months if you prepare now. There is a guide pinned at the top of this UK Forum. The first post is a "to do" list.

[Sheri&Rich 25]

There is nothing required at the Lomdon interview from the US fiancé except an Affidavit of Support. If you have sufficient funds of your own to present, then nothing from her. If your interview does not happen within 4 months of your approval at the TX service center, then it would be advisable to get a new letter of intent from her, even though they haven't been so picky asking for those of late. You shouldn't go pass 4 months if you prepare now. There is a guide pinned at the top of this UK Forum. The first post is a "to do" list.

As usual you are a star.........

I already guessed that this would be the reply but needed to check. Both my partner and I want to complete the process as soon as possible after the TSC approval and definitely following the guidelines at the top. These are incidentally very very helpful. Apart from obvious, I already have all the forms and my medical is up to date so in effect I am ready to go. The issue I have was that my partner was made redundant and I can self sponsor with roughly £60,000.00 in the bank.

As of yesterday, the Attorney wanted more money to process her parents as co sponsors after the $3000 we have already paid her. I even have a letter from the said attorney telling me I cannot self sponsor and it is certainly not possible at London!!!

If you can add any more information on this then please do.

Best

Richard

[nobbie 105]

You can self sponsor, there are people on here who have done it. As for co sponsors, why not? just do it yourself though, why pay a lawyer. As far as I can tell very few people going through London use one.

[landr 126]

My fiance is an army vet (pension + disability benefits) and is currently a student (not working). He completed his I-134 showing assets only. I topped up the supporting documents by showing £25k in savings. I did get a lot of questions at the interview about his income (see my review), but we were still approved two weeks ago. At the document check window, I gave them:

• original I-134
• copy of a letter from his bank (when account was opened, current balance and total value of deposits made over the last year)
• copy of his tax return for 2013
• copy of my savings account statement

After the interview, they tried to return all his financial supporting docs to me, including the I-134, but I insisted they keep them. To me, this indicates that, in effect, I self-sponsored as those other documents were extraneous to the approval decision and therefore extraneous to the file.

With £60K, it's doubtful you will have a problem. You do not need a lawyer if your case is straightforward (no big red flags like serious crimes, particularly those involving drugs, etc.) All you need is VJ, specifically the K1 guide written by Nich-Nick and Wheatley.

Edited July 3, 2014 by landr

[Sheri&Rich 25]

You can self sponsor, there are people on here who have done it. As for co sponsors, why not? just do it yourself though, why pay a lawyer. As far as I can tell very few people going through London use one.

I thought if you self sponsor, you do not need to submit an I-134 support document but instead just show the level of capital you currently have in the UK banks and any assets etc etc.

The co sponsor (which are my partners parents) are willing participants but if I don't need to hassle them to fill out forms etc etc then it makes the process smoother in my opinion.

Are you saying I should both co sponsor and self sponsor?

Best

Rich

[Sheri&Rich 25]

My fiance is an army vet (pension + disability benefits) and is currently a student (not working). He completed his I-134 showing assets only. I topped up the supporting documents by showing £25k in savings. I did get a lot of questions at the interview about his income (see my review), but we were still approved two weeks ago. At the document check window, I gave them:

• original I-134
• copy of a letter from his bank (when account was opened, current balance and total value of deposits made over the last year)
• copy of his tax return for 2013
• copy of my savings account statement

BAfter the interview, they tried to return all his financial supporting docs to me, including the I-134, but I insisted they keep them. To me, this indicates that, in effect, I self-sponsored as those other documents were extraneous to the approval decision and therefore extraneous to the file.

With £60K, it's doubtful you will have a problem. You do not need a lawyer if your case is straightforward (no big red flags like serious crimes, particularly those involving drugs, etc.) All you need is VJ, specifically the K1 guide written by Nich-Nick and Wheatley.

Hi,

Thanks for the reply.

My original opening question was as to the options of self sponsoring over co sponsoring. You seem to have done both. I definitely have no red flags at all crime, illness, children and I haven't even been previously married so my paperwork (for my age) is very very straight forward.

As far as sponsorship, I am just trying to determine if I can just self sponsor in the UK and sack the attorney without the need for a co sponsor (which I have if necessary) or keep the attorney happy, pay a further $250 for completing a co sponsor I-134 'file' and carry on as before?

I hope this makes sense.

Best

Richard

[landr 126]

Nope, you don't need a co-sponsor - there was no one else involved in our process. Nor do you need to keep the attorney happy. Sack them, they are doing you no favours and giving you the wrong information. We did it ourselves with the help of VJ and Nich-Nick/Wheatley's K1 guide.

Just self-sponsor with a copy of your bank statement showing your £60K assets (over US$100K). If they are very easy to get and you'd feel more at ease during the interview, have a completed I-134 (assets only), tax return/transcript and bank letter ready, but I really don't think you will need them. £60K is plenty to survive on during AOS. If they need additional documents (highly unlikely), you can send them in after the interview. The interview will still go ahead. Just tell them that you will be transferring the money to the US.

[Sheri&Rich 25]

Nope, you don't need a co-sponsor - there was no one else involved in our process. Nor do you need to keep the attorney happy. Sack them, they are doing you no favours and giving you the wrong information. We did it ourselves with the help of VJ and Nich-Nick/Wheatley's K1 guide.

Just self-sponsor with a copy of your bank statement showing your £60K assets (over US$100K). If they are very easy to get and you'd feel more at ease during the interview, have a completed I-134 (assets only), tax return/transcript and bank letter ready, but I really don't think you will need them. £60K is plenty to survive on during AOS. If they need additional documents (highly unlikely), you can send them in after the interview. The interview will still go ahead. Just tell them that you will be transferring the money to the US.

I cannot thank you (and everybody else) enough for the information.

This site has been, and continues to be very useful.

Best

Rich

[Nich-Nick 3,354]

I thought if you self sponsor, you do not need to submit an I-134 support document but instead just show the level of capital you currently have in the UK banks and any assets etc etc.

The co sponsor (which are my partners parents) are willing participants but if I don't need to hassle them to fill out forms etc etc then it makes the process smoother in my opinion.

Are you saying I should both co sponsor and self sponsor?

Best

Rich

Self-sponsor by showing your assets...whether that is bank statements, a pending house sale, or whatever. There is no I-134 to be filled out in your situation. At the document collection window they may routinely say "I need your I-134" and you say, "I am self-sponsoring and have this bank statement to show my assets".

They have been returning all financial documents and the actual I-134 to several people just lately. They have looked at them, approved, then given them back at the end of the interview. These were people who were not self-sponsoring...just traditional I-134 cases. So keeping those documents in the file must not be necessary and almost indicates a new trend or maybe just one interviewer. Corvus was the first to mention it (worry about it), then Landr and a couple of others. There is nothing in the Foreign Affairs Manual that requires they be filed.

[Sheri&Rich 25]

Self-sponsor by showing your assets...whether that is bank statements, a pending house sale, or whatever. There is no I-134 to be filled out in your situation. At the document collection window they may routinely say "I need your I-134" and you say, "I am self-sponsoring and have this bank statement to show my assets".

They have been returning all financial documents and the actual I-134 to several people just lately. They have looked at them, approved, then given them back at the end of the interview. These were people who were not self-sponsoring...just traditional I-134 cases. So keeping those documents in the file must not be necessary and almost indicates a new trend or maybe just one interviewer. Corvus was the first to mention it (worry about it), then Landr and a couple of others. There is nothing in the Foreign Affairs Manual that requires they be filed.

Is it worth (for the benefit of others) mentioning self sponsoring in the instruction manual at the top of the page......

Just an idea.

Rich

[Nich-Nick 3,354]

Is it worth (for the benefit of others) mentioning self sponsoring in the instruction manual at the top of the page......

Just an idea.

Rich

Yes. It is worth a mention, but since there is no exact amount, not a whole lot of detail can be given. It isn't some formula based on the poverty level. Few people will actually post how much money they got approved on. Some think having £5000 is a lot of money. I doubt if that would do it, but we don't know because nobody recent has tried and posted that they got approved on so little with no further sponsorship.

The whole guide needs a re-do to edit for the small changes. Self-sponsoring could be included.

(Didn't we...me, you, and some others... Already discuss this self-sponsoring and your lawyer two months ago?)

[Sheri&Rich 25]

Yes. It is worth a mention, but since there is no exact amount, not a whole lot of detail can be given. It isn't some formula based on the poverty level. Few people will actually post how much money they got approved on. Some think having £5000 is a lot of money. I doubt if that would do it, but we don't know because nobody recent has tried and posted that they got approved on so little with no further sponsorship.

The whole guide needs a re-do to edit for the small changes. Self-sponsoring could be included.

(Didn't we...me, you, and some others... Already discuss this self-sponsoring and your lawyer two months ago?)

Yes we did touch on it but the attorney keeps filling our heads with what appears to be false statements and at the 11th hour, i needed a definitive answer. I hope you don't feel I am wasting your time.

Best.

Rich

[Nich-Nick 3,354]

Yes we did touch on it but the attorney keeps filling our heads with what appears to be false statements and at the 11th hour, i needed a definitive answer. I hope you don't feel I am wasting your time.

Best.

Rich

No I don't. Your attorney probably deals with other common consulates more and has a standard plan. I doubt he is as up on London specifics as people in this UK Forum. There is a lot of personal evidence of real people who easily self-sponsored in London. There's this too. http://london.usembassy.gov/faffidavit.html

[rjm_cmyk 75]

It's all been said above but no harm repeating it :-)

You can (from my and other's experience) self sponsor at the London Embassy. My tips are have a clear statement explaining assets and provide supporting documentation. Make it easy for them - always a good idea when doing this process. It's been stated on VJ and I'd agree , that the US Embassy wants to be clear that you can survive K1 -> AOS and have sufficient funds for that. What that figure is - well that's anyone's guess but my logic is that if it looks like say six months cash then it's going to be easy .

It did take a completed AoS from my fiance but only because like everyone else I thought - well it can't do any harm... They never looked at it. I just said I was going to self sponsor and here was a statement of my assets. Easy peasy.