To get or lawyer or not

[Maribe1P 3]

Hi all,

I am new here and just wanted to introduce myself. My name is Maribel and i was born in the US, I met my husband in Dec 2012 in dominican republic my family is from there. I have traveled ever since i met him a total of 7 times. We just got married on Sept 5, 2014.

My question is should i hire a lawyer to complete the I-130? I am capable of filling it out myself but i am a little nervous because i don't want to mess anything up.

I have another question 10 years ago i met a guy here in the state fell in love with him didn't know he didn't have a green card we ended up getting married i sponsored him and he got his green card. Things didn't work out so we got a divorce in 2013. Do you guys think that the USCIS will give us a hard time now?

Thank you any comments and advice will surely help.

[dwheels76 5,477]

Hi all,

I am new here and just wanted to introduce myself. My name is Maribel and i was born in the US, I met my husband in Dec 2012 in dominican republic my family is from there. I have traveled ever since i met him a total of 7 times. We just got married on Sept 5, 2014.

My question is should i hire a lawyer to complete the I-130? I am capable of filling it out myself but i am a little nervous because i don't want to mess anything up.

I have another question 10 years ago i met a guy here in the state fell in love with him didn't know he didn't have a green card we ended up getting married i sponsored him and he got his green card. Things didn't work out so we got a divorce in 2013. Do you guys think that the USCIS will give us a hard time now?

Thank you any comments and advice will surely help.

Should not be a big deal. Long as your current husband knows all about your current marriage and can answer questions at interview.

Now the big issue is you just divorced in 2013 and remarried in 2014. That may get more scrutiny. So just be prepared.

As far as getting a lawyer that depends on your own comfort zone. If you feel better hiring one do so. But read through the guides ask questions here. Most can do it themselves that don't have major issues or waivers or law issues to deal with.

[Maribe1P 3]

Thank you so much. The bad thing is that i couldn't find my ex husband I got divorce on June 2013. I will give it a shot and do it myself.

[HoussemAnna 20]

I have a lawyer she got me two rfe and isnt heling at all I had to do all the work and she messed me up big time... NOT WORTH THE MONEY

[dwheels76 5,477]

Thank you so much. The bad thing is that i couldn't find my ex husband I got divorce on June 2013. I will give it a shot and do it myself.

You know I would write a brief write up and attach to the divorce decree about yes you divorced in 2013 but it was because you couldn't find him and the marriage was way over in XXXX.

I have a friend gong through this with embassy and the overlapping of divorce and new marriage even though previous marriage was over long ago.

Just giving you a heads up.

And yes you can do it. You have this wonderful community of people who can help and answer anything and everything. Don't be shy.

[dharone 0]

are they gonna give you a problem if you divorced 2013 and got married 2014 and your trying to petition your spouse? now im just wondering if they will deny you for that even if you have all the documents and the divorce decree?

[IF&SA 4]

Our experience says if you can fill out basic forms and follow instructions please dont get a lawyer. Ours delayed our filing by more than a month. Wouldnt even take our calls when we wanted a follow up, or when we recieved an RFE, which was for a naturalization certifcate. The paralegal thought it wasnt needed.Same for previous divorce decree. We then were given a notice of intent to deny based on not returning our RFE. No follow up on that either. Even then they would hardly return our calls to discuss the matter.

Thankfully our problem looks like it will work ( case has been reopened) out but based on our experience , i would avoid a lawyer, especially if they are based in another city and you cant easily go to meet them.

[Rattled 8]

You can always set up a free consultation with a lawyer. Actually, you can call multiple lawyers for at least one free consultation.

In my case, it took me two weeks of reading and re-reading the instructions for the I-130 while assembling the packet. I tended to overthink and obsess, terrified of making a mistake and prolonging the already long process. I submitted the I-130 on my own. My American citizen friends all advised me that I am perfectly capable of handling all of the paperwork on my own. Once I submitted, I was advised by many, many people (all immigrants themselves) to get a lawyer. In their experiences, they found the lawyer helpful in preparing them for their interviews. I found this alone to be a compelling reason to seek advice.

I have decided to retain a lawyer at this point to keep my sanity. I can't bare the thought of receiving a checklist at the nvc stage for something silly - especially with the current backlogs and potential additional 60 day delays.

[Maribe1P 3]

Hey thanx all for all the advice. It has been very stressful. But i gave it a try to do it myself i sent out my package today. Wish me luck I know that now starts the waiting game

[asael1987 0]

I have a lawyer she got me two rfe and isnt heling at all I had to do all the work and she messed me up big time... NOT WORTH THE MONEY

uhhh you are getting me worried about hiring a lawyer for the NVC and Waiver part of my case.

we did our I-130 on our own and with no issues, OP i recommend you do your I-130 on your own if you are able to fill out a job application. It is pretty straight forward, there are some questions we are kind of tricky but if you google I-130 question 14 (for example) you will find great help about how to fill out any questions that are not as obvious as basic information like name, address, marriage date and such