Tell me we can really do this thing without a laywer...

[Udella&Wiz 325]

Lawyers cannot make the process faster (they lie) and it's honestly very straight forward. You can ask every question right here and the Canadian forum is super helpful with very Canadan specific questions. Its not difficult for Canadians to apply an we are considered low fraud so teh process is straight forward.

[Flames9_RN 358]

We used a lawyer..Had not found VJ....Really all she did was PROOF READ!!! Sure she sent us the links to the documents---we printed them off....and WE filled them out..As we are the ones that know and had the info........They do not make the process faster..usually slow it down....they do not have any special "ins" with the consulate/Embassy! You can goto the k1...or cr1/Ir1 forums and find step by step instructions on how to proceed..or u goto those forums or here and ask away for FREE!!

EI---those lawyers will have no clue..and that is after the process anyways..same with healthcare!

Breathe in--breathe out----the process is actually NOT that hard..its the waiting the sucks,lol Best of luck

[twosmews 2]

Hi there,

My fiance and I started the K-1 process in August and I can happily say that I have my visa in hand and am POEing on Friday. I'm from Kingston and moving to Cincinnati so we have some common ground. Feel free to PM me on here if you get overwhelmed with any specifics and I can try to let you know what we did!

We received no RFE's and have had a fairly stress free experience thus far.

Based on the number of positive experiences with K1s on this forum, and now my own success... I can assure you it is fully doable without the help of a lawyer if your case is relatively clean cut.

Best of luck!

- Jonathan

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

Tell me we can really do this thing without a laywer...

If you have to ask, you probably need a lawyer.

[Ms Hogan 295]

A lawyer will not move as quickly as you will to be ready for each step along the way. They don't care how fast you can pull it off. Only you can do that. It is a waste of time and money if you don't have anything that actually needs a lawyer.

I'd be MORE concerned with moving to Ohio. OHIO SUCKS! LOL... that's where I am.

[Loki_Go 126]

Boston-Montreal- thanks for the link! That's what I was looking for.

Disappointing to hear about how lawyers fit into the process. I guess I'm not all that surprised though; maybe after this I can be an immigration 'advisor' or something lol.

Ms Hogan, lol, I get it. I'm moving from a city called Windsor Ontario and I can tell you, it makes Ohio seem like an upgrade haha. Besides, home is wherever me and my SO can be together and that's the important part. <3

[Texas22 50]

If it makes you feel better, we did a K1 and two K2's (for my children) without a lawyer and only with the help of this amazing resource VisaJourney.

Plus we had other stuff as well, like we were both divorced - that sort of thing. So we had paperwork and cost X 3.

We initially consulted an immigration lawyer (after I had found this site). I knew quite a lot about the process already, just by reading. So I asked him some pointed questions (that I already knew the answers to) and HE GOT THE ANSWERS WRONG!

That along with the cost of $2000 plus immigration fees - we walked out and never looked back.

We did get an RFE on the I129F - but that was because they wanted to see my then fiance's full divorce decree and we had sent the summary. That was easily rectified. I held us up about 6 weeks, but imagine getting that and then waiting for a lawyer to reply?

You can do it!!

Good luck to you both!

[Ms Hogan 295]

Boston-Montreal- thanks for the link! That's what I was looking for.

Disappointing to hear about how lawyers fit into the process. I guess I'm not all that surprised though; maybe after this I can be an immigration 'advisor' or something lol.

Ms Hogan, lol, I get it. I'm moving from a city called Windsor Ontario and I can tell you, it makes Ohio seem like an upgrade haha. Besides, home is wherever me and my SO can be together and that's the important part. <3

I know Windsor VERY well. And I totally get it about home being where you can be together!

[mallafri76 1,012]

My husband is doing time in federal prison, so our case is considered "complicated" by many but we are doing the process without a lawyer. Got our NOA2 this week, five months and a week after filing our I-130. No RFE. So yes, you can definitely do this on your own, there's absolutely no need for a lawyer.

[mmorgan 7]

To give another answer to your question about how much a lawyer costs, I was quoted about 5000 plus filing fees by a lawyer in Chicago. After I stopped choking and got up off the floor I decided I was going to do it myself, not matter how complicated it was. I was pleasantly surprised by how relatively simple the process really is, if you take the time to read and study out the answers to any questions you might have. This website and forum was certainly a huge help. I was just approved a couple weeks ago and anxiously awaiting my POE! I can't stress enough though, as pretty much everyone else has as well, to just take your time, read the information and ASK QUESTIONS! Looking back on the application process now I can see I was way more stressed out then was necessary.

[2 canucks 12]

If you've got time and stick-to-it-iveness, no lawyer is needed. I am bringing my spouse over after living abroad and having kids, a house, retirement, cars, all that and me with no income and no way of proving domicile anymore. So, a somewhat complicated case. We did our homework and searched VJ for a LOT of things, but it all worked with no checklists. I didn't want to spend the money on a lawyer that isn't going to be as "quick" to jump on things when I wanted it done. I was ready for every next step before it happened so i could immediately submit whatever it was. But it takes time... t.i.m.e. If you have that, you can save yourself a lot of money!

[Loki_Go 126]

I was definitely having a moment when I started this thread. Paperwork aside the thought of moving my whole life is overwhelming on it's own. We've taken it step by step and are putting the finishing touches on our I-129F package this weekend and will be finally sending it next week. VJ has been so helpful, even with some of the snide comments (re: I AM NOT THAT GUY).