Poll: How did you file the IR-1/CR-1 Spouse Visa

[fredmeyer 0]

Hi

I was wondering how many of you hired an attorney to do process the paper work to allow your spouse to stay? Or did you do all the paper work yourself?

Thanks

Fred

Edited March 8, 2015 by fredmeyer

[Dualie 185]

I did the whole process myself. Unless you have a complicated case with criminal charges or bans, using a lawyer is a waste of money and usually ends up delaying your case one way or another. It is not difficult if you can read English and follow instructions. A lawyer cannot get the visa any quicker than a regular person, and are often not up to date on this process.

This is a DIY site with all the resourses and help you will need to do the process yourself. Lawyers have been known to complicate things and cause delays. The folks on this site have done it for themselves, for the most part. Some people use a lawyer for their own comfort level. The choice is yours of course, but the general opinion of most members here is to save your money and do it yourself. Read the guides and ask questions, and you will be fine.

Best of luck whichever you choose!

[Ryan H 3,812]

***Moved from IR-1/CR-1 Process & Procedures to General Polls forum.***

**Moderator hat off**

I did not hire a lawyer.

[Not a Tailor 1,370]

Lawyers = expensive.
Immigration process = expensive.
Lawyers+Immigration process=OH MY GOD THE PRICE TAG IS ENORMOUS.

We chose the DIY route and have not regretted it in the slightest.

[Darnell 8,478]

I did it all myself,

following :

1. instructions in the forms

2. instructions here at VJ in the Guides Section

3. Instructions from several Wiki pages here.

We were getting antsy the week prior to the interview, so I engaged someone through Marc Ellis' office in Guangzhou to sit down and talk with my wife about the packet.

but I note, I did all of my research/reading from a PC. If you are using a handphone to visit this website, you miss so much. Heck, even a feckless tablet doesn't show the same landscape.

Edited March 8, 2015 by Darnell

[j&ana 363]

no lawyer for my case

[NikLR 13,227]

We did it ourselves. Hubs wanted to hire a lawyer but I'm glad I did all the paperwork myself.

[PaddyGirl13 75]

Doing it all ourselves. We looked into using a lawyer, we were quoted 3k (I130 for myself and son) and they were very slow to respond to calls so I read up and with the help of this site I figured I could do it myself. We're only at noa1 at USCIS, but I'm confident I can get us through.

[milimelo 4,477]

DIY.

[mallafri76 1,012]

We're doing the process ourselves. Our case is a little more complicated than normal cases but it's worked out so far. All the information is out there, it's just a matter of reading it and organising. We wouldn't trust anyone else with something as important as us being together.

[rutabaga 209]

Pretty much the same thought process as Not a Tailor taking us to the DIY route, plus, having had plenty of experience with forms, these looked fairly simple.

[Ketsuban 1,034]

Did it myself.

[j&ana 363]

My guess will be that less then 1% use a lawyer on here.

[fredmeyer 0]

Thanks

I guess the advise here is to start the process yourself, and if something comes up, then hire an attorney?

[mrs thb 331]

Hi

I was wondering how many of you hired an attorney to do process the paper work to allow your spouse to stay? Or did you do all the paper work yourself?

Thanks

Fred

hey fred,

not sure I understand the part "to allow your spouse to stay?". once you get your ir1/cr1 visa your spouse comes and becomes a permanent resident. its not a temporary thing.

this was our 2nd time around. first time we went the k1 route without a lawyer. we canceled that once i understood potential pension loss so we both agreed it best i remain working for a wee bit long to max the pension. a smart decision. then we got married and filed the ir1/cr1. problems occurred at uscis and after 8 months and 3 transfers later we hired a lawyer just to be sure we weren't getting a run around. after continuous info-pass appts and the lawyer doing a lot of nudging we were able to make some headway with our case. did we need her? not really as i'm sure we could have done all that she could with the expertise available here on VJ but she did help with nudging at the field office. she was persistent yet pleasant and we think it was because of her that we got our case expedited. we could have waited over a year for our NOA2 the way they were moving. turns out there was nothing of the canceled k1 in our files and thus we had to an interview at the uscis field office.

if your case is cut and dry then you will be fine.

Thanks

I guess the advise here is to start the process yourself, and if something comes up, then hire an attorney?

yip, you got it.

hope this helps.