Use an attorney if possible

[CowBoE 429]

Here is my take...

Use immigration attorney...

1. If you have unusual and/or difficult circumstance

2. If few thousands of dollars is insignificant

3. If you are not good at or interested in reading and following instructions

4. If you have ADD/ADHD and immigration paperwork is not in your interest

5. If your English is limited

6. If you are lazy and don't like dealing with paperwork details

7. If your IQ is way below average

Do it yourself...

1. If you have pretty normal circumstance

2. If few thousands of dollars is significant

3. If you are good at and interested in reading and following instructions

4. If you don't have ADD/ADHDt

5. If your English is reasonably OK

6. If you are not lazy and don't mind dealing with paperwork details

7. If your IQ is close to normal or higher

Personally...

This is my first time filing for K1 visa, and I was completely intimidated at the beginning

when I didn't know what to do. However, upon reading few VJ guides, my confidence level soared.

And having such interactive discussion board to ask questions and to have many folks who's

gone through the paperwork and processing themselves to answer in a reasonably timely manner

really put the icing on the cake.

Visa processing is NOT trivial and its' not for everyone to do it by themselves.

That said, for someone with average intelligence and normal situation,

I would say this is about as difficult as filing a income tax with itemized deductions...

which by the way...is also not for everyone to do it by themselves.

Finally, I would say that without the VJ site, I am pretty sure that I would had to

resort to an immigration attorney.

Therefore...thanks VJ...and thanks all VJ members!

[Cathi 5,755]

My husband and I did the entire process from start to finish entirely on our own. From the day we sent the I130 until the day his removal of conditions was approved our process was smooth and quick. No RFEs, no delays. My husband and I had several red flags to overcome and I didn't find VJ until after our NOA2 for the I130. Paying an attorney many thousands of dollars is not worth it in my opinion. Be well organized, go over each form and each step with a fine tooth comb, check and re-check and check it again. Glad it worked out for you in the end, but basically all an attorney does is submit the documents and evidence you gather, so either way you are doing it all anyway.We have seen more horror stories with people using attorneys than I can count, you are at the mercy of them. Like I said I'm glad it worked out for you in the end, but you made a simple mistake and didnt need an attorney to correct it. Most people don't have the disposable cash to pay and attorney, he process is expensive enough and with the guides and sage advice from many respected members of this community, it can be done on your own. Unless of course you do not have a straightforward case. Congrats and I hope the remainder of your process goes smoothly.

[Shauneg 762]

I feel bad for laughing at the beginning, because now I see you were serious.....

[MouadsWife 161]

The paperwork is very simple and just requires common sense. It asks a question - you answer the question. If you don't understand a question, that's what the forum is here for, ask us and we can help. As far as proof, if you read the forums, and study up here, and ASK questions, anyone can tell you what to send as proof. Having a lawyer does not make it any faster. They're not magicians. We had red flags and we did our own paperwork and he walked into the United States in 9 months after filing the paperwork. It went as smooth as butter. Just like sitting in the classroom at school... if you just sit there and don't ask any questions like a lump on the log, your gonna fail. But if you put initiative into it, read, learn, study, you'll most likely pass with flying colors.

Edited May 4, 2015 by MouadsWife

[Maria4Garrett 5]

Here is my take...

Use immigration attorney...

1. If you have unusual and/or difficult circumstance

2. If few thousands of dollars is insignificant

3. If you are not good at or interested in reading and following instructions

4. If you have ADD/ADHD and immigration paperwork is not in your interest

5. If your English is limited

6. If you are lazy and don't like dealing with paperwork details

7. If your IQ is way below average

Do it yourself...

1. If you have pretty normal circumstance

2. If few thousands of dollars is significant

3. If you are good at and interested in reading and following instructions

4. If you don't have ADD/ADHDt

5. If your English is reasonably OK

6. If you are not lazy and don't mind dealing with paperwork details

7. If your IQ is close to normal or higher

Personally...

This is my first time filing for K1 visa, and I was completely intimidated at the beginning

when I didn't know what to do. However, upon reading few VJ guides, my confidence level soared.

And having such interactive discussion board to ask questions and to have many folks who's

gone through the paperwork and processing themselves to answer in a reasonably timely manner

really put the icing on the cake.

Visa processing is NOT trivial and its' not for everyone to do it by themselves.

That said, for someone with average intelligence and normal situation,

I would say this is about as difficult as filing a income tax with itemized deductions...

which by the way...is also not for everyone to do it by themselves.

Finally, I would say that without the VJ site, I am pretty sure that I would had to

resort to an immigration attorney.

Therefore...thanks VJ...and thanks all VJ members!

Very well said! I agree!

[j&ana 363]

I agree that it is not as hard as you say it is to DIY. It sounds like you did not read and follow instructions clearly or did any research before filing the petition. So you went to a lawyer told him what happen. The lawyer probably thought easy money for me. everything is already done, he just needs to sign the letter of intent and resubmit not much work involve. Then you come on a DIY site to tell others it is to hard and that hiring a lawyer is better

I know in some cases it might be better for a person to hire a lawyer, but in your case it sounds like it was your own fault

The reason it got done in a month with the Lawyer. You probably had a RFE for the sign letter of intent and all you had to do was submit that and your petition probably will been approve in another month without the lawyer. So really the lawyer did not make it go any faster

Edited May 4, 2015 by j&ana

[madtownguy 164]

I did one with a lawyer and there were tons of mistakes, it also takes longer for things to go to your lawyer first and then they forward to you. I did one with out a lawyer and it was a simple and straight forward process. I would never recommend a lawyer for a visa that doesn't have unusual circumstances.

[uniquelyJo 34]

If you are a over thinker and tend to stress out over minor things then a Lawyer is probably the best way to go....why risk your future just because others opinion is that it is so simple to do that a monkey could fill out and file the paperwork. If you have the $$$ feel that you would be more comfortable to employ a Lawyer then go for it and do what is right for you.

[Shauneg 762]

Having to gather all sign all the forms yourself, you are already doing 95% of all the work involved. What are you paying an attorney for? To fill out the forms?....once all the information is gathered the forms take less than an hour. They can't gather any evidence, get any of the required paperwork, or anything.

Using an attorney is, in most cases, a waste of money.

[j&ana 363]

There is nothing wrong with using a lawyer if a person wants too. However to come on a DIY site where most people are seeking advice on how to do the process themselves and to say the process is to hard do not bother DIY hire a lawyer is not really good, considering it was the op mistake that it took longer for him, not because the process is that complicated.

[sweet01 39]

There is nothing wrong with using a lawyer if a person wants too. However to come on a DIY site where most people are seeking advice on how to do the process themselves and to say the process is to hard do not bother DIY hire a lawyer is not really good, considering it was the op mistake that it took longer for him, not because the process is that complicated.

Agree, there is nothing wrong with using a lawyer and just like some VJs here said, it's up to you to weigh the pros and cons of hiring a lawyer or not . I hired a lawyer during my K1 process due to my hectic schedule at work and true, the reason I also hired a lawyer is because I don't want to have mistakes on filing and it's my first time and my fiance now husband doing the whole process so I want it to be as smooth sailing as possible. There are reasons you know and not just because you don't know how to read or follow instructions. It's also good that I began to know this Visa Journey when I was here in the US so I did our AOS process without a lawyer this time. This site provided me with all the step by step process I needed and everything went fine.

To OP, Goodluck on your journey and continue reading all the forums here, you might see the reason why this time around, I opted to do it myself on my AOS process

[MouadsWife 161]

Before I knew about the handiness of VJ I consulted a lawyer because our case did have red flags. The lawyer turned out to be an idiot. My fiance was from Morocco, and he actually advised us that since we did not have a hairs chance that the best route for us was to fly to to island of Cyprus to get married and do the ceremony there and file for a CR1 and even then he felt he did not have a chance to get here. (As if my 'then' fiance was going to be allowed to fly to Cyprus...") hahah If I remember correctly, the name of the lawyer was Ellis... ??? There are also non-profit groups who are willing to assist you. 'Catholic Immigration Legal Network" has people that are trained in immigration law that help you probono. They do the paperwork for you. For legal support you can contact them at 301-565-4800. This is their main number at their Georgia office. But going through them will take you longer because I'm sure their case load is backed up.

[uniquelyJo 34]

I just think it's really unfair to tell someone it's a waste of money to hire a Lawyer, yes the paperwork is pretty easy, gathering all the information that is required is done by you with or without a Lawyer....however in my case, the Lawyer was a safety net that kept me sane during the process. As I stated in my original comment on this thread, after looking at all the help that is available on this page I probably would have taken it on myself, however I didn't I employed a Lawyer and I researched many of them before going to the one I did in the end. It's a personal choice, luckily we were financially secure enough to be able to "waste" the money on a Lawyer and I have no regrets. Is it something everyone should do? No, that's not what I am saying at all, but I don't think the money spent on our Lawyer was a waste either, it gave my Husband and I peace of mind and that's all that mattered to us at the time.

[TBoneTX 45,319]

The OP has apparently closed her account, and this topic has been debated ad nauseam many, many times. Therefore, this thread is closed to future comments.

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