RapidVisa.com initial thoughts

[Pennycat 880]

They also do have attorneys in the office. But regardless experience trumps anything. I haven't had any hiccups and i see people everyday getting rfes. So still the best option. I'm not struggling financially 475 bucks to make mt life easier is a nice luxury. People spend that on fast food.

We didn't have any hiccups either and did it ourselves-- actually got through over a month faster than other people who applied at the same time we did (but that was due to dumb luck and Texas being such a cluster at the time). And an RFE is far from the end of the world and can and does happen with people who use visa services and lawyers. They take about 2 or so weeks, which is a drop in the bucket in immigration timeline world.

I do completely understand how it could be worth it if you are worried you'll miss something on your own, or if a 2 week delay would be a crisis, or to not have to do all the work yourself (although, you still need to give them all the info and evidence, so really, they're just typing for you and going over a checklist for completeness-- a checklist that USCIS now provides on their site), but financially hurting or not, $500 is still real money and for the folks who have done it DIY and know how simple it really is (it's a *lot* but it's not complicated) it does seem like a pity to waste it.

The only thing that would *maybe* be worth it to me is if they would be the ones on the phone, verbally beating up my fiance every day for a week to get his act together and get his information for the G-325a together. He was so resentful of needing to do it and he's moved addresses and jobs a lot and there are no street addresses in his country and he kept getting dates wrong (which only I would have caught-- no lawyer or service would know where he was living when), he kept insisting that "I don't know" was an acceptable answer. It was awful. But we still got it done. And even then for $500 I still don't know if it would be wroth it to skip that pain (which, seriously, do they hound the beneficiary to get things done or just wait until you provide the info?).... I probably just could have paid his mom $50 to shake him for me lol.

[Sledge 11]

Its surely possible to do it by yourself. Thats not the topic. It's a luxury and i said its a luxury. Bottom line is if you have the 475 to spend and dont mind then its a good choice. I don't have to worry about anything. I usually work around 60-70 hours a week its totally worth it for me.

[Pennycat 880]

Its surely possible to do it by yourself. Thats not the topic. It's a luxury and i said its a luxury. Bottom line is if you have the 475 to spend and dont mind then its a good choice. I don't have to worry about anything. I usually work around 60-70 hours a week its totally worth it for me.

Right but what do they actually *do* for $475 that you don't basically do yourself? Legitimate question here, honestly curious. You have to supply them with all your information, name, birthday etc. You have to give them your 5-year work and address history for the G-325a. Do you have to copy/scan your passport and send it to them? Or they somehow do that for you? Passport photos you have to go do yourself, obviously. Supplemental evidence like photos and boarding passes....they do this somehow? Or is the issue for embassy stage and they walk your fiance through the embassy checklist? Do they help her with the DS-160?

I guess my question is if it is peace of mind, that's one thing (but it is definitely possible to do this perfectly yourself) but if it is time-saving....how? If you need to write down all this info and make these copies and such for them anyway....how does that save time sending it to them to put together and send for you? You still need to *do* the work and the worry etc, no?

[Sledge 11]

Because they have it set up to make it easy. When you input your information its simple. I know it works and that can't be denied.

[R16M05-77 1]

For us the reason it was worth it to me was two fold. I like being able to input the information online and then the program generating the forms. Made it easy to update as we each got the information. She could log on from Japan and myself here in the US. Finally for me it was having the piece of mind knowing someone else who has seen 1000s of applications is putting an eye on our application so far for me it's been worth the money. I will continue to update as our petition progresses along. Thanks everyone for your prospective. It will help others considering using a service like this.

[Sledge 11]

Very nicely said.

[KayDeeCee 4,896]

Wow, not sure why you felt the need to type so much in defense of a service you paid to fill out forms for you. I am sure they will appreciate your glowing review. Maybe they will ask to feature you on a testimonials page for them.

No one was putting anyone down for using them. People stating you can just do it yourself for free is not insulting those that choose to pay them to fill out the forms for you. It is just a fact.

I have not used them because I had no need to. Myself and many others have been quite capable and successful at skipping any middle man and just entering our data in the forms ourselves. You seem aggravated by that for some reason. As I already stated, never told anyone not use the service. I simply pointed out that they are not professional immigration agents/specialists/lawyers. They are just people that fill out the forms and mail them for you. Many people do not need to pay for that, whether they can afford the fee or not. It is that simple. Immigration lawyers charge higher fees because they are the professionals with the law degrees that earned them the right to charge higher prices for their advice/research/skills on the matter. Most people can do it on their own without a lawyer or other form-filling third party service. That isn't criticizing those that choose to use either for whatever reason.

People on here often ask about lawyers/visa form-filling services, and believe they need such a thing in order to enter into the immigration process. I cannot blame them. It can seem overwhelming and daunting at first, especially when you know nothing more than what you have seen in movies about the immigration process. People let them know they are not a must and many many are successful at doing it themselves. This is a Do-It-Yourself site after all. Most people here do it themselves, and are here to help and let others know they can do it themselves too. Anyone that decides they need more help can pay for it, as you did. To each their own. No need to get your panties in a bunch and defend the service like you own it just because many others don't agree it is worth it, and find it a waste of time and money.

Edited May 13, 2016 by KayDeeCee

[Chellenjay 0]

My thoughts on Rapid Visa. I deal with Federal systems and documents everyday. Much like the IRS tax codes the process for a Visa is all in black and white print anyone can read it and perhaps figure. With Rapid Visa i had my app done in just about an hour. I know its complete because it's a dummy proof line by line click process. I have been to their office in the US and I brought my fiancee to the office in Manilla. Any "dumb question" they answer.

if you you TurboTax for your annual tax versus pen and paper you will enjoy Rapid Visa. Its that easy and has the same level of comfort knowing you filled it out right. If an issue arises they walk you through a resolution. When something is really out of the box as I had they flag it and ask their lawyer how to proceed. Replys from their attorney are often same day.

[rapidkyle 4]

Full disclosure: I am the marketing manager for RapidVisa. I'm also writing this as myself and not on behalf of the company like any official spokesperson..

I just felt like addressing what we actually do. Because many people are confused when they hear about a company like ours. "Do they just fill out forms?".. "Are they a law firm?"... "What. Do. They. Do.?"

Just from first hand experience, I can tell you that we're not all sitting around rubbing our hands together thinking of all the money we made from some poor suckers. We actually just crossed 39 employees and are still hiring (to address the slow chat times among other things ). And our Colorado employees have been working overtime lately. This is just to paint a picture that there is actual work going on. We're normal people, trying to do the right thing every day for our customers. We get a lot of joy knowing that the work we do changes lives by uniting families. Every one of the 700+ photo testimonials on our site are real people with real stories. Many of our clients are involved with us for several years from the visa to naturalization, so we get to know them. We are their advocates.

We actually have this page to try to explain what exactly it is we do: https://rapidvisa.com/what-does-rapidvisa-actually-do/

I see it as a service option that works for some. Just as in anything.

Here's an example..

Getting your oil changed.

Some people think spending $30 on Jiffy Lube is a waste of money and would rather spend $15, buy all the stuff and get dirty an do it themselves. That's perfectly fine. Then on the other extreme, (i.e. my mother-in-law), some people like to spend $200 on a "tune up" from the dealership.. because of some perceived value and the thought that it's being done by experts in that kind of car.

In this comparison, changing your oil yourself would be like someone doing their visa application themselves. Jiffy Lube would be like using RapidVisa, and going to the dealership would be like hiring a lawyer.

We totally know people could do this themselves. But we've found that there are a certain segment of people who would rather not spend tens of hours studying up on something they will do once in their lives, and have no peace of mind, and probably make a few mistakes along the way and cause some RFEs, adding weeks to their visa processing.. this segment is willing to spend a few hundred dollars to have the guys who do hundreds of these a month and have a 99.7% approval rating hold their hands along the way.

We actually produce a ton of content for free for the DIY community. We have a great relationship with VisaJourney and support what this forum stands for in helping be a resource for anyone trying to go through the immigration process.

I don't think it helps for DIYers or RapidVisa(ers?) to criticize each other. I wouldn't call someone an idiot for going to a restaurant to get a nice steak because I could make one at home myself. I wouldn't insult someone for taking their car to Jiffy Lube rather than doing it themselves. Anyways, hope this post isn't out of line for anyone! Admins let me know if it is. Thanks.

[Pennycat 880]

I sense the people against using the RapidVisa service are disgruntled for god know what reason, look its obvious you have not used their service because you keep asking what do they provide that you cant do yourself, maybe if you had used the service you would know the answer to your question and stop trying to make everyone else look stupid for using the service. If you dont want to use the servcie then fine that is YOUR choice, dont put down people who did choose to use the service we have our reasons to using it and to us the 375 basic or 475 premium fee was well worth it and not an overly expensive rate that we cant afford.

Their online forms simplify the process by asking questions in very simple layman's terms, and depending on your answers and choices their script application automatically generates the filled out forms along with very simple to understand instructions AFTER rapidvisa staff previews your answers to screen for mistakes, something the government instructions do not provide and in fact can be quite trivial to some people including myself. After you read their instructions and provide your required documents as listed in their instructions you mail your petition package to RapidVisa where they review every document checking for errors and/or missing documents, then if you paid for the premium service they have a 2nd tier of trained staff and supervisors who review your package again in case by the off chance their tier 1 team may have missed something.

Sure you can ask questions in VisaJourney or any of the numerous other groups and forums, but that is no comparison to being able to pick up a phone and call a staffed team to get personalized answers immediately without waiting. They contact you at every stage to guide you through the entire process as well as organize your package in a format uscis prefers (yes they hired uscis visa officers to train their staff how to organize the petition in a way which makes it easy for uscis officers to read quickly and easily), for those of us who have limited free time to spend researching how to fill out the forms and researching what documents are required to send, and for those of us who want that assurance that you have a team of extra trained eyes checking your documents for errors, their service offers great peace of mind and comfort knowing you are not processing your petition alone, while at the same time their flat rate fee is far far less than a lawyer which definitely is not needed for filling up forms or guidance which would cost you $100 per hour if provided by a lawyer. Again if you dont like to use RapidVisa services or any other paid for processing company then dont, nobody is forcing you and that is your choice, dont criticize those people who choose to use their service that is our choice not yours.

Wow. How in the world are you getting "disgruntled" from a legitimate question as to what they actually do. I don't think anyone is stupid for using the service and no one is putting you down (and if you're getting that from this discussion then I think that's more on you and your thoughts on the service). Generally my opinion is-- if it's worth it to you it's worth it to you. I personally think it's unnecessary but so is the grocery delivery service I use. Everyone has their own priorities, concept of convenience, risk tolerance and abilities. I get it for peace of mind. Something I personally didn't need to pay for because my priorities, risk tolerance and confidence in my abilities lined up that way.

And it's not a matter of "can afford". Anyone who can afford this process without a co-sponsor can afford this service (and this is likely why they're priced the way they are). But my question about convenience is is how is it more convenient or time saving? OF COURSE I don't know the answer because I didn't use them-- that's how it works. And that's why we ask questions. Is there something that they do to keep you from needing to provide the information to fill out the forms anyway-- sounds like no? Do they gather evidence for you-- also sounds like no? Do they work directly with your fiance to get *their* information from them, or is that on you as well?

What you're talking about is paying for peace of mind, or paying to not need to read instructions yourself. And that's fine, if that's what you want to spend your money on, and I'm sure they're good at it.

[B_J 2,752]

Full Disclosure: I did not use any service except VisaJourney during my process all those years ago.

My method was pretty simple, I printed out the example forms from VJ. Then, when I was filling out the gov't forms, I referred to the examples to make sure I was doing it right.

Before I got to the point where I was filling out the forms, I was very stressed, as most people are. So, I spent my time on here reading, researching, and asking questions. I did this both in the K-1 forum and in my regional forum. I used VisaJourney for the information and, as I became more informed, I found my stress went away.

Each person's decision is their own, but I simply couldn't imagine paying for a service when VJ is free.

I hope everybody's journey is quick, easy, and free of RFEs.

PS. One extra benefit to using VisaJourney is the friendships that are made here. Definitely worth far more than any fee from a service.

[KayDeeCee 4,896]

I don't think it helps for DIYers or RapidVisa(ers?) to criticize each other. I wouldn't call someone an idiot for going to a restaurant to get a nice steak because I could make one at home myself. I wouldn't insult someone for taking their car to Jiffy Lube rather than doing it themselves. Anyways, hope this post isn't out of line for anyone! Admins let me know if it is. Thanks.

Glad you could join today just for this topic, not in any official marketing way. Welcome to VJ!

Where did anyone criticize and call people idiots in this thread? Where are the insults? You and your client above are the only ones twisting this into some strange 'competition' between a long-standing public DIY forum and your company.

And for what Catherine said, I agree. And it seems to be paying a fee just to not read the instructions and be bothered with knowing the details, such as the directions, laws, requirements, etc. For some I suppose that equals peace of mind, and that is fine for them. Personally, I found/find peace of mind in things where I know they are done right, and that means doing it myself. As someone else in this thread mentioned, no one cares about my situation and case more than I do.

[Harpa Timsah 13,258]

I did the forms myself before I found VJ. No RFEs. Do I get a cookie?

[aratamorne 165]

So I used RapidVisa to submit my I-129F. No major concerns and they actually helped. I interpreted the question on how we met to mean, when I visited Anna in the Philippines. Dumb mistake but they caught it and we corrected the answer. Their response time is a bit slow as others have posted and I do find Visa Journey to be extremely helpful, but it just came down to extra peace of mind, my fiancee had heard good things about them, so we decided to use their service.

Using them does not guarantee you will not get an RFE, but it was nice to have someone review everything to confirm I gathered all the correct information. I am sure we would have been fine just using all the information to be found here on VJ, but as they say, "Happy wife, happy life", so anything to make my honey feel better is worth it to me.

Good luck to all and many thanks to everyone helping here on VJ keeping those of us just starting our journeys sane.

Scott and Annalyn

Edited May 13, 2016 by aratamorne

[kasu06 36]

I realize that this topic has been dormant for awhile, but has anyone tried to take advantage of the RapidVisa's Money Back Guarantee?

I've have been having a really terrible experience