Having lawyer at AOS interview, yes or no?

[sparkles_ 456]

Pretty self explanatory, we have to decide to have our lawyer present or not at our AOS interview. Lawyer says today during our prep meeting she believes we will be fine on our own if we want to save on costs, and also that some IOs don't like having a lawyer present as they feel it steps on their toes with questioning. My husband thinks we will also be OK on our own. However, I'm a worry prone person. If I could have the lawyer there literally holding my hand that day, I would. 

 

You guys should read my signature before sounding off, we did have a complicated start to say the least in which my husband had to have removal terminated for overstay before we could proceed with AOS. We already have an approved i130.....we were married a month BEFORE he was put into removal while we drug our feet filing (most expensive mistake ever), I know that seems to be a key point in all this as to if a couple married before or after the removal began. On the plus side, we have 2yr worth of proofs because of how long everything took! We are aware we could be separated also, but lawyer says it isn't a huge likelyhood based on her knowledge of the local office and such.

 

Thanks guys. 

[trudi 1,317]

A lawyer can't help you in the interview, they can give you support but you will be the ones answering the questions.

 

You have a genuine relationship and can answer probing questions (you may have a more in depth interview because of the history) and have all your supporting evidence then you will be fine - no lawyer could ever prove your relationship as well as you can 

 

however, having said that if you want the emotional support of the lawyers presence then by all means have them there - do whatever is going to make you feel confident

 

 

[sparkles_ 456]

Just now, trudi said:

A lawyer can't help you in the interview, they can give you support but you will be the ones answering the questions.

 

You have a genuine relationship and can answer probing questions (you may have a more in depth interview because of the history) and have all your supporting evidence then you will be fine - no lawyer could ever prove your relationship as well as you can 

 

however, having said that if you want the emotional support of the lawyers presence then by all means have them there - do whatever is going to make you feel confident

 

 

I see you're in Charlotte as your local office. This is where we will be going as well! 

 

[Valor 131]

We had our lawyer with us but that was with no extra charge.  He was mostly sitting behind us and taking notes on our answers.  I honestly feel you should be fine. If I were you, I wouldn't pay extra just to have a lawyer to be there with us.  

[trudi 1,317]

1 minute ago, sparkles_ said:

I see you're in Charlotte as your local office. This is where we will be going as well! 

 

I was fortunate and adjusted from a K1 and had AOS approved without interview, a fact I will be eternally grateful for as Charlotte scares the heck out of my sat nag and we get hopelessly lost anytime we get close!

 

Good luck, I'm sure you'll be fine

[charmander 692]

We had our lawyer with us. Our case wasn't approved on the spot, long story short the IO said she needed to further investigate my 3 week long basic military training in Turkey. My lawyer told IO Turkey has mandatory military service for men and it had never been an issue before.  IO didn't care, she dismissed us.  Upon exitting lawyer told us she had a scheduled meeting with the field office director on a separate matter that afternoon and she would bring this up. we said thank you and left. To our surprise, the case was later approved the same afternoon. So, in my mind, my lawyer earned every penny we paid. 

 

I also thought our case was pretty straight forward but you'll never know what IOs could pick on.

[sparkles_ 456]

15 minutes ago, tbone1991 said:

We had our lawyer with us but that was with no extra charge.  He was mostly sitting behind us and taking notes on our answers.  I honestly feel you should be fine. If I were you, I wouldn't pay extra just to have a lawyer to be there with us.  

Ours wasn't a set fee for everything because of all the work it took to get to this point, she cut us a break and charged a la carte for services which I'm so thankful for. I'm leaning towards just us going but gathering opinions still.

 

@trudi It isn't just yours, Charlotte must be something special because our tomtom and google maps also take a dump half the time when we get into the city proper.

[sparkles_ 456]

1 minute ago, charmander said:

We had our lawyer with us. Our case wasn't approved on the spot, long story short the IO said she needed to further investigate my 3 week long basic military training in Turkey. My lawyer told IO Turkey has mandatory military service for men and it had never been an issue before.  IO didn't care, she dismissed us.  Upon exitting lawyer told us she had a scheduled meeting with the field office director on a separate matter that afternoon and she would bring this up. we said thank you and left. To our surprise, the case was later approved the same afternoon. So, in my mind, my lawyer earned every penny we paid. 

 

I also thought our case was pretty straight forward but you'll never know what IOs could pick on.

This is why I worry. As you said, you never know what they can take issue with

[QueenComley 295]

We had a lawyer with us and he is awesome. It put my mind at ease a lot. I suffer severe anxiety so it was a comfort to me, despite a straight forward case (the interview was over in literally 2 minutes). Its a personal choice.

[ftayo09 0]

Hello,

My wife (US citizen) applied for a fiancee visa for me last year and I received the approval package from the consulate with the documents I was supposed to fill out for the visa interview. That was in late September 2016. However, in the meanwhile, my wife and I are having problems that may lead to a split up, so w my not be proceeding with the application. My question is:

- if she cancels the petition what effect does it have on me?
- if i eventually want to remarry and file again would i be denied?
- Would there be any consequences if I just leave the documents hanging and I don't send official letter of cancellation and also don't turn up for the interview?

would my f1 visa be revoked as i"m currently enrolled and still can fall back to my student status as we haven't gone or the interview and i only got the work authorization card.
Thanks in advance!

[QueenComley 295]

11 hours ago, ftayo09 said:

Hello,

My wife (US citizen) applied for a fiancee visa for me last year and I received the approval package from the consulate with the documents I was supposed to fill out for the visa interview. That was in late September 2016. However, in the meanwhile, my wife and I are having problems that may lead to a split up, so w my not be proceeding with the application. My question is:

- if she cancels the petition what effect does it have on me?
- if i eventually want to remarry and file again would i be denied?
- Would there be any consequences if I just leave the documents hanging and I don't send official letter of cancellation and also don't turn up for the interview?

would my f1 visa be revoked as i"m currently enrolled and still can fall back to my student status as we haven't gone or the interview and i only got the work authorization card.
Thanks in advance!

You need to start your own thread

[Beth & Achraf 328]

19 hours ago, sparkles_ said:

Pretty self explanatory, we have to decide to have our lawyer present or not at our AOS interview. Lawyer says today during our prep meeting she believes we will be fine on our own if we want to save on costs, and also that some IOs don't like having a lawyer present as they feel it steps on their toes with questioning. My husband thinks we will also be OK on our own. However, I'm a worry prone person. If I could have the lawyer there literally holding my hand that day, I would. 

 

You guys should read my signature before sounding off, we did have a complicated start to say the least in which my husband had to have removal terminated for overstay before we could proceed with AOS. We already have an approved i130.....we were married a month BEFORE he was put into removal while we drug our feet filing (most expensive mistake ever), I know that seems to be a key point in all this as to if a couple married before or after the removal began. On the plus side, we have 2yr worth of proofs because of how long everything took! We are aware we could be separated also, but lawyer says it isn't a huge likelyhood based on her knowledge of the local office and such.

 

Thanks guys. 

I'm like you I'm a worry wart, I'm thinking I want a lawyer with us, our case is unique, not on my husband, but on me.   I still dream of USCIS chasing me around, shouting "Burn the Witch"   

We have plenty of evidence that I did send with the concurrent filings, and started a new box titled, New Evidence that we will bring to interview.   Should be another 6 months or so before interview, Houston is so backed up, its sickening.

[sparkles_ 456]

1 hour ago, Beth & Achraf said:

I'm like you I'm a worry wart, I'm thinking I want a lawyer with us, our case is unique, not on my husband, but on me.   I still dream of USCIS chasing me around, shouting "Burn the Witch"   

We have plenty of evidence that I did send with the concurrent filings, and started a new box titled, New Evidence that we will bring to interview.   Should be another 6 months or so before interview, Houston is so backed up, its sickening.

Our interview took just over a full year to get the date. I get the feeling almost all offices are having a delay of some sorts for AOS

Edited March 14, 2017 by sparkles_

[Beth & Achraf 328]

It seems to me the concurrent filings take the longest for an interview.   But I guess it would, backgrounds checks and etc,  huh?

[Frank1420 6]

In my opinion is a matter of personal choice. Me and my wife took our lawyer to the interview because I do have a criminal record :/ . The lawyer just sat behind us didn't say much other than to clarify that on one of my arrests there were no charges filed...I still don't know if it was worth the extra $$$ for her to come with us. And she was late and emailed me the very same day of the interview at 6am as a courtesy reminder... smh ?‍♂️