Recommended lawyer to help with CR-1?

[jagsfl 14]

30 minutes ago, missileman said:

Our delay didn't happen in the first 6 months.  It happened at the NVC stage, 9 months after the attorney submitted the first paperwork......in stead of the normal 11 weeks (at that time) at NVC, our case was stuck there for 23 weeks............delays can happen at any time during the 12-14 month process.

Oh I see. Got it... Thanks for your advice, I'm going to look a bit more into the whole process and decide from there. I'm no where hurting for money, and more or less want to have someone else do it just for sake of less anxiety worrying about it, and time.

 

Btw thanks for your service. I also was in the AF, did 6 years.

[carmel34 3,626]

You sound like a careful person, you want the petition done right the first time.  Read the guides here on VJ and do it yourself.  Go over the petition a few times to make sure it's correct.  Ask questions here on VJ.  Gather your evidence and organize it according to the suggestions here.  There are so many horror stories about people paying attorneys and they make mistakes, cause delays, forget to send a critical document, etc. etc.  Some people use attorneys and have a good experience, but why pay an attorney (who will have their clerical staff do all of this anyway), to fill out forms for you?  I found it much less stressful to do it myself and not have to worry about someone else making a mistake.  It's a personal choice, but if you pay attention to details I suggest just doing it yourself.  That way you're in control of the process, and that''s helpful.  Also remember that using an attorney does not speed anything up, and usually slows down the process because it's one more office/bureaucracy in the chain.  The only time attorneys are needed is when there are real legal problems in a complicated immigration case, such as previous deportations, waivers, criminal records, etc.  Whatever you do, good luck!

[jagsfl 14]

8 minutes ago, carmel34 said:

You sound like a careful person, you want the petition done right the first time.  Read the guides here on VJ and do it yourself.  Go over the petition a few times to make sure it's correct.  Ask questions here on VJ.  Gather your evidence and organize it according to the suggestions here.  There are so many horror stories about people paying attorneys and they make mistakes, cause delays, forget to send a critical document, etc. etc.  Some people use attorneys and have a good experience, but why pay an attorney (who will have their clerical staff do all of this anyway), to fill out forms for you?  I found it much less stressful to do it myself and not have to worry about someone else making a mistake.  It's a personal choice, but if you pay attention to details I suggest just doing it yourself.  That way you're in control of the process, and that''s helpful.  Also remember that using an attorney does not speed anything up, and usually slows down the process because it's one more office/bureaucracy in the chain.  The only time attorneys are needed is when there are real legal problems in a complicated immigration case, such as previous deportations, waivers, criminal records, etc.  Whatever you do, good luck!

That does make a lot of sense there. I didn't think of it that way. I also haven't seen the threads of the horror stories from attorneys making large mistakes.

I'm sure I can do it myself so I reckon that's what I'm going to do.  I do have help here as you have stated and I need to use that as my cushion instead of just acting out on fear and getting someone else to do what I can do.

One of my concerns with doing it myself is that I am currently traveling abroad for the past couple of years with my wife. We met a couple of years ago and got married in December. My concern is, if I do it myself, how does the communication process take place with USCIS? Are they going to be sending me physical mail with what they need from me, and what the next steps are? Or can I do all of this over e-mail? If the whole process can be done over e-mail that would be great. If not, my 'physical living address' is back at my moms house and she can look out for the mail.

Also another question I have is when is it that I have to go do my interview in the states? Do I ever do my interview in the states, or would I be doing it in Indonesia with my wife?

Thanks big time!

[carmel34 3,626]

9 minutes ago, jagsfl said:

That does make a lot of sense there. I didn't think of it that way. I also haven't seen the threads of the horror stories from attorneys making large mistakes.

I'm sure I can do it myself so I reckon that's what I'm going to do.  I do have help here as you have stated and I need to use that as my cushion instead of just acting out on fear and getting someone else to do what I can do.

One of my concerns with doing it myself is that I am currently traveling abroad for the past couple of years with my wife. We met a couple of years ago and got married in December. My concern is, if I do it myself, how does the communication process take place with USCIS? Are they going to be sending me physical mail with what they need from me, and what the next steps are? Or can I do all of this over e-mail? If the whole process can be done over e-mail that would be great. If not, my 'physical living address' is back at my moms house and she can look out for the mail.

Also another question I have is when is it that I have to go do my interview in the states? Do I ever do my interview in the states, or would I be doing it in Indonesia with my wife?

Thanks big time!

Notifications are all sent by email these days, sometimes a hard copy follows as well but those can go to your US address no problem.  USCIS and NVC have websites where you can track your case as often as you want to.  The only physical mail that really matters is your wife's address abroad (to receive the passport with the visa in it), and then after your wife immigrates to the US, to receive the green card and social security card.  Your wife's interview will be in Indonesia about a year after filing the  I-130 petition if all goes well.  You don't have to be there, in fact some embassies don't allow it, you can check here on the country-specific forum to find out.  If you are allowed in most people recommend it.  For you, the issues to focus on during the year of waiting for the process to play out before the interview will be to establish US domicile and US-based income, and getting US tax returns or IRS tax transcripts (based on your world-wide income) for the three most recent tax years.  Read up on all of this here on VJ.  Good luck!

[LilyJ 1,258]

3 hours ago, jagsfl said:

Thanks... I guess the biggest thing is that I don't want one thing to be wrong on the forms when I'm doing it. One slight thing can get them to say "No" right? And as someone mentioned above, it can take months before you finally hear back from USCIS with them telling me so? So then I have to re-start the whole process all over again?

Regardless of whether you did it right or not it will take months to hear anything. Even if you did everything entirely right the first time it still takes 6-8 months on average to know whether you are approved, denied, or have RFE (request for evidence). Usually you will be sent an RFE before you are denied, and you can get an RFE even if you have a lawyer prepare it for you (as missileman said), which can cause up to an extra few months or more on top of how long you’ve already waited. And receiving an RFE doesn’t mean you restart the process over again either, you just submit to them what they ask for, but it does cost time. But even if you’ve done everything right you will not hear anything for many months, this process is a waiting game.

[Scandi 4,166]

Honestly, I would worry MORE having someone else doing something that important for me. I would want to do it myself, especially after reading all the horror stories about lawyers here on VJ throught the years.

 

If you really want one I hope you find a really, really good one who won't mess up your application and delay your case in n all kinds of ways. Good luck.

[jagsfl 14]

16 hours ago, carmel34 said:

Notifications are all sent by email these days, sometimes a hard copy follows as well but those can go to your US address no problem.  USCIS and NVC have websites where you can track your case as often as you want to.  The only physical mail that really matters is your wife's address abroad (to receive the passport with the visa in it), and then after your wife immigrates to the US, to receive the green card and social security card.  Your wife's interview will be in Indonesia about a year after filing the  I-130 petition if all goes well.  You don't have to be there, in fact some embassies don't allow it, you can check here on the country-specific forum to find out.  If you are allowed in most people recommend it.  For you, the issues to focus on during the year of waiting for the process to play out before the interview will be to establish US domicile and US-based income, and getting US tax returns or IRS tax transcripts (based on your world-wide income) for the three most recent tax years.  Read up on all of this here on VJ.  Good luck!

That's great to know. Definitely helps calm my nerves a lot with going at this doing it myself without an attorney.  I did hear from someone before that I would have an interview at some point. So that is entirely not true? I will never have to have an interview? 

Thanks for your key points on what I need to gather. After I submit everything I will get onto gathering all of that together!

 

15 hours ago, LilyJohansen said:

Regardless of whether you did it right or not it will take months to hear anything. Even if you did everything entirely right the first time it still takes 6-8 months on average to know whether you are approved, denied, or have RFE (request for evidence). Usually you will be sent an RFE before you are denied, and you can get an RFE even if you have a lawyer prepare it for you (as missileman said), which can cause up to an extra few months or more on top of how long you’ve already waited. And receiving an RFE doesn’t mean you restart the process over again either, you just submit to them what they ask for, but it does cost time. But even if you’ve done everything right you will not hear anything for many months, this process is a waiting game.

 

Thanks for that info!  Question - would you happen to have a resource you can share with me that shows each step of the process and the approximate time through each step? Like maybe an image that shows it, or written... just something? That way I have an idea of what's happening?

 

5 hours ago, Scandi said:

Honestly, I would worry MORE having someone else doing something that important for me. I would want to do it myself, especially after reading all the horror stories about lawyers here on VJ throught the years.

 

If you really want one I hope you find a really, really good one who won't mess up your application and delay your case in n all kinds of ways. Good luck.

 

Thanks for your input.  After hearing this from a few of you I have decided to carry on doing this myself.

[LilyJ 1,258]

3 hours ago, jagsfl said:

Thanks for that info!  Question - would you happen to have a resource you can share with me that shows each step of the process and the approximate time through each step? Like maybe an image that shows it, or written... just something? That way I have an idea of what's happening?

Here is the VisaJourney CR1 guide to give you some idea of the process:

https://www.visajourney.com/content/i130guide1

Youre also of course free to post any questions you have on the forum, lots of knowledgeable helpful members on here! How long it will take for I-130 approval will depend on what service center you really petition is sent to, but on average it is around 6-8 months, however some centers take shorter or longer than others. Then once your petition is approved and sent to NVC, that usually takes around 2-3 or so months. And then will be the interview, the time for that will depend on what embassy your spouse must do the interview through depending on the country of residence and how often interviews become available at that embassy. On average the process takes 12-14 months start to finish (from time USCIS gets your petition to approval of visa). Once you send in your petition and find out what service center you are sent to, you can also update your timeline here on VisaJourney and VJ will give you an *estimated* date of petition approval, which may not be 100% accurate but will give you an idea of how long it may be for the I-130 approval

Edited May 18, 2019 by LilyJohansen

[SalishSea 17,827]

On 5/17/2019 at 5:30 AM, jagsfl said:

 

Thanks... I guess the biggest thing is that I don't want one thing to be wrong on the forms when I'm doing it. One slight thing can get them to say "No" right? And as someone mentioned above, it can take months before you finally hear back from USCIS with them telling me so? So then I have to re-start the whole process all over again?

 

 

 

 

This kinda ties into my response to Bill & Katya, a 3 month delay can't really be a bad thing right? When the delay could be a lot worse if you were to do it yourself and USCIS doesn't let you know you've done it wrong for 6 months +? 

Also, I'd like to point out that I work for myself so I have been living and traveling abroad for the past couple of years with my wife. Since I am not at home, could the process of going back and forth with USCIS in regards to RFE's and other sorts be a pain in the ***?

I wouldn't mind submitting things myself. I just have all of these concerns ^above^ that makes me think I wouldn't mind forking out 2 grand to have it taken care of for me without concerns. I can always make more money.

What makes you think that USCIS will inform an attorney that something is “wrong” with what was submitted any faster than the petioner?  Attorneys do not have special ties or privileges to any part of this process.  They are simply being paid by you to submit the info you provide.