Meeting with an immigration attorney regarding K-1 visa

[Marieke H 2,520]

5 hours ago, bsoraya said:

before the pandemic, we used to meet once a month (4 to 5 days)

But how many times have you had these short visits? Have you met each other's families? This is important, especially for your embassy.

[JFH 12,190]

8 hours ago, bsoraya said:

lack of time, my fiancé (US citizen) is very busy and won't be able to follow the process. We thought maybe hiring an attorney may help.

It should take no more than an hour or two to complete the I-129F, assuming your fiancé can read and write English. He will likely spend more time on the Zoom call with the attorney asking the questions than it would take him to complete the form himself. The forms don’t ask any questions to which you don’t already know the answers. It’s a basic “tell us who you are” form, not an entrance exam for NASA. I found the forms required to buy and register a car to be far more time-consuming and tedious than any stage of my immigration journey. 

[Ryan H 3,815]

Moved from Progress Reports to Process & Procedures.

[Just Paul 4,595]

12 hours ago, bsoraya said:

she mentionned 12 to 18 months as an average processing time from start to finish depending on where the alien fiancée lives, but didn't mention anything about my country (Morocco). We also noticed that attorneys fee changed from the time before the pandemic (between 4000$ and 5000$ now).

Well Morocco . . . skip the K1, get married, yup it is a hassle for him, a real big hassle.  Morocco does not approve many K1s and K1s can not be appealed.  He is going to need to take significant time away from his practice to get this done and be with you, someplace, anyplace. An attorney isn't going to help one bit for Morocco especially if they didn't warn about it being such a difficult country for a K1.   @JeanneAdil is a resident expert on Morocco.  Check out her profile and her old profile @Jeanne Adil too.

 

Please update your country in your profile so that the flag shows up and we know how to best help you.

 

9 hours ago, bsoraya said:

right, i wondered which process is easier, a K-1 or CR-1

An easy K1 does not exist in Morocco.

 

3 hours ago, Marieke H said:

But how many times have you had these short visits? Have you met each other's families? This is important, especially for your embassy.

OP you need to do this ^^^^^^    especially of there is any red flags like age gap or different religions.   If you marry do all of the cultural norms.

 

 

Edited August 18, 2020 by Paul & Mary

[Babaloo 12]

13 hours ago, bsoraya said:

Hello guys, 

i have a zoom appointent with an immigration attorney tomorrow regarding a K-1 visa. i want to know what are the questions my fiancé and i should ask if you can help me with suggestions.

Thank you  

i129f form has instructions, it says at the beginning(not sure where exactly though) you do not need attorney to file this form.

 

[Crazy Cat 41,982]

15 hours ago, bsoraya said:

Hello guys, 

i have a zoom appointent with an immigration attorney tomorrow regarding a K-1 visa. i want to know what are the questions my fiancé and i should ask if you can help me with suggestions.

Thank you  

Morocco.... I think it's worth putting this out there for you and your fiance to consider.....especially since you are able to see each other often.

Every couple has their own priorities, and each couple must decide which visa is better for their situation.

K-1
    Slightly faster arrival in the US     
    More expensive than CR-1    
    Requires Adjustment of Status after marriage (expensive and requires a lot of paperwork)    
    Spouse can not leave the US until she/he receives approved Advance Parole (approx 5-6 months)    
    Spouse can not work until she/he receives EAD (approx 5-6 months)    
    Some people have had problems with driver licenses, Social Security cards, leases, bank account during this period    
    Spouse will not receive Green Card for many months after Adjustment of Status is filed.
    A denied K-1 is sent back to USCIS to expire
  

CR-1
    Slightly slower arrival in the US 

    Less expensive than K-1    
    No Adjustment of Status(I-485, I-131, I-765) required.    
    Spouse can immediately travel outside the US    
    Spouse is authorized to work immediately upon arrival.    
    Spouse receives Social Security Card and Green Card within 2 or 3 weeks after entering the US    
    Opening a bank account, getting a driver's license, etc. are very easily accomplished with GC, SS card, and passport.

    Spouse has legal permanent Resident status IMMEDIATELY upon entry to US.
  �

 

 

[Mezyan 149]

They may not have the option to marry in Morocco. If the petitioner is male and not Muslim, it will be very difficult.

 

K1s are hard in Morocco but not impossible. I did not hire an attorney and do not regret my decision. Although, I will say sometimes it may be necessary to hire an attorney once your case is at the embassy. There are couples on here who have had to do this to get their case moving as they were put on long administrative processing.

 

You will find some people on this forum who have very negative opinions of the K1 process and morocco. I don't always agree with everything that is said by other people going through the Moroccan embassy here. If they have not gone through the process in the last couple of years, it really is better to talk to people who have.

 

Feel free to email me if you have questions. I'm happy to help you all.

 

Good luck with the process

[Mezyan 149]

5 hours ago, Paul & Mary said:

An easy K1 does not exist in Morocco.

Not totally true. There are easy K1s. Very few of them, but they do exist.

 

It really just depends on the case and the "red flags"

[Crazy Cat 41,982]

2 hours ago, Mezyan said:

There are couples on here who have had to do this to get their case moving as they were put on long administrative processing.

An attorney can not expedite Administrative Processing.....

[rndz 12]

I'll add something else to the other advice you've received in this thread that may not be initially obvious.

If you do the filing yourself you'll be working at your own speed.  If you hire help of any kind, especially a lawyer, you will sometimes find yourself waiting for someone to respond to an email or phone message when questions come up with your filing and they are busy with another client or not available.  This can add some level of stress when you're already impatient and just want to get on with things.

When we made the decision to use a lawyer for the K1 it was really a jump ball - we'd looked at the forms and they didn't seem too daunting.  However, we had one circumstance that was slightly unusual and decided to get some consultation and advice and ended up going the attorney route.

[Highmystic 234]

22 hours ago, bsoraya said:

Hello guys, 

i have a zoom appointent with an immigration attorney tomorrow regarding a K-1 visa. i want to know what are the questions my fiancé and i should ask if you can help me with suggestions.

Thank you  

I agree with the others on pro or con for a K1 lawyer.  I don't read any, who said their lawyer was the greatest,  but there are quite a number of lawyer horror stories.  Keep in mind also, it's normally not the lawyer who does the work, his staff puts it all together from the info and forms YOU provide.  Lost papers, missed filings, wrong date on a form.  Suddenly everyone is an Immigration expert.  We did our own.  And if you were to get married first and file spouse, the money saved over the K1 might pay a big chunk of the legal fees charged to you. 

[Mezyan 149]

4 hours ago, Lucky Cat said:

An attorney can not expedite Administrative Processing.....

Correct. I didn't directly say they could expedite it. I apologise for my unclear language. 😬

 

I was simply suggesting that the OP might need a lawyer later. Better to use one when you need it than when you do not.

[SydneyfMaghrib 69]

8 hours ago, Mezyan said:

They may not have the option to marry in Morocco. If the petitioner is male and not Muslim, it will be very difficult.

 

K1s are hard in Morocco but not impossible. I did not hire an attorney and do not regret my decision. Although, I will say sometimes it may be necessary to hire an attorney once your case is at the embassy. There are couples on here who have had to do this to get their case moving as they were put on long administrative processing.

 

You will find some people on this forum who have very negative opinions of the K1 process and morocco. I don't always agree with everything that is said by other people going through the Moroccan embassy here. If they have not gone through the process in the last couple of years, it really is better to talk to people who have.

 

Feel free to email me if you have questions. I'm happy to help you all.

 

Good luck with the process

Don’t let people scare you out of doing a K-1 in Morocco. I know plenty of people who have had easy K-1 experiences with the Casablanca consulate. They do easily approve cases if there are no red flags. If you have plenty of visits, are close in age, etc. you will be fine  The reason people get denied is because IT IS high fraud country and they show up to the interview with 5+ red flags. 
 

I just realized I accidentally replied to the wrong comment...but yes I agree with everything you said @Mezyen! This forum really does hate Morocco K-1’s. 

Edited August 18, 2020 by SydneyfMaghrib
Replied to wrong person