lawyer?

[Perseverance 1]

We have hired a lawyer to make sure that all of the papers are correct. Has anyone else used a lawyer? I was a bit shocked to see how fast we got our reciept. I was thinkning it would take longer. I am wondering if it has something to do with the lawyer? Anywho.. opinions or experience using lawyers?

[iceyspots 0]

Dont do it.

[newguy 0]

THIS is how I feel,

I paid RHC visa services $2,700.00 It looks like just to file my papers know stuck in NVC and they wont even call or help us well I feel pertly stupid. See link A candle for love

[Dean iWait 0]

A lawyer has no affect on processing times. Got my NOA1 very quickly no lawyer.

[iceyspots 0]

More often than not, lawyers delay cases more than help.

[Erik 0]

Think you'll find a pretty mixed bag of opinions here about Lawyers. Personally, if your case is straight forward it's a waste of money. You can get all the information the Lawyer can get on this website, and at times even more information. If your case isn't complicated, the paperwork, and process is straight forward (slow, but straight forward for the most part). Read the directions, double, triple check everything and you should not have a problem.

A Lawyer will not speed things up for you, and can often actually slow things down for you, as we've seen here many times. I considered hiring one at first also because I was overwhelmed with everything, but after I sat down, did some research, I realized it wasn't that difficult to do, you just need to pay attention.

For some folks it's all to nerve racking and hiring a Lawyer gives them some sort of comfort. So, if thats the case, and you don't mind paying for something that you can most likely do on your own, then a Lawyer might not be a bad idea. But, other than check over your papers, they really can't do anything else from what I can tell. They can't get evidence, or documents you need later on in the process for you, then can only tell you what to get, and you need to do it yourself anyway.

So, to me it's a waste of money, and can actually add to the aggravation of this process (ie. the Lawyer doesn't realize he has received an RFE for your case, and you end up waiting 3 months before he realizes his office received it, when normally it would have been mailed directly to your house). But, again if it gives you comfort, then I would do what you feel is best for you.

Edited August 4, 2006 by Erik

[iceyspots 0]

Man I wish I found VJ in like... January.

[RosaMystica7 0]

Well, you already hired the lawyer, so no use in discussing whether or not it's good/necessary to do. But no, the reason it went so fast was not because you had a lawyer... although maybe if the lawyer caught a typo or mistake that you made because you weren't confident he would've saved you a few weeks that you would've been held up for the RFE. But you could've done that yourself anyway but double, triple, and quadruple checking.

[AndyMisiu 0]

I feel that a Lawyers main use is assuring that you have all your paper work together and filled out correctly before mailing the petition. If you have a special case and need to obtain paperwork other than the norm, like Divorce, waivers, convictions, overstays, past visa fraud, and other things of this nature, a Lawyer can help guide you in the process. After the paperwork is filed there job is pretty much done. They have no hand on the internal processing of the petition. Actually a Lawyer can have name checks done on him if his name is on your petition, him and anyone else who's name is on it. Not that this would be a big deal for an immigration lawyer, I'm sure it's been done a bunch to them, but could cause delays. Who really knows!! You should feel safe with the paperwork you sent in having a lawyer review it, however, I need to be in control and rely on myself. I did not hire a lawyer but it might have been a good idea in my case, only time will tell.

[Qiao - 108 days 0]

We have hired a lawyer to make sure that all of the papers are correct. Has anyone else used a lawyer? I was a bit shocked to see how fast we got our reciept. I was thinkning it would take longer. I am wondering if it has something to do with the lawyer? Anywho.. opinions or experience using lawyers?

From the people I have talked to, the only real value in having a lawyer involved is when a serious problem arises and you need someone that understands all of the intricacies of immigration law. I have seen no other value other than that, and I know some people that have said their lawyer messed them up.

[~Jackie~ 30]

Our $2,000 lawyer was a total waste of money. He sent the K3 to the wrong center, and caused 2 RFEs. Our separtion was 2 years.

Good luck in your process.

Jackie

[Perseverance 1]

Our lawyer has indeed caught mistakes in our paperwork. I am Divorced, and we can not provide a birth cerifiate for Justice, it was lost many years ago and his parents are dead, all we have is a court affidavit saying that he is hwo he says he is. I have to be honest our lawyer has helped us and it does make me feel better knowing that there is someone who knows the ins and outs of this process. Our case does seem to have the possiblity of complications. I do double check his work that he send us for review, and I stay in contact with him, to keep on top of things.

[jezebelseven 0]

More often than not, lawyers delay cases more than help.

If I had went with the lawyer I saw months ago, this would've been true in my case as well, I'm certain. I only saw her for a first visit to see if she might be able to help me so thankfully I only lost like $60 for a conference fee, but during it she basically told us to just 'sneak him in the country and get married (ie enter with intent to stay)' and she'd 'take care of the rest'. Thank god I knew about visajourney because I was able to find out that she was about as far from correct as possible before I did something that could've ruined things for us.

Now that my fiance and I have sat down and done the papers and are getting ready to mail off the first bit, we've gained the confidence on our own that this is a lot easier than we were convinced. That's not to say some people won't have problems but our case is fairly straightforward, the only problem we might bump into is with a cosponsor.

[Bobkatz 0]

Coming from Nigeria I think you are wise to employ a lawyer. Most will tell you not to bother in here but they are from countries that are not generally viewed as high risk. Nigeria is one that is and therefore getting it right first time is always a good idea.

Good Luck

[zauberblume 0]

I agree with Bobkatz.

Having a lawyer may very well help your case, especially since you said your fiance does not have a birth certificate.

I never even thought about getting a lawyer because my husband is from Germany, is white, has never been married, has never over-stayed a visa, etc. Our case was quite straightforward. There are rarely problems with white immigrants from Western countries in straightforward cases.