Pulaski

Agreed on all points. I completed the forms with my wife's assistance. I'm the immigrant, she's a USC, neither of us are lawyers. We had no problems at all, and in fairness it didn't even occur to us to hire an lawyer (how bad would completing forms have to be that paying a lawyer $2,000+ to help complete them is a sensible idea? ) .... And I hadn't even found BE, so we managed to complete the process with any on-line handholding.

ian-mstm

FIFY!

Ian

ScousePete

If you have loadsa money, have a hard time filling in forms and are anxiety-ridden, then go ahead and pay for a lawyer.

However, you found this forum, so you're already halfway there...

markonline1

Having been through the K1 route myself, I gotta say, it'll be the biggest waste of money going to hire a lawyer. The forms are really straight forward. You just have to take a bit of time to sit down and prepare what you need. Me and my wife actually used a different forum for the process. www.visajourney.com (mods, delete that if I'm not allowed to reference it here). You can download all the forms you need from there along with filled out examples. There's a wealth of info over there. From what I understand, all these lawyers do is just basically proof read your documents before you send them in anyway. Nice work if you can get it!
With regards to the interviews, if you have a genuine relationship, they are a breeze. Mine wasn't even really an interview, it was an informal chat. The impression I got was once you get to that embassy, it's virtually a formality anyway.

Smudger222

What si I-829F I cant find that one.

rpjs

My bad - I-129F - thanks also to Ian

ian-mstm

People should never (never, ever, ever!) download any forms from any site other than www.uscis.gov or a US government Consulate/Embassy web site.


Sadly, many of the folks posting there give incorrect information - which is why people come here when they want accurate information.


Unfortunately, many don't proofread - and that who do, don't often attempt to verify that the information on the forms is, in fact, accurate. It's always the applicant's responsibility - whether a lawyer is used or not - so it's often easier to simply do the forms yourself.


With respect, you received an incorrect impression. Getting a family-based visa is almost never a formality.

Ian

markonline1

The links on visajourney take you to the USCIS site. I received nothing but top info from the site whenever I had any sort of questions during the process. Also I don't believe I said getting the visa was a formality. Impression and fact are two completely different things.

Pulaski

If you're acknowledging that your impression might be inaccurate, and therefore misleading, I am mystified as to why you posted it.

markonline1

I was at window 2 for 2 minutes. I was asked a couple of questions, mainly where did you meet, when and where are you looking to get married and how much money do you make in the UK. From the embassy reviews I've read, that is pretty standard for the majority of people. Therefor by the time you get to the embassy, to me the decision seems pretty much made, just crossing the t's and dotting the i's, or pretty much a formality. That's why I wrote that. Is that ok?

ian-mstm

Well, that's not quite the same thing as what you wrote originally, is it? Thanks for confirming!


You were lucky!

Ian

RICH

You only need a Lawyer if there is a problem in your situation. Otherwise it is a form filling excerise.

The real question is, do you qualify?

S Folinsky

The AmCit's criminal record can and often does have an effect on a case. The AmCit's ID is run through the database. It can get interesting to say the least.

hungryhorace

Example?

S Folinsky

I used to do my own taxes. I feel a lot better having a professional do it. I think the situation is analogous.

Does one "need" an immigration lawyer? Good question. Sometimes it like insurance - a good lawyer will keep it from blowing up if a problem raises its ugly head. Sometimes the simplest case runs into the officer from hell.

Bottom line - decision is yours.