Lawyer vs. self
What are people's experiences with immigration lawyers? Are they worth it? Any recommendations? I just don't want to pay $1000 for someone to say "yep, you've got everything correct, well done". Is doing it yourself worth the stress? Sorry if this has already been asked. Going through every thread is very time consuming. Thanks!
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Re: Lawyer vs. self
Hi beyness,
We used a lawyer for the US portion of the K1 (getting the initial petition together) but only because my fiance is very busy and travels a lot on business. For us it was nice to have someone who would be able to take all the detail work off his hands. We were really happy with the work they did, but usually you really do not need a lawyer. It's not necessary at all. There is tons of information online, some websites exactly outlining what papers you need to submit etc. And if you are unsure about anything, you can ask here. Unless there are issues that make your case difficult (like a criminal record for instance) I would suggest save the money and do it yourself. Jeannine |
Re: Lawyer vs. self
We didn't use an attorney; we did it alone. I used to always think that there was no
use in using an attorney, but I might do it differently if I had it to do all over again. We had lots of problems once we got to the green card part. It was nothing that we did wrong ourselves - just lots of INS mistakes. Without an attorney we had almost no recourse in getting the mistakes resolved, movement on our apparently lost file, etc. I'm just tired from all of the stress and hassle we've gone through, and it would have been nice to be able to say to an attorney "take care of it for us please." As it is, we now have a conditional green card that should have been a non-conditional one (we were never told to come get the passport stamp so we never knew the AOS had been approved and therefore didn't know they'd mistakenly given us conditional status) and our only recourse is to write a letter to our district office. Since our letters have never made a difference in the past, we don't foresee that one will make a difference this time either. If we could afford an attorney now (we can't; one of us lost their job recently and is working a new job at half the salary), we'd probably hire one just to rid ourselves of the worry and hassle. God willing, we're almost done. |
Re: Lawyer vs. self
I am using an attorney because me and my husband are too busy. It seems worthwhile because all I had to do was get everything together (that she requested) and go sign the paperwork once ready. It is very stress free and fast. I figured by the time I read all the forms and get it right it will be a year before I would do my AOS. Using an attorney is definitely worthwhile if you are busy. I was referred to her by one of my friends who used her.
The lawyer does not only say, "yep, you've got everything done." They do it for you. I think it is worth it. But until I have my AOS interview....I really don't know!! |
Re: Lawyer vs. self
beyness <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:<[email protected]>... > What are people's experiences with immigration lawyers? Are they worth it? Any > recommendations? I just don't want to pay $1000 for someone to say "yep, you've > got everything correct, well done". Is doing it yourself worth the stress? Sorry > if this has already been asked. Going through every thread is very time > consuming. Thanks! > -- It was my experience that using the newsgroup, faq, and recommended websites was much more reliable than even considering using a lawyer. Too many times I've seen posts from people saying "my lawyer said this (photo, evidence, experience, whatever) is bad and will hold things up. Is he right?" only to have the majority of responses say "your lawyer isn't right." The newsgroup is free (well, unless you pay by the hour for your internet time ;) ), always available, and responses are quick. You can almost always find people who are dealing with the exact same countries, consulates, and service centers as you. It's also much better to have a place full of sympathetic people to vent to when the stress gets high, and to possibly meet up with locally for support, celebrations, and even possibly people from the same place as your fiance(e). Use Google to search the newsgroup and you can find answers to a lot of things already. Even tricky situations, or weird/awkward/strange questions that a lawyer might never have dealt with. It IS a lot of paperwork, and it IS stressful, but really... it was nothing compared to NOT being with Ian. I would have done much more to get him here. |
Re: Lawyer vs. self
I agree with Maggie's response. You can get enough info from this group and web sites
to do it yourself. Most people do it themselves. If you're short on time, it can be worth the money to pay a lawyer to file for you. Also, there is the occasional unfortunate filing that gets misplaced. Paying a lawyer, a good one, could give you some remedies beyond setting on the phone for a week trying to talk to someone at INS. I suspect lawyers who regularly file have some contacts or ways of checking into things that we don't have. I paid a lawyer to file my K3 papers for the same reason Maggie stated. I also wanted that insurance if anything went wrong the lawyer might have some ideas on how to correct it. I used Holmes & Lolly, but I don't recommend them. They dropped the ball at almost every opportunity. They generated an RFE and sent it to me to complete and send to INS myself. See my earlier posting [1]. I used John Dorer at www.usavisanow.com to file my EAD and AOS. He has discount prices. At these prices he's not available to discuss your every question at length. He tends to conduct everything in email, and his goal is to get a retainer and complete the work -- and move on to the next one to keep his prices low. This can be a little unnerving. But I've seen others post good experiences. I went that route and was very happy with his service. Matt Udall (http://members.aol.com/MDUdall/fiancee.htm) receives many recommendations in this group. He posts here regularly. I think that's a giant plus. He mixes with the do-it-yourselfers and is in a public forum where any unhappy customers (if there were any) would take him to task. His prices are between John Dorer's and Holmes & Lolly's. As I said, I don't recommend Holmes & Lolly. Their prices are twice Udall's and 3-4 times more than Dorer's. Their selling point is that they will continue to assist (in the form of consulting) in your ongoing immigration issues (AOS, removal of conditions). Besides all the bungling when we weren't even in the "consult" mode, I was left wondering what the promise of ongoing service would be like when they kicked the RFE to me to respond to. After paying twice the money and getting an eager "it's not my job" response, it really diminished the value they say you're paying a *premium* for. They might be cleaning up their act. Hopefully others who have had a good experience can say something. But my experience leaves me with a big "thumbs down". Hope this helps! If you've got the money and want some peace of mind, use Dorer or Udall. If you need more peace of mind than a quick relatioship through the mail, use Udall. Mark [1]http://groups.google.com/groups?q=mf...rriage-based&h l=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&selm=f81d1c42.0206270938.4dc159d6%40posting.goog le.com&rnu m=1 also see a similar posting http://groups.google.com/groups?q=mf...rriage-based&h l=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&selm=f81d1c42.0207031303.4e0a3f7b%40posting.goog le.com&rnu m=1 "beyness" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]... > What are people's experiences with immigration lawyers? Are they worth it? Any > recommendations? I just don't want to pay $1000 for someone to say "yep, you've > got everything correct, well done". Is doing it yourself worth the stress? Sorry > if this has already been asked. Going through every thread is very time > consuming. Thanks! > > > > -- |
Re: Lawyer vs. self
If you are somewhat detail oriented and can follow instructions, then you really
don't need a lawyer (unless you have a special case). I put together the paperwork for the I-129F petition and my fiance did the consulate paperwork. He was approved and given the K1 Visa last Wednesday. The timeline: May 9th - Sent I-129F petition to VSC May 10th - Notice of Action - actual paper rcvd May 15th May 24th - Notice of Approval on VSC recording - two weeks later rcvd the actual paper. Mid-June - Fiance and son had medical appointments. Son had to get a Hep-B vaccination. July 8th - Fiance's interview at the consulate. He didn't take the original of the I-134 with him so he had to take it back the following day (tues). July 10th - Fiance and son received K1 Visas and the brown envelopes. |
Re: Lawyer vs. self
It is the Green Card where you generally see problems with INS doing errors as you read from the previous postings.
You may the following helpful if you are filling K-1 by yourself at: http://warsaw-visaguide.hypermart.net/ http://www.visapro.com/Fiance-Visa/K1-Fiancee-Visa.asp Paul @ HelpDesk |
Re: Lawyer vs. self
What it comes down to is you and your fiancee. How detail oriented are you? How comfortable are you with following instructions and weeding out potential problem areas? Do either of you have issues that might cause problems, i.e. overstays, health and money issues, criminal history even as a minor? Are you aggresive without being nasty if a problem arises and needs you to run interference with either the department of state or department of justice?
The forms are easy enough and there are plenty of people here on this newsgroup and enough websites established and as up-to-date as possible to help you through a Do-It-Youself processing. So my advise is to look at yourselves honesty and decide if you can handle it. If you can, then go to it. If you can't, then the money you spent will be well worth it if you hire an attorney who is experienced. For the other poster who remarked about various posters complaining about incompetent attorneys, bear in mind that those people are the ones that find their where here for help rather than people who did hire competent attorneys. Rete |
Re: Lawyer vs. self
The paperwork is time consuming and at times difficult to understand, but I did it
all on my own and haven't encountered any problems so far. This group was fantastic for answering any questions I had about the paperwork and their advice is free. ;) -- Kim R. beyness <[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]... > What are people's experiences with immigration lawyers? Are they worth it? Any > recommendations? I just don't want to pay $1000 for someone to say "yep, you've > got everything correct, well done". Is doing it yourself worth the stress? Sorry > if this has already been asked. Going through every thread is very time > consuming. Thanks! > > > > -- |
Re: Lawyer vs. self
I decided to do it myself, and (and almost succeded).
The help and advice I received from here was fantastic, however I came up against 3 problems. 1/. At one point I was getting so many conflicting opinions on a question I had on the I-864, that in the end I paid a London lawyer £250 for their advice on a one off consultancy and their advice was invaluable (the fee also included a few follow up faxes and emails on a couple of other potential "banana skins") 2/. I did follow the instructions of an immigration lawyer on another site, regarding an I-864A problem I had, which resulted in an RFE at my interview. 3/. I did not realise that I needed a letter from my ex-wife giving permission to take my 17 year old daughter with me. Unless your case and process is reasonably straight forward and un-complicated, it shouldn't be to hard to do yourself, but because I have a few slight irregularities, I found myself going around and round, clogging up my head with so much information which then makes it difficult to see things clearly. My suggestion would be, if yours is reasonably straightforward is to try it on your own (particularly if money is a bit tight) You always have the option at a later date of consulting with a lawyer, if you get stuck. I'm sure others may offer far better advice than mine, and unfortunately that's where the confussion comes in !! I can only go on my experience. Good luck to you Roger (+ Ida) |
Re: Lawyer vs. self
Thanks for the advice. Our situation is pretty simple except for small things (questions that I posed in another thread). My mom's boyfriend is a lawyer (but not an immigration lawyer, unfortunately!) so he said he'd look over the paperwork for obvious errors. Hopefully, it will all be okay. if not, maybe I'll just move to England instead!
Thanks again... |
Re: Lawyer vs. self
As mom's SO is an attorney, he can perhaps refer you as a curosity to an immigration attorney. We do this referral thing in our law office all the time. There is sometimes a small referral fee if anything. The field of law is a large networking playground.
Rete |
Re: Lawyer vs. self
Well, let me put it this way: Once I found out how much the retainer fee was as well
as what the prospective attorney would charge me by the hour (and never knowing HOW MANY hours) until the bill came, I had no choice but to do it myself, since I lacked the funds. Being the profession that I'm in, I'm also a stickler for detail and meticulous at best. I can honestly say without reservation that I'm pleased I've completed all of the INS forms on my own, from the I-129F to the I-485 and many forms in between. The good news is that my husband now has his greencard. My confidence in my abilities will now have me complete the "Removal of Conditions" and "Citizenships" forms in 2003/2004, undoubtedly, without attorney intervention. We'll save the money for a getaway trip to the Caribbean instead. :) Omo |
Re: Lawyer vs. self
Omo,
How long was your process from beginning to end? This may also have been before all the changes. When did you begin? Thanks! Fred |
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