Immigration Attorneys

[foebia]

I agree that an Immigration lawyer can be beneficial in some cases. However, the amount they charge and the amount of work they do is unsubstantiated. You provide the answers and they type them in, about 1000.00 is a little much to merely transcribe some documents.

 

If you do it yourself you gain some insight of the wonderful immigration system, and that my friend... is tax free.

[G-man]

Skip this one.

[G-man]

I'll throw my two cents in. You probably don't need an attorney but I felt more secure having one. I used William Livingston at fiancee-visas@ prodigy.net. He charges $1000.00 flat fee which I thought was a deal after talking to local attorneys that said they would charge 3 to 4 grand. It's an expensive way to make sure your i's are dotted and your t's crossed, but..... that's life. ( He also sells an instruction book for $80.00)

[warpedbored]

4.  Also, I may be wrong, but I don't ever remember seeing a post from someone who has been "blue-slipped" by GZ, and had used an Immigration Attorney for the process.  It may have happened, but I don't remember it.

Nice to hear from you again Carl. Don't be such a stranger.

 

Alex used an attorney and his wife was not only bluesliped and ran through the wringer but then the case was sent back to the US. I seriously doubt it makes any difference to the VO whether you have one or not.

[bags]

Two questions -

 

What is the reasoning for turning down k3 visas? The only reason is because their is a paperwork problem, and, from what I understand, all embassies will turn down a visa if the paperwork isnt in order. Of course, some probably more than others.

 

Anyway, what is this Power Of Attorney Form you are talking about?

[Guest DragonFlower]

Hmmm,different things can go different ways for different people.

 

Carl

I am using the same firm ,and I am far from impressed.All the 2500 dollars

has bought me so far is 4 months of delays.Noone in the office even speaks or reads Chinese(except his wife,who does not work there).

I have been mis-informed several times and the attitude is decidely cold after giving them their money in advance of the work.

 

I hope it works out OK.We can also see from ALEX's case,having a lawyer does not mean a darn thing at the interveiw.His lawyer did not catch or recognize his problem(if he actually has a problem) nor alleviate the capricious behaviour of The GZ people.

 

I hired a lawyer for peace of mind(knowing that this process has grown problematic).I have since found that I have had to do my own research and learn the process.

 

So I can keep an eye on the government AND my lawyer.

(Not to mention,explain everything to my wife).

 

long

[Phil & Ningning]

I apologize for being so long-winded, that's why I don't post much anymore.

Thank you Carl, for your long-windedness. Your post has made me feel much better about my early decision to hire the same firm you did. I have spent much of the last year lamenting that decision. My thoughts after finding the candle have been that it was a waste of money that could have financed another trip to see my girl. As you say though, usually insurance is money well spent. I will also be in GZ at the interview.

That said, a strange thing happened when I called DOS on Tuesday last week when I got the news of the interview. I inquired about the case status, fully expecting to hear the usual answer. Instead, the woman said, "Let me check..... Is this Axxxx Lxxxx?

Me: No

Her:Are you an attorney?

Me: No, but Axxxx Lxxxx is our attorney. I am the petitioner.

Her voice suddenly changed to a more pleased, happy sound. She told me, "The interview appointment letter was mailed on December 28th, and her appointment is scheduled for February 1st."

I thought the change in her voice may be attributable to the fact that we had used an attorney. I don't know.

[Guest DragonFlower]

To Bags

 

As you can discover from reading this site--The VO's power is totally discretionary.They can turn down anybody for anything on any given day.

They can change the rules of the game at their whimsy.A lot of the time they turn down people without even looking at their evidence--on a hunch,a gut reaction.

 

It is best to be extremely well prepared,take nothing for granted.

 

long

[carhil24]

Two questions -

 

What is the reasoning for turning down k3 visas? The only reason is because their is a paperwork problem, and, from what I understand, all embassies will turn down a visa if the paperwork isnt in order. Of course, some probably more than others.

 

Anyway, what is this Power Of Attorney Form you are talking about?

Hello,

 

1. Unfortunately, the VO's at GZ have a lot of power, and even if the paperwork is in order, they can still turn down any request for a visa, whether it is K-1, K-3, or whatever, if they feel that there is fraud involved. Married or not, if they feel that the only reason the woman is marrying the American (or vice versus), is to come to America, they will refuse to issue the visa. And during the past few years, we have seen and heard of visas being refused for no good reason whatsoever (as far as we can tell), except for what possibly may be a predetermined decision. If you step back and look at it from their point of view, it really doesn't matter if the paperwork is in order or not. Anyone trying to scam them would ensure that the paperwork was perfect before attempting the scam. The VO's tend to look at proof of the relationship, possibly the age difference between the two people, the number of times the American has visited the Chinese person in China, etc, etc. Unfortunately, a few people on this forum tend to believe that the VO's job is to furnish our loved ones with visas, when in reality their job is to not allow anyone to enter our country under false pretenses. And just like any other government office, or any place of employment for that matter, there are both excellent and poor employees. Unfortunately for those of us who have to endure this process, when we do find ourselves mired in the red tape, it becomes a very emotional issue as we are having to put our entire lives on hold as we wait for them to perform their jobs as well as we are expected to perform them in the private sector. And speaking from experience, it is not a whole lot of fun waiting during this process, but there are two different ways of handling it. You can be patient and realize that this is a process that everyone before you has gone through and overcome, and use this time in a positive manner to get to know your fiancee/wife even better, and when the day arrives when she receives her visa, it will be one of the most happiest days of your lives, if not the happiest. For as long as I live, I will never, ever forget the look on my wife's face when she returned out of the consulate with her passport in her hand, and the beautiful visa inside. It was like a 1000 lb weight was lifted off of our shoulders, and the future was ours to conquer together! Or, you can spend a lot of time ranting and raving about the inequities of the system, etc, etc, wasting a lot of time and energy in the process, which could have been put to a more productive use. Because no matter how much you rant and rave, the process takes as long as it's going to take, and you must learn to live with it.

 

2. The Power of Attorney Form will be supplied by your Attorney (if you use one), which allows them to fill out all of the forms and send in the appropriate applications in your name. It merely allows them to work for you. What I liked about it, is that it was the top form in the stack given to the VO at the interview, therefore they were well aware that we used an Immigration Attorney.

 

Good luck with your endeavours!

[henry]

Geez.............I had to register just to respond to this thread. I suppose everyone's situation is different, but, and I'm speaking from personal experience, when something goes wrong or a problem arises it happens somewhere in the middle or end of the process. Like the previous gentleman stated, you better have all your documentation together in the event that you get a consulate officer that happens to be in a bad mood and is looking for a problem.

 

With that said, I used an attorney - and I know that they saved me time as they recognized some potential problems that I wouldn't have caught. I'll also add that when others were being turned down, my fiancee wasn't. Whether this was attributed to having an attorney or not, I'll never know - but, the peace of mind was worth it.

 

Plus, it was too much darn paperwork and I was too worried I'd mess it up. I also knew that they were capable and experienced to represent me in the event that problems arose and I'd need to have some sort of hearing. But, to each their own.

 

I used www.hamptonvisas.com - I was very pleased and received outstanding support from beginning to end.

 

Whatever you decide, good luck, bags!!!

[T & X]

Here is my two cents,

 

Before thinking about getting an attorney, before filling out any paper work, visit the following web address http://www.hervisa.com/ They have been helping people with their visa for 20 years now. They are not attorneys. They were invited to the Better Business Bureau. There are not that many business that are invited. They do not give you any promises that their service is faster then an attorney but they can promise you that your paper work is correct so this it can go through the whole process without any delays. It is worth a look.

[Guest Gene]

I apologize for being so long-winded, that's why I don't post much anymore.  If they would give us blue thinggies for the amount of words per post, I would probably be up their near the top!      

 

No Apology needed and I understand why you don't post often Thank You for posting this Don please give the man a blue thingie or two

[carhil24]

Hmmm,different things can go different ways for different people.

 

Carl

I am using the same firm ,and I am far from impressed.All the 2500 dollars

has bought me so far is 4 months of delays.Noone in the office even speaks or reads Chinese(except his wife,who does not work there).

I have been mis-informed several times and the attitude is decidely cold after giving them their money in advance of the work.

 

I hope it works out OK.We can also see from ALEX's case,having a lawyer does not mean a darn thing at the interveiw.His lawyer did not catch or recognize his problem(if he actually has a problem) nor alleviate the capricious behaviour of The GZ people.

 

I hired a lawyer for peace of mind(knowing that this process has grown problematic).I have since found that I have had to do my own research and learn the process.

 

So I can keep an eye on the government AND my lawyer.

(Not to mention,explain everything to my wife).

 

long

Hello,

 

1. I never stated that an Immigration Attorney will expedite your case in normal situations. I only said that in my situation, when we discovered that GZ had never submitted my wife's name for the Security Check for four months, my attorneys were one of the reasons I was able to make contact with a DOS employee, who in turned contacted his friend at GZ, who in turned told us exactly what to do. And true to everybody's word, 6 weeks later, we had the visa in hand.

 

2. Whether you have an Attorney or not, you must still endure the delays at the Service Centers, with the Security Check, and at GZ. There is nothing an Immigration Attorney can do for you regarding the processing time. However, if there is a problem, it is like having an extra insurance policy. It is not a cure-all for the process, it is only professional back-up if needed.

 

3. I'm not sure what you are speaking of when you say 4 months of delays. If you are speaking of the filing of the application at the Service Center, and the Notices of Acceptance, etc, then I would not call those delays, your time frame is not abnormal whatsoever. You need to remember that this is a process that will take anywhere from 10 to 14 months as a rule, and whether or not you have an attorney will not change this.

 

4. Why do you care whether they speak Chinese or not? The consulate in GZ is an American consulate. From the people at the Service Centers, to the FBI employees who conduct the Security Check, to the VO's who interview your fiancee/wife, they are all American citizens, and they speak English. If you have a problem anywhere down the road with the process, it will not matter if your attorney, or anyone else for that matter, can speak Chinese whatsoever. You have to remember that you are dealing with the American government and their employees. Any delays that may occur in the process are not caused by anyone in the Chinese government, therefore, I don't think that it matters whether your attorney can speak Chinese or not.

 

5. Regarding our mutual firm, I must say that I have never had anyone with nothing less than a very professional attitude during the times I have called. I mentioned that today I called them just to find out if their 100% record was still intact, and one of the partners actually took some time to chat with me and find out how everything was going with my wife. Please realize that this firm is very busy, and at this point in the process for you, there is nothing they can do but wait along with you. Again, all they can do is give you the peace of mind that everything is being done in as professional a matter as possible, and it will turn out okay!

 

6. Please keep in mind that I am not speaking for all Immigration Attorneys, just the one who I used. I'm not sure which one Alex used, but I doubt very seriously it was this firm. Regarding explaining things to your wife, I remember having to do that quite often, especially when she would tell me stories about this woman or that woman, and failed visas here and there. I had to work very hard at times to ensure that my wife was obtaining exactly the documents my attorney had requested, no more or no less, regardless of what her friends were telling her. And very quickly I learned to tell her in Chinese, don't worry, my lawyer is handling it! And as fate would have it, the only error we (I say we because we are married now, and I don't want to hang her out to dry) made during the whole process, was when she, after listening to one of these friends, had us going to the wrong clinic in Beijing for the Medical Examination, and actually wasting a whole day. And if the truth be told, if I wouldn't have had an Attorney, I would have never known what form was needed from the doctor, and we would have been screwed at the interview. But as soon as I saw the form they had given her at the end of the day, I realized it was wrong, and after we went back inside, we found out that we were not at the correct Clinic, instead we were at the International Travelers Immunization Clinic. It only turned out to be a slight problem, as when we went to the correct clinic the next day, it turned out that the immunizations that she received the first day were correct, and that is where they would have sent us anyway to get the immunizations. But, that was the only error we made, and it was nothing we could blame on our attorney.

 

Good luck with your endeavours, and be patient, it will happen!

[bags]

So, let me get this straight - you don't have to sign anything? the attorney does it all thru the power of attorney? I already like the sound of it........ -g-

[carhil24]

So, let me get this straight - you don't have to sign anything? the attorney does it all thru the power of attorney? I already like the sound of it........ -g-

No, I'm sorry if I muddied the waters a bit. You will still have to sign all of the forms, but they will tell you which forms are needed and where to sign. And it will still be up to you, and your fiancee (or wife) to gather all of the information. What they do, acting on your behalf (therefore the need for the Power of Attorney) is file the paperwork, make sure it is accurate, etc, etc. What the Power of Attorney does, is allow them to file the paperwork for you, as well as make inquiries if necessary, at the Service Centers, at DOS, at GZ, on your behalf of course. I feel that it is just a little more professional and possibly adds a little more legitimacy to the entire process, so when the mound of paperwork finally arrives at the VO's desk, it won't bring up any red flags and/or cause him to think this is anything but legitimate. Of course, once again I want everyone to understand, there is no proof that an attorney makes a difference one way or another, just a gut feeling I have, along with some comments made by individuals in a position to know. Please, do not make a decision based on what my gut feeling is, do whatever you think is best for your case and situation. I am just trying to explain to everyone why I feel a good Immigration Attorney is a good idea, much like a good insurance policy is, if you can afford it! Good luck!