Using help getting K1 vs. no help

[lswote]

Ricky posted last week he had a 58 day K1 approval and had used Gary Bala to help him in the process. I am curious to know other guys experience. How long did your K1 approval take and did you use a lawyer or prepare all the documents yourself?

[FredFresno]

... in response to Using help getting K1 vs. no help, posted by lswote on Oct 31, 2002

I'm lazy and use the "time is money" excuse as often as the next person.  But in my case (first marriage on both sides therefor no kids involved; fiancee already had a tourist visa), it was about as simple as it could get and hiring an immigration attorney would have been a waste of money.  Our K-1, with the California Service Center this summer, took 71 days (which fit into our intended time frame with time to spare).  It took another 20 days (not 30) to get from Laguna Niguel to Bogota.  I really believe that the time in the processing center usually has more to do with which bureaucrat's desk your package arrives on when... i.e., the luck of the draw... than with whether you use an immigration attorney or which one you use.  By the way, before you pay $75 for a "K1 fit", look at the following (free) web site (also referenced in Planet Love's immigration help section):  
http://k1.exit.com/

I've heard enough horror stories to get the impression that many attorneys (yes, bona fide JDs) in this line of work are used to dealing with people who are poorly educated, desperate, and easy to take advantage of.  I'm certain there are a few good ones, including some frequently recommended here.  But you need to take time to educate yourself whether you use an attorney or not.

[DallasSteve2]

... in response to Using help getting K1 vs. no help, posted by lswote on Oct 31, 2002

I used no attorney, prepared all the docs myself.  My fiancee hired no attorney in Cali, but I believe a lady in an agency helped her complete some documents.  I filed in Texas and our time line was very fast, but if you make any mistakes or forget any documents you may lose a few weeks:

July 22 - I mailed my K1 documents to the INS.

August 16 - My fiancee received an invitation letter from the embassy in Bogota.

August 16 to August 31 - She gathered the required papers and photos.

September 1 - She arrived in Bogota.

September 2 - She went for her medical exam.

September 3 - She had to return to finish her medical exam.

September 5 - She went back to the embassy. They interviewed her and approved her visa. They said she can come back tomorrow to pick it up.

September 6 - She picked up her visa.

Sepetember 8 - She arrived at my apartment.

Steve

[Craig]

... in response to Using help getting K1 vs. no help, posted by lswote on Oct 31, 2002

I'm doing the K-1 visa on my own but I'm using a guy I know in Cali to do the fiancee part. Lawyers in the USA who specialize in Immigration areas typically charge from $600 to 2,000 for a K-1 Fiancee visa. It's not hard to do just time consuming. There is a book which I used which cost $40 which will walk you throughout the K-1 process. All the forms can be down loaded from the INS website using Adobe. The problem I saw was that it can be a little overwhelming for you fiancee to gather all the information and fill out the required paperwork. I solved that problem by hiring a guy to do all her paperwork in Cali ($200) which by the way is not included in most lawyers K-1 visa fees. Just remember that the hardest part of the process is gathering all the information. So why pay all that money if you wind up doing the hard part. The only way I could see going the lawyer route is if you just don't have the time, or you feel your case may have problems.

[wizard]

... in response to Re: Using help getting K1 vs. no help, posted by Craig on Oct 31, 2002

Many websites have a package called the "K1 Fiancee Visa Kit"... It includes all necessary forms, what information needs to be gathered and instructions on filling out the forms... Basically, if you follow the instructions you can do it yourself... I have seen prices ranging from $75 to $90 for the kit... Sure, you can do it yourself, but how much is your time worth???

I know cherry blossoms and afa have the kits...

wizard

[Ricky]

... in response to Using help getting K1 vs. no help, posted by lswote on Oct 31, 2002

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[lswote]

... in response to Use the archives here; type in "K-1..., posted by Ricky on Oct 31, 2002

Searching the archives doesn´t work for me using IE 5.5.  I get the error ¨Error: It appears you are attempting to search from outside the Planet-Love.com domain¨.

[sb25]

... in response to Re: Use the archives here; type in "..., posted by lswote on Oct 31, 2002

Yeah the search doesn't work for me either.

[DallasSteve2]

... in response to Search is buggy., posted by sb25 on Oct 31, 2002

[This message has been edited by DallasSteve2]

The mantra of a Microsoft Certified programmer.

[Celt]

... in response to There are no bugs, only undocumented fea..., posted by DallasSteve2 on Nov 1, 2002

What about "run-time enhancements"?