Hiring an Immigration lawyer for your Fiance K-1 visa?

If you use an immigration attorney for your Fiance K-1 visa case, make sure he/she’s got a good track record.

You probably know my story. How I knew next to nothing about the fiance visa when I first began. My parents actually gave me money to hire a lawyer.

My father and I both went to meet him, and 2 minutes into the conversation the attorney cuts me off in mid sentence to say “… my fee is $500 to fill out the form. After that, I charge $xxx per hour”. Then folded his hands and leaned back.

My father and I both looked at each other shocked at his abruptness. Being young and naive I thought I had no choice. So, I shrugged my shoulders and agreed. 

All because I was intimidated by this whole K-1 visa and felt powerless. I just couldn’t imagine my fiance’s K-1 visa being denied. So, I almost thought I had to hire this guy. But it wasn’t only that. I struggled with a bunch of things…

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● We have anxiety that if we don’t hire a lawyer, our case may be doomed. I mean, we hear awful stories in the news and don’t want to end up like them.

But if we don’t hire legal help, there’s always a nagging doubt in your mind: “what if I did hire an attorney. Would x happen? Would y happen?”

● We crave to know what tips, shortcuts, or insights we could be missing out on. Do they have some secret tricks under their sleeves? A loophole, insight, a tactic?

● Then we stop to reconsider if it’s worth it. I mean, they charge a fortune and it’s almost like we’re being taken advantage of. Besides, most experiences don’t turn out to be nice either, as lawyers often discourage us from asking questions and rush us into leaving.

● But the worst part is that there’s no personal touch. It feels like you’re dealing with a business rather than someone vested in your success. Think about it: how many times has an attorney taken the time to explain things, educate you, and give you a warm feeling before asking “anything else on your mind today, bud?”

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Look, your experience doesn’t have to be like the terrible one I had. My mistake was not choosing the right lawyer. Heck, did I mention this guy was actually using a typewriter to fill out my forms? His bad advice (and not answering my phone calls) delayed my I-129F case for months almost at the brink of denial.

But still, he’s just one bad apple and lawyers aren’t all like that. My main point in this article is going to be: if you decide to hire legal help, just be sure to pick the right one. Legal help is incredibly helpful if you choose the right lawyer; otherwise it can be a disaster (like my story).

Let’s compare the pros and cons of working with a legal expert.

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The top 4 questions about hiring a lawyer to handle your Fiance K-1 visa

The top 4 questions we all have regarding hiring lawyers, filing services or an expert:

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➀ Are you required to use a lawyer / representative?
Whether it’s to file your I-129F or go to the K-1 visa interview, you DO NOT need to hire anyone for any part of the process. Fiance visa petitions can be done by you alone. The same goes for your I-129F, the DS-160, the I-134 or any of that.

➁ Do most K-1 visa couples use lawyers?
There’s no way of knowing and statistics aren’t available on how many of us use representatives (legal help). But from my judgement most people do not use lawyers. Because most of don’t hire, we’re left to wonder if we did hire one…

➂ Do they speed up approval?
NO. They follow the same steps that you would’ve done if you were self-petitioning. Attorneys don’t have special connections, back doors to approval, special phone numbers to call (usually not), so they can’t guarantee that you’ll be approved or how long it’ll take. They’re just doing your paperwork on your behalf. That’s it.
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➃ Will they get me approved?
NO, there’s no guarantee. They don’t improve your chances of approval nor do they add any magical touch. Remember, they follow the same steps that you would’ve done if you were self-petitioning. 

And that brings us to some of the reasons we should hire legal help.

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Reasons you should hire Legal help

I have to admit: lawyers are good. They’re professionals who know a thing or two about immigration.  They oversee your case and help if you have questions. And they’re allowed to do almost everything on your behalf in your fiance K-1 visa process, such as…

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▢ Do your paperwork
They can effectively replace you and fill out your forms, mail documents, respond to RFEs and more. Since they do this for a living, they presumably do paperwork better than us.

▢ Send notices
Or send inquiries to the USCIS, US Embassy or Congressperson’s office. If there’s some problem or delay, they can find out what’s wrong.

▢ Guide you
With years of experience and resources, they know how to approach a wide range of problems. Since they work on all kinds of immigration matters, they know what works and what doesn’t.

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PROS OF HIRING

● Vast experience with complex cases such as criminal (Adam Walsh Act related), past immigration violations, past denials, etc. They may be indispensable for marginal (outlier) cases. Although that usually means they’re costly.

● Can reference past cases with similar circumstances. If you thought your case was unique– they’ve probably seen it before. They may have a library of past cases to draw experiences from.

● They can take the responsibility off your hands (for a big fee). Although they prefer you do most of the work — but if you pay them enough — they’ll do it all for you. So, that means you’re free to enjoy while the expert does the work.

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They sound great. And they are. But there are also a bunch of problems with hiring.

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Reasons you should NOT hire Legal help

Even if lawyers effectively “replace you” in paperwork, there’s still a huge list of things that they can’t do. Here are a few…

❒ They don’t automatically improve your chances of approval
Just the fact that you have a lawyer won’t change the way the USCIS processes your case. It  doesn’t mean the officers take your case more seriously, either. In fact, from my experience most couples who’ve used legal help to file their paperwork were often disappointed.

❒ They can’t attend the K visa interview
Most Embassies won’t allow a legal representative in. That means your lawyer can’t stand by your side while you’re being interviewed and tell you how to answer questions.

❒ They can’t work miracles
They can’t pick up a phone and “get you an approval”. Or wave a magic wand and get you there. There’s no such thing. They’re not “friends” with Consular Officers. They don’t have a solution to every problem. Nothing is promised.

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CONS OF HIRING

■ Very few are K-1 visa Experts
Believe it or not: few lawyers are actually experts in the fiance K-1 visa process. Rather, they’re “immigration attorneys” who happen to also work on Fiance K visas. Which means they spread themselves thin between the dozens of different types of visas and usually get confused between them.

Shockingly, experience shows they’re more prone to mistakes than we are. Most of us witness that lawyers rush the paperwork and makes mistakes along the way resulting in RFEs, delays, and possible denial. And this is based on my own experience and my readers’ experiences.

■ You do 90% of the work
My biggest irritation of all. You have to print photos, write statements, get evidence together and organized, and hand it to your lawyer. How in the world can they charge thousands of dollars for fees when they make the client (you) do all the work?  

■ They’re painfully slow
Yes, they’re very slow with filing paperwork, responding to you, or doing anything in general. Know why? Two reasons:

□ We’re not priority. They’re after bigger fish — like immigrant visa cases for example — which are 600,000 cases per year compared to fiance K-1 visa which are only 40,000. See the statistics (here and here).

So, it’s simple math: we’re not even 7% of approved immigrant visas. That’s why lawyers don’t use their “expertise” on Fiance visas. There’s less money to be made here, so we’re not priority.

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■ They take on more than they can handle
They usually don’t limit themselves visa petitions. They fill up their plates with dozens more cases within the US — deportations, asylum — high stakes stuff — which again, are worth more money to them. 

So, it’s unlikely that a lawyer will take time to prepare you for the K-1 visa interview questions.

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■ The cost
After all these cons, the cherry on top is the fee. Lawyers charge extraordinary fees for services on top of the K-1 visa cost. A simple 1-hour consultation can set you back anywhere from $75-$300+ depending on their fees. Why are they so high? Well, first: they’re running a business. 

Second, it’s to discourage you from seeking their help. Wait…what? Don’t they want our business? Well, not quite. Remember they’re after bigger fish. They’ll only pay attention to your case if you make it worth their while. Otherwise we’re not priority.

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How do I choose a lawyer?

If you decide to go with an attorney make sure he/she is experienced and willing to work with you. Here’s how to spot a good versus not-so-good lawyer…

□ How to spot a good Lawyer
If he/she comes out, shakes your hand, and sits you down to a nice conversation on your fiance visa case, gives you references to past successful cases, then you have a good candidate. Good lawyers also answer emails, phone calls, and general questions without charging by the minute.

In fact, good lawyers advise you on what works and what doesn’t. And if you’re really in a pickle, they can help with some tricky stuff — like criminal history, immigration violations, hardship waivers, and much more.

There are also some rare lawyers who have connections with politicians and can get “things done”. You’ll know how to spot them because they have a very high price tag.

□ What a bad candidate is like
On the other hand, if your lawyer uses a typewriter to fill out your paperwork, or won’t return your phone calls, then grab your documents and walk out of their office. Or else you risk getting your K-1 visa denied by an inexperienced attorney.

There was once a couple who paid a lawyer to do their I-129F paperwork. They trusted that since they paid an expert to do it, things would be done quicker. Curiously, they checked with him after 2 months, he replied “What case? Oh, this one… it’s still on my desk. I forgot to mail it out”.

Remember, if you’re not their priority, they won’t pay attention to your case — resulting in mistakes, RFEs, delays, or even denials. Instead of getting approved, you’ll have a mess to clean up that may take months.

I admit the luxury of hiring a good lawyer isn’t affordable to most of us. If you can’t afford a quality lawyer but still want legal help, you have a few options:

❒ Hire one, but only give away what you can’t do
You don’t have to give your lawyer everything. If you’re capable of figuring stuff out yourself, only give your lawyer the difficult questions to answer. That way, you get your money’s worth. For example, for criminal history, I’d have the lawyer guide me on it without asking him/her to fill out my I-129F, make the packet, or staple stuff together, etc.

❒ Ask a non-profit organization to help
There are non-profit or charities that help you for free. Although, unfortunately, the quality of service you get is going to be very, very limited because they’re not experts — they’re just nice folks trying to help you. I rather do my own research before placing my case in inexperienced hands.

❒ Hire a filing service
You can try your luck with a filing service. But from what I’ve gathered, they’re no different than lawyers. They charge huge fees but you still do 90% of the work and hand them your evidence, photos, statements, etc. In addition, they use computers to fill out your paperwork (not real people). There’s a lack of personal attention for each couple — which means mistakes and delays.

❒ Hire a bonded immigration consultant
This is only other person / business legally allowed to fill out your immigration paperwork (other than lawyers). The problem is that anyone can become a bonded immigration consultant. All you have to do is be insured to claim the title. No training, no expertise, no experience. Nothing. So, how do you know you’re getting quality guidance?

After all that… it’s no wonder we resist getting help with our K-1 visa case. So many of these “professionals” seem to break our trust. But don’t let a few bad apples ruin your impression of legal experts.

Again, if you can afford it, you go with the best one you can find. Otherwise, don’t settle for just anyone. And if you’re thinking about hiring, consider the following…

Should I hire a lawyer?

It depends. If you have the right mix of the following things, you may need one:

▷ Your case complexity
if you have some major criminal history, immigration violations, or need a hardship waiver, etc. then seek professional help. But if your case is straightforward, then be like the 90%+ of people who self-file.

▷ Your budget
If you’re willing to spend thousands for filing then legal help is an option. But if you run into problems / delays, expect to pay much more, that’s because lawyers can charge a flat fee plus hourly rates. If you can’t afford all of that, then you have other options.

▷ Your ability to follow directions
if you can follow directions and do research online, then learn all you can about the K-1 visa. Then print out the forms and do it on your own. But if you don’t have the time or patience to do it yourself, then you can hire legal help.

▷ Who handles your case
I strongly believe that if you do hire, only hire a good lawyer. Don’t hire an inexperienced one. To me, it’s better to risk doing it yourself  rather than risk your future with an incompetent lawyer who forgets to mail your forms even after 2 months.

When you meet with a candidate, be sure he/she is a specialized immigration attorney who attends to you. Do your homework and research him/her. The fiance visa approval is serious to your future. Make sure you place your case in good hands.

But if you’re not satisfied with the help that’s out there, take the helm and do your own research. Do not rely on any professional to deliver you a miracle. No one will get you an approval. You have to earn it. 

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Did you have a good or bad experience with legal help? Let’s talk about it below…