How's your experience with lawyer for inland spouse application? Any reference?

[kaymun]

Hi, I am considering using a lawyer for my wife's inland app PR. I just wanted to know if anyone here used a lawyer and your experience with the lawyer. How much is the average fee for lawyer?  Did you pay only after PR confirmation received? If you have a good lawyer, references would be appreciated. Thank You.

[rob21]

My spouse and I considered using a lawyer for her inland PR application. We met with a few but all wanted a retainer of $5000 before they would even begin to look at our stuff. It was just something we could not afford and we were not impressed with how they handled themselves. They were very negative towards the whole process and went on about how the system was so flawed and there was so much extra work that always needed to be done that the $5000 would not cover the the cost.
In the end we did it ourselves and couldnt have been more happier.

[ditta]

We considered as well having a lawyer and all three where we were at asked for 5-7000$ in advance for their services. I had a hard time understanding why they charge so much, as we had a very simple case with no complications, no previous marriages, no criminal records, nothing. Therefore we decided to do it ourselves. Believe me, unless you have a very complicated case where you would need legal advice, you can fill up the forms by yourself and have a successful application without anyone`s help. Just make sure to read the guideline from A to Z, ask people here on this forum if you are unsure of certain things and it will be all fine. Our case was approved in 10 months for both 1st and 2nd stage together and I landed in 11 months.
Good luck!!!

[jdwhite21]

The lawyer we are using charged a flat rate of $3000 with a $1000 retainer fee.

[justina]

The lawyer we are using has only charged us an hourly rate so far - but all we have asked for so far was the review of our application before we sent it off to ensure we didn't miss anything.

$375/hour

[Love_Young]

We considered as well having a lawyer and all three where we were at asked for 5-7000$ in advance for their services. I had a hard time understanding why they charge so much, as we had a very simple case with no complications, no previous marriages, no criminal records, nothing. Therefore we decided to do it ourselves. Believe me, unless you have a very complicated case where you would need legal advice, you can fill up the forms by yourself and have a successful application without anyone`s help. Just make sure to read the guideline from A to Z, ask people here on this forum if you are unsure of certain things and it will be all fine. Our case was approved in 10 months for both 1st and 2nd stage together and I landed in 11 months.
Good luck!!!

I agree with ditta here. Unless you have criminality issues or other legal issues then I would just suggest putting it together yourself. It is all very simple and when you get stuck, just ask here. Most of us here have done it on our own with no problems at all. If you do it yourself but still not sure than you could just pay to have it looked over very quickly but it really isn't necessary if you have a straightforward case. I found that for some reason many people applying by using a lawyer have endured unnecessary delays or refusals for things that could have just been simpler if they had done it themselves. Several of us in the inland thread would be glad to help you and many of us did it on our own. I did, never encountered any problems/delays, and was finished with the whole process in 10 1/2 months.

[canadianwoman]

The lawyer we are using has only charged us an hourly rate so far - but all we have asked for so far was the review of our application before we sent it off to ensure we didn't miss anything.

$375/hour

Good lord. Did the lawyer actually make any suggestions about how to improve your application?
I'd review anybody's application for a hundred bucks.