Lawyer??

[msbigshot]

My husband and I are finally in the process of doing the whole sponsorship deal..
My question is, who & how many people have dealt with Lawyers? He's in Ontario & I in Michigan. I have found a lawyer in Michigan to do everything for $1500 thats including the gov't fee's.
Is this wise on my end? I attempted the process myself and felt overwhelmed and am terrified if I screw something up we will be denied. I am a worry wart..... Whats everyone's experience as far as doing the paperwork themselves? We would be doing Outland app, as I've heard it's half the time of inland..
Thoughts//Concerns//Ideas are GREATLY appreciated,
Thanks!

 

[KJG]

My husband and I are finally in the process of doing the whole sponsorship deal..
My question is, who & how many people have dealt with Lawyers? He's in Ontario & I in Michigan. I have found a lawyer in Michigan to do everything for $1500 thats including the gov't fee's.
Is this wise on my end? I attempted the process myself and felt overwhelmed and am terrified if I screw something up we will be denied. I am a worry wart..... Whats everyone's experience as far as doing the paperwork themselves? We would be doing Outland app, as I've heard it's half the time of inland..
Thoughts//Concerns//Ideas are GREATLY appreciated,
Thanks!

the governmant fees alone are $1,040.00 so I am thinking something is wrong here......most lawyers charge betweem $2500 and $5000 plus disbursements........mind you that is Canadian lawyers......I would double check.....

 

[truesmile]

I'll start out by saying I am not using a lawyer, (not yet anyway). If you can get organized to complete about eight or so government forms, certainly yes there are overwhelming moments, but you can at least try and if needed bring in counsel later. Yours would be "outland" which is GOOD as processing timelines for outland is much faster i.e. approval to even sponsor is 3 months or so as opposed to 11 months. The $1,500 almost sounds too good to be true, as the application fees currently run at $1,040 (sponsor and PR application combined). I'm sure some others will chime in.

 

[Tipha]

A lawyer sometimes could be mistaken as if you have to hide something in your case, my husband said he saw commercials on tv in canada for immigration where they warn not to hire a lawyer, to many have done it. Just saying it as info.
I would always try to do it first without, if anything comes up where you might need one you still can hire one later on, as some here already said. The papers seems much and at first complicated, but it isnt that bad. Just take some time, read through it carefully and go with the check list. Theres maybe here and there a section you might think "how the heck to fill this out" >< lol but all could do it, you can too you always have the option to ask in the forum on hard parts or maybe you got someone in the family or friends that can help.

 

[KJG]

not only that....you have to fill out the forms in any event for them so it's not like they do it for you....you have to provide all the material....seriously all they do is make it look neat and tidy........just follow the document checklist guide.....it is not a weekend project it takes a lot of time and babysteps are the best......do a rough draft and then do a good draft.....but little bits at a time and then check and re-check.......the lawyer is only as good as the documents you give him....so save your self the $$$$$

 

[heybuddy]

I used a lawyer, since I just didnt have the time to do it myself and I didn't want to make any mistakes, everyone is right its not very difficult to fill in the forms as long as you are organized. But since I did use a lawyer in Canada, they did a pretty good job and were very accomodating to my schedule. I paid $1000 as lawyer fees and the application fees were paid by me. I am sure I could have found someone who would do it for a cheaper price, but I am happy with their service. So the amount you are mentioning isnt possible, the fees usually start from $500 and up depending on how complicated your case is.

I hope this helps.

 

[Tipha]

not only that....you have to fill out the forms in any event for them so it's not like they do it for you....you have to provide all the material....seriously all they do is make it look neat and tidy........just follow the document checklist guide.....it is not a weekend project it takes a lot of time and babysteps are the best......do a rough draft and then do a good draft.....but little bits at a time and then check and re-check.......the lawyer is only as good as the documents you give him....so save your self the $$$$$

ya i can only agree with that! you still have most of the work, the lawyer only checks if its ok, not more and its way too much money for that. My husband and i were thinking about a lawyer at first too, but when i heard what they really do and thats not much and just to get maybe here and there an advice that i can get from other people maybe too, its way to expessive. Plus, as i said with the hiding something, many used lawyers for fake marriages to get through with it. If you have a honest, straight forward case you dont need a lawyer to prove anything.
Good luck with it!!!

 

[Sweden]

Hey!

Just to add - if your case is complicated, has a lot of red flags and you need some "legal advice" on how to handle things, then a lawyer is maybe a good idea.
But if you are a straightforward case, then you can probably do without... getting overwhelmed at first is a very normal feeling ( I would say - the most normal reaction given the number of papers, questions etc!) but if you print out everything, and work bits by bits, then it will be fine... it's just a lot to fill out, but nothing impossible.

And yes - you can always ask here. Come back with questions, look for advice, read the different threads, and pretty soon it will sound more familiar, and you will find the support that you can need - from people that are going through the same process. There are quite a few US/Canadian couples here, and they'll be able to offer advices, and there is a post dedicated to that...

So - at the end, your decision of course, but just for you to know - it's normal to feel overwhelmed and a bit of panic at first, but it goes away, and it soon becomes very familiar - the only downside is that you have to be prepared to have no "dining table" for a few months, as the papers/proofs/forms/police checks etc will quickly take space! but other than that... you should be fine!

Good luck!
Sweden

 

[Tipha]

I used a lawyer, since I just didnt have the time to do it myself and I didn't want to make any mistakes, everyone is right its not very difficult to fill in the forms as long as you are organized. But since I did use a lawyer in Canada, they did a pretty good job and were very accomodating to my schedule. I paid $1000 as lawyer fees and the application fees were paid by me. I am sure I could have found someone who would do it for a cheaper price, but I am happy with their service. So the amount you are mentioning isnt possible, the fees usually start from $500 and up depending on how complicated your case is.

I hope this helps.

ok here i understand the reason though, cause you need time for the papers to carefully go through it, if you rush you make more mistakes. But if you got the time and your case isnt difficult, then do it without.

 

[LeisaP]

My husband and I are finally in the process of doing the whole sponsorship deal..
My question is, who & how many people have dealt with Lawyers? He's in Ontario & I in Michigan. I have found a lawyer in Michigan to do everything for $1500 thats including the gov't fee's.
Is this wise on my end? I attempted the process myself and felt overwhelmed and am terrified if I screw something up we will be denied. I am a worry wart..... Whats everyone's experience as far as doing the paperwork themselves? We would be doing Outland app, as I've heard it's half the time of inland..
Thoughts//Concerns//Ideas are GREATLY appreciated,
Thanks!

Hey!.
was it a lawyer you spoke with or an immigration consultant?
because we felt overwhelmed aswell. and we decided to go with an immigration consultant who was registered. instead of a lawyer because lawyers are too expensive.
out immigration consultant only cost us $500. ontop of the fees. and she organized everything and helped us with the evidence we needed and how to do everything, she was very helpful and our application turned out very nice. so far we havent been called for an mistakes which is a good sign!!

if you are really worried, i would say trying to get in touch with an immigration consultant rather than a lawyer, as far as i know they are more worth it than a lawyer. ive heard alot of problems with lawyers.

we felt our immigration consultant (who also went through the process with her spouse) was helping us because she cared about the people and reuniting familes the right way and not just about the money. hense why she didnt charge much.

anyways just a suggestion. it may help. if you dont want to pay the money make sure you read everything carefully and do the application slowly. and definatly come here for questions there is a ton of people here that know what they are talking about!!

good luck!!

 

[missmymexi]

We hired a lawyer, and if I could do it again, I wouldnt have, we did 90% of the work and organization and I paid $5000 in total so far (incl. fee's), this is way to much and considering I could have used that money for visits, I deeply regret it now. If you stick to this site and ask questions and follow the example of others you will be fine. Just start at the top of the checklist and work your way down. Like others said it will be overwelming at first but you can do it ! No use doing all the work and paying someone else to submit for you ! And if you want to have someone look over it before you submit it, do that, it will cost far less

 

[msbigshot]

THANK YOU ALL!!
I spoke with my step mother who oddly enough works in US Immigration downtown Detroit. She knows the lawyer and said he would be fine for the job but most of the time the Lawyer hands it off to the 'legal secretary' or what not and they fill it out. The lawyer is a Canadian born and practiced law in Canada until migrating to the US , he said they deal with cases like this all the time and that is why they are able to offer their services for lack of a better work cheap.
I'm going to print out the pages and try them myself...again
My step mother said she would help as well but I wanted to hear the input of others..

So thank you ALL, youve been a great help..

 

[Tipha]

THANK YOU ALL!!
I spoke with my step mother who oddly enough works in US Immigration downtown Detroit. She knows the lawyer and said he would be fine for the job but most of the time the Lawyer hands it off to the 'legal secretary' or what not and they fill it out. The lawyer is a Canadian born and practiced law in Canada until migrating to the US , he said they deal with cases like this all the time and that is why they are able to offer their services for lack of a better work cheap.
I'm going to print out the pages and try them myself...again
My step mother said she would help as well but I wanted to hear the input of others..

So thank you ALL, youve been a great help..

There you go you got someone in the family being able to help, no need for a lawyer yet. Good luck!!!!!