I got engaged last weekend and need to hire an immigration lawyer to help me with the K-1 Visa. This website and the members have helped me greatly over the years and I'm hoping you'll come thru again. If you don't want to post, please email me if you can help.

Bluelight,

Congrats! But if you've read anything about the process, you'll realize that where you are affects which immigration processing center the visa uses, etc. So where are you? (A state will be enough, I think.)

Also, where's she coming from? I don't know if it matters, but it may help to find a "usefully bilingual" lawyer.

Sadly, I have no lawyers to lend you.

Dem Lawless Gnomes

If you use a lawyer, typically you will be paying hundreds of dollars an hour to have his/her office staff fill out forms. Of course if this is the best use for your money, by all means go that route. If not, the internet is full of free information. It's not rocket science...it's just bureaucracy. You can easily do it yourself and save some thousands...

thank you, I don't want to give to many details until she is here. Those that have helped me over the last 3 years will understand why, but once she's here I've promised Hombre I would write a review of it. I owe Hombre for a favor he did.

I work with alot of immigrants, all of them advised me to hire a lawyer. But I understand your point, visajourney.com makes the whole process seem really easy. Even these $395 flat fee lawyers make it sound easy.

I don't know a US lawyer who would fart for $395, let alone do some work. I have been down the K-1 route and it is simple to do by yourself. Good luck and I hope it happens quickly for you, no matter how you do it!

I think Immigration is one area where a good, experienced paralegal is better, and more cost-effective, than hiring an attorney. I'd bet that the $395 is for the services of a paralegal.

I don't do immigration, but do know that the K-1 visa is relatively simple procedure, albeit requiring lots of supporting documents and a financially sound sponsor. There is actually a good do-it-yourself book that has forms and instructions, "Fiance & Marriage Visas" by llona Bray, Nolo Press. See Nolo.com or order from Amazon.com. Immigration attorneys will charge you an arm and a leg, and I think most reasonably intelligent guys can do themselves.

Hey
Even I got thru the K 1 visa process without help. It is or at least was a major hassle dealing with INS and US embassies, but the process itself was easy. Rounding up all the documents is the worst part and a lawyer cannot help you there.

IMHO you do not need a lawyer if: 1) you can communicate well with your girl, 2) you can fill out forms, and 3) you can follow instructions.

If you can't communicate, perhaps hiring a translator would be a better use for some of your money....

The process is not all that hard. It requires attention to detail, and lots of patience. You will be dealing with some world class assholes - and I do mean American government employees!

There is a lot of info on the web - start with www.visajourney.com

If she happens to be from a former Russian state, and you do want to hire a lawyer, email me at Curious@Securenym.NET and I can give you a suggestion.

One small piece of advice: You MUST stress to her that there are certain things she MUST NEVER mention to ANYONE during the process. For example, ANY HINT that she has even been involved in or associated with prostitution and she will NOT get a VISA!

Our Congress has seen fit to SPECIFICALLY forbid granting VISAs to prostitutes - even LEGAL prostitutes.

I can't give more specific advice since I don't know where she lives. I have had a fair amount of experience with this issue relating to Mexico.

This is one of several absolute deal breakers that you MUST be willing to talk to her about ahead of time. Once something like this gets in the US system she will NOT get in!!

My two cents:

Get on prepaidlegal plan ($16/mo) and use that for your contacts and questions with an immigration attorney. You still have do all the paperwork yourself, but ask the guys here on the site (including me) and you might get a faster response than a lawyer. Or you can spend $500 (plus $50 everytime you call for help) on a lawdog. "Up to you."

If you want a K-1 Visa, you will need several forms completed, notarized and sent in original. Want to save two months of this process? Make THREE sets of originals for everything, all identical, and always keep one set. Why? The American embassy in the country you are importing from will want original documents from you before they will grant your girl an interview... the same originals that you send to the US government.

How the fuck do they expect you to send in originals already sent in? That is YOUR problem (this is what I was told during my search for a K-1 Visa for a certain Indonesian girl that I am importing this summer). Learn from this or you will repeat the extra wait, guaranteed.

Curious,

Did you import a Russkie? I tried that once. Not pretty.

Mr Tester
The INS forwards the original documents to the US embasy where your GF lives. They do not call her for interview until entire file arrives from INS at Embassy.

Khun_mor - could you expand on what the interview process is like? Do I have to be there? Do I get interviewed? Can a lawyer or a translator be there? What kind of questions do they ask?

bluelight - you don't have to be there for the interview, but after what I read about someone else trying to get a visa for his gal (I believe it was in Thailand), I'd recommend you go with her. Even though she'll probably have to be interviewed alone, your being (conspicuously!) there will help create the impression in the interviewer's mind that you are a serious couple. Two more things for the interview - show up early and make sure she dresses well - no jeans & t-shirt.

The guy I read about that went to the interview with his gal saw half a dozen girls trying to get their visas that day. His gal was the only one issued a visa.

thanks phoenixguy, that's the kind of information I'm expecting from a lawyer. Very good advice

That may have been me you read about as I posted before on the way the US Embassy treats Thais.The Thais working there were the worst. They trerated their own people like shit. There are limited hours that Thai nationals can even go into the Embassy so it is very helpful for you to be there. If my ex was alone she would still be waiting to see someone. In retrospect that would be a good thing , but that's another story.

The interview was not much. Since I WAS there the guy spoke to both of us first- Where did you meet? How long ago? How much time had we spent together ? Bland questions. American dude but spoke decent Thai.Then he took ex wifey off for solo interview. She said they just talked a bit and he asked some questions aimed to see if she really knew me. Where I lived , how old etc. Took only about 5 minutes at most.
I do not know what Embassy you will be dealing with , but if it's anything like Thailand , your GF will definitely want you there.

Actually a good friend of mine imported a Russian beauty. This gal is easily a 10. And smart. They had about 5 good years together, and he let her go. It was a friendly seperation, and a year later she gave him a BBBJ on his birthday.

The main issues between them had to do with the major difference in age, and her activity level. That last year they were together he was complaining about too much sex!

She still treats him well, is very friendly, and even asks him for advice about her boyfriends. She has said more than once that nobody has treated her as well as he did.

When I ask him if he would do it all over again, he always says ABSOFUCKINLUTELY!

Hmmmm ... Russian girl "let go" after 5 years. Most Russian girls that end marriages after 5 years do so upon receipt of their green card - then they walk out the door.

Actually she got her green card half way thru the marriage. She worked at a few jobs, but always managed to get fired sooner or later.

She did some modeling, and made some major money for a while, which she promptly gave to her husband. After all, as SHE said, he was the man, so he was in charge of the money.

He invested her earnings in a condo, which when they divorced he gave to her, and she still lives there.

On any kind of scale you want to use, based on his lifestyle, his earnings, etc. he got a great deal.

I might also mention that his company is responsible for most of her familys livelihood back in the Motherland, and that was how they met, not thru a dating service.

Did the guy use a lawyer for the K-1 Visa? Do you remember how long it took?


(Message edited by bluelight on March 06, 2005)

Applications for a K-1 have several phases. The two big delays usually happen at the ends of the process.

Stage one involves filling out an application and sending it to the INS processing center that serves the area where YOU live.

Each center has a different wait to get your application processed. Last time I checked California was one of the slower centers - taking several months just to process the application. New England was less than 3 weeks for the same process!

You can look up the expected processing time online.

The other part that can take a long time is the processing once it hits the Embassy in her home country.

Again, what contry (and what Embassy) it goes to will have a MAJOR effect on the time involved. Minimum seems to be about a month; some places are several months.

In Mexico, for example, all K-1's are processed in one place, and the wait seems to be more like 3 months before the interview is scheduled.

Can you reference a URL for looking up wait times online? Thanks.

Sure. The official government site is:
https://egov.immigration.gov/cris/jsps/ptimes.jsp

Looking at a K-1 application (I-129F) the California center is currently processing applications they got on January 1. The Vermont center is processing applications they got on January 29.

So, in California expect slightly over a 2 month wait. (That is actually a lot shorter than it was a few months ago!)

I'd also like to recommend the legal assistance projects provided by the local BAR associations.

For instance, in Los Angeles, I benefitted from the Los Angeles County Bar Immigration Legal Assistance Project (http://www.lacba.org/showpage.cfm?pageid=1758).

For $20 they provided a consulation and answered questions. And for a couple hundred dollars, they processed all of the paperwork and did the filing for our Adjustment of Status filings and Advanced Parole. (We did the K1 filing on our own.) Everything went very smooth. The have an office in the federal building in L.A. are very experienced.

Also, previous posters are right about the most difficult part being the gathering of all the various paperwork.

(Message edited by rastaman on March 07, 2005)

I was able to do all my wifes's application on line with INS. That was five years ago. It seemed pretty user friendly at the time.

Good luck...

Anybody know whether the Philippines has a health card database?

More to the point, will a girl who got a health card in AC be red-flagged by US immigration?

Yes, there is no chance that your bar girl will get a visa. So, stop sending her money, and move on.

I know bar girls that got Visa's. Most however did not give their real name when they got their health cards.

Any suggestions, recommendations. I met a woman in Makati, P,I. and do not even want to go down the fiancee route. Instead, for many reasons, want to do something along the lines of her apprenticing / student, work training, with a famous chef at his established restaurant. He is willing to fill in whatever forms in this huge corprate established restaurant, and I'm happy to have her as a house guest as long as it feels good. And pay her air fare, and suggestions? Attn'ys, paths to take? Thanks

I don't do immigrat but have obtained some H1 (U.S. Company's recruiting skilled or professionals) and L1 visas (co-co tfr). But the key is, the petitioner usually already has a special skill to begin with and there are no U.S. citizens that can do the job. Sounds like she will have the skill in the future and will probably not work for a visa.

You know, it's easier for nurses to come in to the States b/c of the shortage of such. Get her to start nursing school and to apply as a nurse.

I would contact a licensed culinary school about accepting foreign students. If anyone knows how this works, they would. I would be surprised if she could get a visa as a chef apprentice.

Filipino chefs...now that's funny. Kind of like gringos trying to become matadors. I get this question all the time from Thais who work in restaurants and CAN actually cook(unlike Filipinos) and many have professional training. The answer is NO. Prior to getting the visa, you need to get a labor certification which she wont get trying to be a Filipino chef. Now, a crooked lawyer will take your retainer and promise you different and then later say, "sorry" when they knew all along it was impossible. There are 3 million Filipinos in California alone and around 10% or more are illegal...finding a Filipino to cook a specialty cuisine from the Philippines wont be hard to find and demand is low with supply being through the roof. Even nurses are having a tough time getting work visas as they are implementing quotas on Filipino nurses who are overepresented in that field and notorious for misreading prescriptions and making clerical errors due to their poor English skills(relatively speaking)...just ask Khun Mhor.

I know ALLOT of SE Asian bargirls that have a special skill, and there are no U.S. citizens that can do the job.

Can they get they get an H1 visa?

Would it help if they demonstrated their special skill at the visa interview?

Thanks, well, I thought it was a good idea if I could pull it off. I was then distant from all of the emotional committments that I have been clear that I will not make at this time. Sort of like an extended visit with no committments. Which if I'm prepared to finance the ticket and stay here portion, and then enjoy the good company sounded good. No fuse burning with a time explosion on the end of the fuse..I guess it's all been tried and failed..to bad, she's wonderful company in every way, I've not met the child nor dealt with that reality..thanks for all of the helpful advice..

Manonmission,

I always hate to point out the obvious, but if there was a simple way to legally bring a puta into the US, we would all be doing it. There are a variety of methods and if money is no object, you can probably get a work visa for her to work in a chicken processing plant or something like that. However, that will set her back US $10-30k or some other massive number, with a vig that choke a Soprano, and you'll be dealing with some shady charactors to get a visa. Ask any of the Korean women working at the AMPs in the US. They tend to get here by one of three methods: tourist visas, which are quite a bit easier for Koreans than a lot of other nationality but still difficult to get; they are sponsored by family already here or were brought in by a round-eye husband; or they got a work visa through one of the Korean gangs and that's where the money comes in.

Search around on the site, there are many threads that cover the ways to try and get visas for girls or just ways to get them into the country.

Thanks, I'll be spending 10 days with her Dec/Jan. let's see how I feel after that. I may be more inspired, maybe new clarity? who knows , my heart is open, my dick is? misdirected? and love life and experience with woman has produced years of knowing no more now than..and I wonder, if I''m happy with her, what else matters, hemingway spent his latter years with a simple peasant girl..lets see where life leads me..

Anyone doing a K1 or K3 should IMO NOT USE A LAWYER! They are a waste of money, as it's easy enough to do it yourself... and odds are greater that the lawyer will fuck something up that you will. I repeat, it's easy (if not time consuming) so do it yourself.

The best reference is www.visajourney.com. They have instructions, guidelines, sample forms to use, and a posting section where you can post questions and get help from others.

I did a K1 without a lawyer. Except for some filings I paid the LA County Bar Association Legal Assistance Project for, because their fees were minimal, experience helpful and comforting, and the work they did for us was worth it. Check out alt.visa.marriage newsgroup also for insight and to get questions answered.