USA K1 Visa

[glbv]

I am about the start the process for the K1 visa and am wondering if anyone has had sucess with a law firm. A simple google search comes up with plenty of them but theres a huge price range between $1800 to $500. I'm not worried about the money but I am worried about being ripped off.

Any suggestions would be great.

[AaronLV]

I used Siam Legal and they were good, but like all lawyers needed to stay on top of them for my case to not sit on a desk when the notices came in. As in all law firms you are not their only client and they move along as they get to them.

If I did it again, I would do it myself, a month after I hired them, I found the website Visa Journey, and it has plenty of guides on how to do all the paperwork and what you need, which is pretty much the same as the questionnaire the lawyer sends out. You don't get any preferential treatment at the embassy and it is not a help either way.

There is a Thailand specific forum over at the website that can help you with any questions.

If you do hire a lawyer, learn the process and stay on top of them as your case notices come in, and it will reduce your waiting time. There have been several people who have taken longer using an attorney because they messed up paperwork or were just sat on the notices when they came in.

[glbv]

How long total did it take you? I'm more worried about my gf having time to do whats needed so a lawyer could help coordinate,.

[inzman]

I did it myself. Don't pay a lawyer, you will get nothing in return. Fill out the app and go to the interview, why would you need to pay a lawyer? It took me 8 months, but can be as little as 6 months. Good luck.

[daboyz1]

How long total did it take you? I'm more worried about my gf having time to do whats needed so a lawyer could help coordinate,.

Your girlfriend will still have to get the medical exam and attend the interview on her own. A lawyer may or may not be able to assist with the police report. I hired a lawyer in my case back in 2008 and it was a huge mistake. It ended up delaying my case by 3 months. I also had the privilege of giving them $1800. As others have stated, check out visa journey. Everything you need is there. My wife would probably still be sitting in Thailand if it wasn't for that website, because the lawyer I hired didn't have a clue, even though he claimed to have handled 1000s of cases.

[AaronLV]

How long total did it take you? I'm more worried about my gf having time to do whats needed so a lawyer could help coordinate,.

It took me about 1 month to get the paperwork together and have the lawyer fill out all the forms. I happened to be in BKK when they were finished with the form prep and could sign and have them send it off. I think it would have taken longer had they needed to send to me to sign and had to return the forms to them.

Then it took about 5 months 1 week from file date until Visa was in hand. I was very proactive as soon as a status changed on the USCIS website I was calling the lawyer and telling them schedule the medical, and police report, etc. From the time of NOA2 to submit packet 3 was about 3 weeks, and that was only because the NOA2 came over Christmas and new years, so that delayed another week.

If you are worried about your gf having time, it is not going to help any with the lawyer, it will most likely delay, because she will need to make appointments, send information, etc, where as doing it yourselves she can work on it when she has the free time.

[sirineou]

We did it on our own. It was a straight forward operation, and aside from a hick-up after my then fiances interview, where she was given a letter afterwards said "denied do to administrative process" and we had no idea what that meant. The good members of this forum came to my rescue and explained that we were not denied but that the needed some more investigating to do (two months later she had her visa.).

I don't see what a lawyer would had contributed. The forms are easy,and come with instructions, all can be downloaded at the government website.

As said, Visa journey .com is your friend in this process, wish I knew of it when we did it several years ago. Plenty of people there going through the same process with good advice,and links to all the forms you need.

Good Luck,

[daboyz1]

We did it on our own. It was a straight forward operation, and aside from a hick-up after my then fiances interview, where she was given a letter afterwards said "denied do to administrative process" and we had no idea what that meant. The good members of this forum came to my rescue and explained that we were not denied but that the needed some more investigating to do (two months later she had her visa.).

I don't see what a lawyer would had contributed. The forms are easy,and come with instructions, all can be downloaded at the government website.

As said, Visa journey .com is your friend in this process, wish I knew of it when we did it several years ago. Plenty of people there going through the same process with good advice,and links to all the forms you need.

Good Luck,

I'm convinced they randomly pick applications for AP (Administrative Processing). From visajourney, I'd say about 5% of the applicants at Bangkok get put in AP and there's never any good reason stated for it, and as far as I can tell their case is no different than any other. It usually seems to last about 6 weeks.

[tallboy]

Departure time limit? Does the K1 become invalid if she does not depart Thailand within a pecified time frame?

[AaronLV]

Departure time limit? Does the K1 become invalid if she does not depart Thailand within a pecified time frame?

It should be valid for 6 months. After the expiration date she would need to start the process again if it was not used.