Do I need a K-3 Visa?

[chasemoe]

My wife is a US citizen, I'm a Canadian citizen.. We legally married in Canada in June but decided to hopefully reside in the US

I currently entered as any other canadian would; b-2 visitor expires in 6 months

Can we go ahead and file the adjustment package? Or would I need to leave the country and apply for a k-3 visa?

We visited an attorney and was told I'm here legally and it shouldn't matter where we got married, he wants to go ahead and file the one step package (i130 i485 etc) for us but I'm not sure if he just wants our business

[rayb]

The attorney is correct, that you can be processed here with his submittal of your I-130 and I-485 at the same time. Of course he wants your business, but if he is a licensed attorney, he is not expected to recommend an immigration procedure that won't work.

BTW, there is no K3 visa that one can directly apply for anymore. If being processed outside the U.S., you would submit an I-130 to apply for a CR-1 visa. You can follow up with an I-129F for K3 processing, but a subsequent K3 application is seldom continued by USCIS.

--Ray B

My wife is a US citizen, I'm a Canadian citizen.. We legally married in Canada in June but decided to hopefully reside in the US

I currently entered as any other canadian would; b-2 visitor expires in 6 months

Can we go ahead and file the adjustment package? Or would I need to leave the country and apply for a k-3 visa?

We visited an attorney and was told I'm here legally and it shouldn't matter where we got married, he wants to go ahead and file the one step package (i130 i485 etc) for us but I'm not sure if he just wants our business

[chasemoe]

Do I need a K-3 Visa?

Thanks for your response, so would I be entitled to stay in the US during the entire processing time? I don't have any intentions of leaving

[rayb]

If you leave during the processing, you might not be allowed back in (because of presumed expiration of your allowable visitor visa status).

I've done a half dozen of these types of conversions for Canadian nationals. I hope you didn't pay your attorney an "arm and a leg" for such a basic process.

Needless to say, when doing something for the first time, you can only rely on "gut" impression of the integrity of the attorney who quotes you a price. A market fee by a qualified attorney for this procedure, in addition to government fees, is $1,500 to $2,500. Anything beyond that top threshold is a gouge job. Anything less than the low amount is "market" for a paralegal or lay preparer, but would be suspicious if quoted by an attorney.

Many website attorneys are there in name only for others doing the paperwork. A few years back a client went to a well-known website attorney and asked for an Adjustment of Status, paid the fees and got all the way to his interview, at which time the interviewer observed that the client only needed a "Removal of Conditions" for a 10-year card. The attorney or his clerk didn't do basic vetting of the client's requirements and submitted paperwork (and fees) for the wrong procedure. The USCIS interviewer suggested that the mistake make by the attorney warranted a complaint to his State Bar Association.

In your case, the advice you received from your attorney was correct and appropriate.

--Ray B

Thanks for your response, so would I be entitled to stay in the US during the entire processing time? I don't have any intentions of leaving

[chasemoe]

If you leave during the processing, you might not be allowed back in (because of presumed expiration of your allowable visitor visa status).

I've done a half dozen of these types of conversions for Canadian nationals. I hope you didn't pay your attorney an "arm and a leg" for such a basic process.

Needless to say, when doing something for the first time, you can only rely on "gut" impression of the integrity of the attorney who quotes you a price. A market fee by a qualified attorney for this procedure, in addition to government fees, is $1,500 to $2,500. Anything beyond that top threshold is a gouge job. Anything less than the low amount is "market" for a paralegal or lay preparer, but would be suspicious if quoted by an attorney.

Many website attorneys are there in name only for others doing the paperwork. A few years back a client went to a well-known website attorney and asked for an Adjustment of Status, paid the fees and got all the way to his interview, at which time the interviewer observed that the client only needed a "Removal of Conditions" for a 10-year card. The attorney or his clerk didn't do basic vetting of the client's requirements and submitted paperwork (and fees) for the wrong procedure. The USCIS interviewer suggested that the mistake make by the attorney warranted a complaint to his State Bar Association.

In your case, the advice you received from your attorney was correct and appropriate.

--Ray B

The attorney i'm in contact with is asking for $3500, including all government forms and services (mailing, interview prep etc).. i've contacted a few and the lowest I got in my area is $3000.. am I better off doing the process myself?

[rayb]

The government submittal fees are $1,490. A medical exam may be around $400 (which may not be included in his quoted price). So it seems that you are probably giving him about $2,000 for this procedure, which is about market among attorneys, even less than many. The paperwork is about 3 hours of clerical time.

If you are not familiar with this type of procedure, you must have a third party at least review your paperwork and give you advice. If you lack the time or patience
to do this yourself, the $2,000 may be well spent.

--Ray B

The attorney i'm in contact with is asking for $3500, including all government forms and services (mailing, interview prep etc).. i've contacted a few and the lowest I got in my area is $3000.. am I better off doing the process myself?

[chasemoe]

The government submittal fees are $1,490. A medical exam may be around $400 (which may not be included in his quoted price). So it seems that you are probably giving him about $2,000 for this procedure, which is about market among attorneys, even less than many. The paperwork is about 3 hours of clerical time.

If you are not familiar with this type of procedure, you must have a third party at least review your paperwork and give you advice. If you lack the time or patience
to do this yourself, the $2,000 may be well spent.

--Ray B

during this process all I can have is time and patience, my wife and I are heavily contemplating doing the process without an attorney (we're both articulate and don't have any language barriers at all) do you recommend otherwise?

[rayb]

If you have an experienced person review your work, you can do it yourself. Otherwise, since it is the first time you will have tackled this kind of project, you will make some wrong turns and experience delays if you do it entirely on your own, much like a complicated income tax return without any tax prepration experience.

--Ray B

during this process all I can have is time and patience, my wife and I are heavily contemplating doing the process without an attorney (we're both articulate and don't have any language barriers at all) do you recommend otherwise?