Services Provided

Preparation For the I-129F Petition
By virtue of our detailed instructions, questionnaire, and case management procedures, developed and refined over years of practice in the K-1 field, we are able to obtain all the relevant information and documents as quickly as possible, sparing the client weeks of researching the law, obtaining information and documents from the fiance, trying to figure out how to answer the forms correctly and assemble the proper documents. We do all this for the client, and in far less time than the client could himself. We have submitted petitions in as little as four days after being retained by the client.

Assembly of the I-129F Petition
The I-129F petition is prepared and submitted according to the highest professional standards. We have the training and experience to be able to recognize the hidden issues that may lurk in the data and documentation, and we know how to quickly resolve any problems found therein. We know the “unwritten rules” regarding what constitutes a persuasive petition, and what does not. Our whole approach is to identify and resolve any potential USCIS or Embassy issues in the first days of the representation, rather than wait for problems to arise later, where one may get caught in a long, arduous battle with a government agency (to imagine what dealing with the USCIS or Embassy is like, just think of your local Department of Motor Vehicles, but imagine it ten times worse). Finally, when we are confident that the case is ready, the I-129F petition is assembled so to be as complete, accurate and easy to review as possible, so that the USCIS examiner is encouraged to approve the application as soon as possible, with the chances of the petition being returned with a “Request for (Additional) Evidence”, which could cause months of delays, having been reduced to near zero.

On-going Law & Procedures Updates
Numerous changes in K-1 fiance visa processing have taken place over the last two years with little or no advance notice to the public (e.g., new rules regarding police certificates, the abandonment of “provisional files” in embassy processing, the obsolescence of the Form I-824 or any other request for cable notification to the embassy, the initiation of background checks by the NVC rather than by the embassies, the introduction of new Embassy forms and procedures, the implementation of more rigorous background checks, the requirement of dual parental consent to a child’s emigration in some embassies, three fee changes for I-129F applications, two changes in the name of what had been the “INS”, changes of the location of the Consular interview for certain nationals, the elimination of any interview waivers, etc.). If notice is given at all by the government, it is measured in days, not months, as had been the case prior to 9/11. Government web sites have often continued to show the outdated information weeks after the changes have occurred. But our clients are not surprised by such developments because our firm constantly monitors new statutes, legal publications, and other sources of information, and we are constantly learning from our on-going experience with dozens of K-1 clients per month, so that we can quickly advise our clients of any changes and adapt to the new environment.

On-going Legal Counsel
An attorney is available throughout the fiance visa petition process to provide answers and solutions to the client and fiance's questions. Even though we take the vast majority of the case and it's complexity out of the client's and fiance's hands, and provide detailed instructions and updates throughout, we nonetheless find that every member of our office spends most of his or her day answering telephone calls or emails from clients who have new questions, problems, and concerns that appear as the case moves forward. We typically know the answer and solutions immediately, or if a novel issue is presented, we set about solving it in the shortest possible time.

Embassy Forms Preparation
All forms contained in State Department Packet #3 (initial Embassy mailing to the fiancée) and State Department Packet #4 (final Embassy mailing to the fiancée) are prepared by our office and mailed to the fiance prior to the first Embassy mailing, so that the interview can be scheduled for the earliest possible date.

Contact with U.S. Embassy
All required telephone, mail, and fax contact with the U.S. Embassy is handled by our office. Additionally, one of our attorneys routinely visits Russia four or more times per year (John F. Roth has personally made over 40 trips during the last eight years) and routinely meets with key personnel in the Moscow U.S. Embassy while in Russia. One of our attorneys also visits the Kiev U.S. Embassy at least once a year. Our attorneys have visited numerous other embassies and consulates in recent years (Warsaw, Bangkok, and Tokyo, to name just a few) and we maintain close contact by e-mail, fax, and telephone with all embassies for which we have cases. This permits us to maintain excellent working relationships with Embassy personnel and make personal appeals to the visited Embassy for clients whose petitions are pending at the time of a visit. We are also proud to note that the former supervisor of fiance visas at the Moscow Embassy, now a U.S. attorney, works as a consultant to our firm.

Paralegal Assistance in Moscow, Kiev and Warsaw
One of our assistants meets the fiance upon her arrival in Moscow, Kiev, or Warsaw in order to prepare her for the Embassy interview, check her documents one last time, and make sure she is relaxed, comfortable, and is fulfilling all of her obligations during her stay in the Embassy city. The paralegal assistance spares our clients the need to fly to the Embassy upon the request of the inevitably nervous fiance (a common occurrence for petitioners doing the visa themselves, or without Embassy support from the attorney; the irony is that they can do almost nothing at this stage, and often aren’t even let into the Embassy). Our overseas paralegals have each assisted literally hundreds of fiance get through the interview process, and thus they can provide far greater assistance than can the client. For fiances going to other embassies, we achieve much the same result by having one of our U.S. staff call the fiance directly to prepare her at length for the interview.