Why does it seem that almost every single story of fellow forum users who used a lawyer, has gone horribly wrong? Delays, misinformation, being left in the dark, mistakes being made...how are these people immigration lawyers if they don't know what in the hell they're doing or know each and every step of the process inside & out??? And are there no repercussions when they mess up someone's application? Or do they just collect their money with no reprisals and move onto the next client?
Often, I think it's not necessarily the case that they are 'bad' lawyers as such, but actually that they don't usually deal with cases like those here on the forum and so are not familiar with the exact rules and documents needed for them... but instead of doing their research, they just kind of 'wing it'.
I think many immigration lawyers in the UK are generally used to dealing with complicated applications, usually made INSIDE the UK... which have a completely different process to those applications made OUTSIDE the UK. They are likely to be used to taking cases such as:
- people applying outside the immigration rules (because they can't meet the requirements or entered as visitors and are making a human rights case)
- people applying as illegal overstayers or workers in the UK
- refugees
- asylum seekers
- people extending their visas (who may have complicated circumstances)
So, while the advice they give may actually be correct for people in those situations, where they do have to show things like a mountain of evidence to prove that they should be allowed to stay in the UK, or the documents can be mailed back to the UK lawyer.
For this reason, if you are applying for a fiance or spousal visa, we advise:
a) only using a lawyer if you have serious reason to believe UKVI won't issue you a visa (due to refused visas/entries, illegal working or overstaying, criminal convictions)
and
b) if you do have to use a lawyer, only use one that specialises in US to UK settlement visa applications made in the US. We only know of two lawyers that are reputable and specialise in this area, so they are the ones we recommend here:
- Laura Devine (based in New York and London)
- Medivisas (based in London).
You can imagine that a UK-based immigration lawyer who usually only deals with applications made inside the UK, won't have actually dealt with many applications from the US, if any at all. In comparison, those of us who've been on the forum for several years have been answering the same questions about the application and the required documents every single day for years. I think I've personally seen/helped at least 1,000 people, maybe even close to 2,000 people, successfully apply for a straightforward fiance/spousal visa since 2007. How many straightforward US applications do you think a random lawyer based in, say, Leeds or Birmingham, or Bristol, deals with in a year? I'd guess maybe a handful at most?
It's very appalling and I can't help but wonder if they're intentionally taking advantage of people who are desperate to be with their loved one(s). Something should be done about it because it's just wrong. If you pay the thousands of dollars for the visa, priority, and shipping, you shouldn't have to worry about things being right if you shell out extra money for a lawyer as well. The lawyer SHOULD be insurance and a guarantee that you've done everything right and given yourself the best chance of being approved.
Yes, they should be, and as well as the lawyers I've mentioned above, there do seem to be some out there who take advantage.
Essentially though, everything you need to know about how to apply and what documents to send is available for free on the UKVI website (and here on the forum), so there's nothing extra that a lawyer can actually do for you unless you have personal complications separate to meeting the actual application requirements (bad immigration history or convictions).
