Immigration Lawyers

[andy222]

Hi guys do you think this would be a wise investment?

[lastlid]

Not sure what you mean Andy. Do you mean using an Immigration Lawyer to process your wife's Spouse visa?

[andy222]

Yes mate I was just thinking about it with all the changes that will be coming in.

[lastlid]

Difficult one to answer. I think Terp has covered this one before. I used an OISC approved adviser (not a lawyer). I instructed them before I stumbled across this forum. My feeling is that if you can afford it and you are struggling for time in your life to spend on it yourself (work commitments etc) and if there are complications in your application then it isn't a bad idea.

[andy222]

Thats what I was thinking. To be honest I dont want to be messing around. I want it to go through first time and save all the stress. I dont know how much it will cost. All I know is that I will be paying £1600+ in visa fees and I dont want to lose that.

[andy222]

I just phoned a lawyer and he said he would charge £100 for the declaration. He said you have to have one of those. New to me.

[lastlid]

Makes sense......I hadn't thought about it that way as I just had the one visa to pay for.

If the money isn't there to do so then it cant be done but if you have the dosh then I think it will be worth it.

A difficult call for me to make as I don't know how I personally would have got on if I hadn't used the OISC adviser.

[lastlid]

I just phoned a lawyer and he said he would charge £100 for the declaration. He said you have to have one of those. New to me.

Well yes. News to me aswell. I certainly didnt need one. Problem with using a lawyer or adviser is finding the right one(s).

[andy222]

yes thats right mate. I just phoned another one up and they said for the full service its £1000. Thats for my application the wifes and the kids. 95% success rate.

[lastlid]

Okay. Mine was 700 for just the spouse visa alone, in 2 instalments. So I guess for extra visas it would be more.

[lastlid]

There is a chap on here just now who innocently omitted some info from his application (wifes application) and their visa has been refused because of it. So the extra outlay is worth it if the money is in the piggy bank.

[andy222]

yes mate Im seriously thinking about it.

[andy222]

its £850 for one application but he said he would do the lot for a grand. Which isnt bad I suppose. And he sounded Indian so he should know the ins and outs. lol.

[lastlid]

Well, yes. Is that a spouse visa and one child visa? (whatever the child requires). To be honest I dont know what others charge. I went around about 3 or 4. All were in the same ball park of 700 to 750. I avoided the one that wanted all the money upfront from day 1 and went with an OISC approved adviser.

[andy222]

Yes thats mine the wifes and the kids.

[lastlid]

its £850 for one application but he said he would do the lot for a grand. Which isnt bad I suppose. And he sounded Indian so he should know the ins and outs. lol.
:icon_lol:

[lastlid]

Did he indicate whether the price of his services would go up after the beginning of April?

[andy222]

:laugher: did you miss that one mate?.:laugher:

[andy222]

I explained the my situation and he said he would hold the price.

[lastlid]

:laugher: did you miss that one mate?.:laugher:

I did at first as I was focussing on the 850. But got it the 2nd time around.......:icon_lol:

[Dedworth]

its £850 for one application but he said he would do the lot for a grand. Which isnt bad I suppose. And he sounded Indian so he should know the ins and outs. lol.

Andy - I hope your Indian isn't this fella :D

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/3933286/One-stop-boss-held-after-Sun-probe.html

[andy222]

Bloody hell thats him. :laugher:

[Terpe]

Immigration Lawyers

Hi guys do you think this would be a wise investment?

Andy, The answer, as always, is 'it all depends'.

The OISC (Office of the Immigration Services Commissioner) has a responsibility for the regulation of Immigration Advisers.
They make sure that the advisor is a fit and competent professional who can act in your best interests.

Do make sure the advisor you choose is a member and is experienced. Try to find one by the recommendation of others.
Also do be sure that whoever you take on has experience with similar application cases to yours.

There's a lot of people out there just waiting for your money. There are no short cuts or guarantees for a visa

Don't be taken in by claims of success rates. This is meaningless.

Always remember they cannot do all the work for you, they cannot collect all the documented evidence. You still need to do that yourself.
All they can do is ask you to supply information and the UKBA required documentation.

Anyways:-
OISC Immigration Advisors

Their main webpage is http://www.oisc.gov.uk

My suggested top 10 short list of possibilities:-

MediVisas 020 7953 3090 http://www.medivisas.com
White Rose Visas 0800 8600851 / 0114 2096247 http://www.whiterosevisas.co.uk
Talbots Solicitors 0800 118 1500 (FREEphone) http://www.talbotssolicitors.co.uk/
Immigration Visa Services - UK 0121 689 9721 http://www.ivs-uk.com
Visa Direct 0208 871 0816 http://www.visa-direct.co.uk
DJ Webb & Co. 020 7480 5999 http://www.webbimmigration.com/
Leslie & Co Solicitors 020-8577-5491 / 020-8572-7252 http://www.leslieandcosolicitors.co.uk/immigration
Danielle Cohen 020 7267 4133 http://www.daniellecohenimmigration.com
WM Immigration Limited 079 1269 4824 http://www.wmimmigration.com
Visa Direct 0208 871 0816 http://www.visa-direct.co.uk

If you want me to recommend someone let me know I'll send PM



........ if you can afford it and you are struggling for time in your life to spend on it yourself (work commitments etc) and if there are complications in your application then it isn't a bad idea.

Yep this is spot-on.

The thing is that you do not want to forget or miss anything. You don't want to cut any corners, you want to be sure all requirements are done and dusted, all supporting documents included.
In short be fully compliant.

Most people do it themselves and very successfully too.

But, if you can't give the time and attention needed, if you feel there are some weaknesses or complications that pull down your self-confidence, then get some help.
There's more than enough here on the forum, but if you've got the budget get some professional assistance.

You can always double check your advisor's advice here :D

[andy222]

Terpe your a genius mate. Thank you very much.:xxgrinning--00xx3::xxgrinning--00xx3:. Superb advice.

[Terpe]

Terpe your a genius mate......

Tell that to my wife :olddude:

[andy222]

Put her on I will tell her.:laugher::laugher:

[joebloggs]

yes thats right mate. I just phoned another one up and they said for the full service its £1000. Thats for my application the wifes and the kids. 95% success rate.

and i would say that at least 95% of the people on here got their visa without paying any lawyer and probably the same figure got their visa without any problems if they followed the guidance notes for the visa app form, you don't need a lawyer if, like most people on here, your circumstances are pretty much straight forward, and if they are not, then maybe you shouldn't be applying til you've sorted any potential problems out.

[andy222]

Thanks for the input mate.:xxgrinning--00xx3:

[lastlid]

Curiously none of the 4 or 5 advisers I phoned are on Terpes list. The one I used is an OISC approved group of Advisers that specialises in visas per se.

I noticed that the process can be different from one to another. The one I used filled out the online application form for the applicant aswell as organising the collection of the info (sent us a copy to check). Obviously I / we had to supply the info to the Adviser. And then posted it off to my spouse in Phils. One thing I noticed with my choice was that I didnt get the kind of access to the Adviser that I expected and I had to learn to be patient and wait for a call back or a return of email - I wasn't gauranteed immediate access by any means.

[lastlid]

You can always double check your advisor's advice here :D

:D And that is what I did. And I did notice some differences. For example, I was advised not to bother with submitting birthday / christmas / valentines cards etc for example. It was explained that there was just no need. Whereas some folk on the forum felt this was an essential requirement. As long as one has a good collection of pics of you both (all) together, evidence of time spent in Phils and logs as evidence of interim contact for example, then the cards where deemed superfluous. So I didnt submit any. The way it was explained to me was that they wouldn't do any harm but would not add to the strength of my case.

Hope this helps.

[lastlid]

By contrast, there is an awful lot of excellent info on the forum that you just don't get from the Adviser (well at least in my case), that adds to ones understanding of the process. I couldnt get my head fully around the financial requirements until Terpe explained it in one of his postings, as a for instance.

Something the adviser effectively refused to discuss and didn't even mention until I raised it as a query, was the CFO bit - though I can understand why. I found an awful lot of good info on the forum about that, as another for instance.

[andy222]

Evidence of time spent in the phils laslid?

[lastlid]

All hotel receipts. Flight ticket stubbs (not just the internet printouts) if possible. Receipts for any items of expenditure while there (eg wedding cake, wedding reception etc). Photocopy of passport pages with entry and exit stamps (we were told this need not be notarised as we also submitted an original copy of my birth certificate). I also submitted the receipt that I got from the UKBA for the local CNI. And we also used an agent that organised the wedding and registration with the municipal authorities etc and we submitted the receipt for that.

Just stuff that helps to confirm one has been there. In our case a weaker part of our application was that we had only known each other for a short duration with just 2 visits by me to Phils. So we needed to make that part of the case as strong as possible.

[andy222]

ok mate i get the drift. I have been there 5 times in 18 months so i should be ok there. I have flight reciepts and support reciepts from the bank. Lots of pics from the wedding.

[lastlid]

WOW. A fair few visits in a short time.

[lastlid]

ok mate i get the drift. I have been there 5 times in 18 months so i should be ok there. I have flight reciepts and support reciepts from the bank. Lots of pics from the wedding.

The key thing with the ticket stubbs is that it proves you flew as opposed to proving you bought the ticket. I know it seems a bit daft but I used to have to do the same with business expenses for flights. Ticket stubbs were required for the very same reason.

[andy222]

will the intenary do mate? It has my name and booking number on it. I may be able to find the stubs.And is it right once the visa is stamped its valid for 3 months?

[lastlid]

The itinerary. I am sure it will. I only kept my ticket stubbs cos I knew I could use them as evidence when the time arrived. An old Phils gf of mine knew a bit about this sort of thing and I had looked into it a little bit. Although I didnt know much about what I was doing, back then, I knew I needed to hang on to receipts so I did.

On the visa stamp. I asked that very question myself and I be dammed if I can remember....if I find out I will get back to you. In the meantime I am sure someone else will recall the length of time it is valid for.

[andy222]

I think we have enough evidence mate. I will start putting it all in a folder. Thanks:xxgrinning--00xx3:.

[lastlid]

Okay. I cant remember if there was a set period or what. I seem to recall seeing the answer to that on a thread on the forum somewhere. Sorry.

[andy222]

ok mate.