Today, I have a unique topic that I want to go over with all of
you. Something a little out of the norm. Alright, let's go ahead and dive in
As I mentioned, I have a unique topic that I wanted to go over with all of
you this week during our Facebook live. For those of you who are watching on our YouTube
channel, this is a more unique topic than what we normally do. We usually talk about certain
immigration forms and common questions that we receive. But equally important on your immigration
journey is making sure you are taking care of yourself and taking care of your relationship.
At our firm, it's really important to us that we help our clients in navigating
not just the paperwork but the emotions that come with an immigration journey.
That's why I thought that the title, "Navigating the Unknown" was so
appropriate. In your immigration case and in life, navigating the unknown can be
exciting. It can also be extremely overwhelming and stressful. In the immigration journey
you all are going to hopefully just have to do
the steps one time. Here at our firm, we dedicate our lives to this and we have helped
hundreds if not thousands of individuals and couples in navigating the immigration process.
We eat, live, breathe, and sleep this but for you, this is a very unique journey
and it's scary. You have this relationship, you're excited about being in love
and now, you have this hurdle to be together of all this immigration paperwork. I want
to discuss with all of you some tips and ways that you can navigate the unknown in a healthy way.
I know what a lot of people do when they're on
their immigration journey. It's human nature to want to feel in control and you are
probably doing a lot of researching, Google searches and reading different blogs and forums
It's stressful and overwhelming. Immigration has a lot of moving parts. You're trying to pick
a path, make sure that you're filling out the right forms, making sure you're eligible.
It can be very stress-inducing. I know a lot of individuals have told
us when they're going through their immigration journey, when they're just starting or
if they've tried to do it on their own they say, "There's so much involved
and I would read conflicting things on different websites and different
places. I kept wondering, am I doing this right? I'm so afraid of making a mistake."
You're not alone if you feel that way. That's very common. Immigration is complex
I wanted to go over a few things to helping you in navigating the unknown.
The first thing would be that would be helpful
would be to hire a professional and hire someone who does this for a living.
Like I said, we dedicate our lives to helping couples in navigating the immigration process.
I know you're probably thinking, "Of course you would say that. You're
an immigration attorney and you want us to hire you for our case." We have hundreds
and hundreds of people that we help. We love helping all of our clients
It's definitely not required and it doesn't even have to be our firm but having a professional help
you not just with your immigration case but in any aspect of your life where you need a professional
can definitely help to relieve stress. I'm not saying this to
make you feel that you have to hire an immigration attorney but I can be honest with you that one of
the number one things that our clients say is, "I'm so glad that I hired an immigration
attorney to help me. I was trying to do this on my own and now, I find that it's still stressful
but at least you can tell me what I can expect what's to come. I don't feel so out of control."
The other thing I would say that you could do, of course hiring an immigration attorney is not
required, I'll definitely be honest about that. You don't have to hire an immigration attorney
for your case. There's no requirement. If you decide to do your case on your own, that's
completely fine. That's completely up to you. I would definitely recommend if you decide
to do that to help yourself with the stress of the unknown would be to have some kind
of safety net. By that I mean, I would highly recommend that you at least have a consultation
with an immigration attorney to make sure that you are eligible and that you have a strategy laid out
for what will be the best case type for you. We have seen so many people who have
misdiagnosed themselves, you'd say in the medical world, and actually weren't eligible for a certain
benefit or picked a path that wasn't the most efficient and added more time
or they had to start over. Having that safety net if you decide to do your own
case of at least consulting with an immigration attorney to make sure that you are on the right
path and that you're eligible will be key. Also having reliable resources. Not just doing
a general Google search and looking at blogs and reading things online. Making sure you have
reliable information. We have a whole resource center on our website because we know
that people want to be educated in their immigration journey. That's for our clients
and also for individuals who are looking for reliable information. Our resource center
is on our website, Immigration for Couples. Completely free and we have charts of the steps
in the process. What you can expect, information about eligibility. It is not information
step by step for you to do it on your own. It's not a substitute for legal advice but it does give you
some foundational information that's more reliable and accurate than just anything you'd find in the
internet. Also using websites that are from the government that is very reliable and helpful.
Immigration websites from the government have step-by-step information and instructions
They wouldn't say step by step. They have detailed information on their websites
But immigration cases have a lot of moving parts so if you decide to
do it on your own, you have that safety net that you're at least using reliable resources.
I also want to point out a lot of people say they contact the USCIS contact number
and they'll ask the representative on the phone. Please know that those individuals
while they work for USCIS and immigration, they are not attorneys. They cannot give you legal advice
We've seen a lot of people while the customer service representatives from immigration are
trying to be nice, that they have caused people problems by giving them misinformation and
sending them off on the wrong path. A lot of the customer service
representatives from USCIS want to be helpful. We appreciate that but please be aware that
that is not a substitute for legal advice. If you do want to do it on your own, you really
should speak with an immigration attorney to make sure that you are on the right path.
The other thing I would want to suggest in navigating the unknown is that you
just expect the unexpected. A lot of people say, "I think my case is simple. That it's easy."
I never would use the word simple or easy to describe immigration but
because immigration is a bureaucratic system, there's a lot of moving parts, policies and
procedures. They're constantly changing. The forms can be updated and human beings are
the ones that are reviewing and processing your applications so inevitably mistakes can be made.
I don't say this to scare you. I just say this so you understand that expect the unexpected
in your immigration journey. Things will happen out of your control and you just have to roll
with the punches. Sometimes immigration might ask you for documents you've already submitted
Take a deep breath, submit what they're requesting. If you need help, ask for help. If you need to
make an appointment with an immigration attorney, do those things but just know that
you're going to have to expect the unexpected no matter how easy or simple your case may seem.
Lastly, my favorite piece of advice to give you in navigating the unknown is
that stress can be all-consuming. My advice would be
focus on your relationship, focus on each other. That is what's most important and that's why
you're doing your immigration case, to be able to be together and to have a life together and
a future together. We work with so many couples. We see also often that
the immigration case becomes this third party in your relationship because
that becomes all that you might talk about or that you're worried and stressed
about it. I know it's easier said than done, having gone through an immigration process
of myself and my husband. I know that it's very difficult to do that but we have found and all
of our clients find with that advice that we give them. Focus on each other, talk about your future
do fun things together, talk to each other as much as you can if you're apart.
Try to really foster your relationship because at the end of the day, that's what matters and
that's why you're going through the immigration process. I hope that that was a
helpful video. I know that that's something unique that we don't always do but I like to do
these types of educational videos as well because supporting yourself mentally, taking
care of yourself in your relationship is so important. I hope you found that helpful