# Please suggest good immigration lawyers in Canberra.



## vdoss13 (Jan 14, 2013)

Hi,

I would like to get suggestions on good immigration lawyers in Canberra. I am not sure of good lawyers here. Also can you please suggest how much they would charge per appointment. 

Thanks.

Regards,

Vinusha


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## melandabdul (Sep 1, 2012)

I would highly recommend Mark Northham. He is on this forum...not in Canberra but in Sydney but you dont need to be in the same city as you can deal with him via phone and skype and he is excellent...wonderful experience and skill.


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## direct (Oct 5, 2012)

I would recommend him too. Talk to him by Skype. He does not have to be in the same location as you as MEL says. Good guy. Very knowledgable and very approachable.



melandabdul said:


> I would highly recommend Mark Northham. He is on this forum...not in Canberra but in Sydney but you dont need to be in the same city as you can deal with him via phone and skype and he is excellent...wonderful experience and skill.


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## MarkNortham (Dec 19, 2012)

Thanks very much for the kind words, guys! One thing I should clarify for Vinusha is that I am not an immigration lawyer - I'm a Registered Migration Agent. Agents are able to advise and assist clients with all aspects of immigration law as it pertains to visas, visa applications, acting for clients with DIAC and the review tribunals. What agents can't do is represent you at Federal court, etc if your visa application results in a court lawsuit, etc. Hope this helps, and would be happy to chat with Vinusha to discuss a case - no charge for the initial consultation!

Best,

Mark Northam


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## Bawa22 (Feb 25, 2012)

Hi Mark
Jst a little help will appreciate.
As I lodged an Offshore partner Visa in India on may2012 but still waiting for approval as all the same time applicants on the forum got there visa in December but I am still waiting.We(me&my wife) sent an e_mail to case officer on 20th December to know how long will it take bcs unless my wife is thinking to visit me here but I am just thinking of not too spend 3-4000$ for a month bcs I am expecting Mah visa soon but CO hasn't replied us yet.We are in limbo what should we do bcs I can't even apply for tourist visa bcs I am abbended by Schedule3.Can u pls tell us what should we do to contact our CO so unless she can come here to visit me bcs it's been so hard to live for both of us and this distance is just killing us both whole night we talk on Skype we both can't sleep.pls any suggestions..


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## MarkNortham (Dec 19, 2012)

Hi Bawa22 -

Where did you apply? That can make a big difference.

Unfortunately it can be very hard to predict how long it will take for a visa application to process, and case officers generally won't respond with any kind of a solid estimate of the time. The general guideline of 9 to 12 months is often correct, but at the same time some applications can take more like 12 - 18 months. 

What part of Sched 3 are you affected by?

Best,

Mark Northam


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## Bawa22 (Feb 25, 2012)

Thanks for ur responce.I lodged an application in India.In India average processing time is 7months but global time is 12months for partner visa but my wife have been told by CO that it will take 7months but now when we try to contact the CO they don't connect us to our CO.and as me and my wife sent an email to the CO on 20/12/12 but he not even bothered to reply to that e_mail and my wife is so upset with this so as me.Now she is pressuring me to send more e_mails but I don't think it will be a good Idea.So please can u suggest anything to conect to the CO..


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## melandabdul (Sep 1, 2012)

Bawa22 said:


> Thanks for ur responce.I lodged an application in India.In India average processing time is 7months but global time is 12months for partner visa but my wife have been told by CO that it will take 7months but now when we try to contact the CO they don't connect us to our CO.and as me and my wife sent an email to the CO on 20/12/12 but he not even bothered to reply to that e_mail and my wife is so upset with this so as me.Now she is pressuring me to send more e_mails but I don't think it will be a good Idea.So please can u suggest anything to conect to the CO..


Hi Bawa,
I am sorry to hear of your issue...I have to let you know that this is not an uncommon issue unfortunately. CO's often don't reply in a timely manner which causes us all a lot of pain and stress. I, like your wife, would be keen to send more emails, but my partner would be keen like you to wait.

Can I suggest that the question should not be "when will our visa be issued, but to connect to the CO you might want to ask, are we waiting on anything for our visa and do you need anything further from us?"

Also I would be waiting about another week or so before contacting them again...this gives them PLENTY of time to respond and then I would suggest emailing and asking very subtly...just checking that you got our email from Dec 20th and we wanted to ask...."

Hope that helps


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## vdoss13 (Jan 14, 2013)

MarkNortham said:


> Thanks very much for the kind words, guys! One thing I should clarify for Vinusha is that I am not an immigration lawyer - I'm a Registered Migration Agent. Agents are able to advise and assist clients with all aspects of immigration law as it pertains to visas, visa applications, acting for clients with DIAC and the review tribunals. What agents can't do is represent you at Federal court, etc if your visa application results in a court lawsuit, etc. Hope this helps, and would be happy to chat with Vinusha to discuss a case - no charge for the initial consultation!
> 
> Best,
> 
> Mark Northam


Hi Mark,

Thanks for the reply, i will contact you on Skype.

Regards,

Vinusha


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## Bawa22 (Feb 25, 2012)

melandabdul said:


> Hi Bawa,
> I am sorry to hear of your issue...I have to let you know that this is not an uncommon issue unfortunately. CO's often don't reply in a timely manner which causes us all a lot of pain and stress. I, like your wife, would be keen to send more emails, but my partner would be keen like you to wait.
> 
> Can I suggest that the question should not be "when will our visa be issued, but to connect to the CO you might want to ask, are we waiting on anything for our visa and do you need anything further from us?"
> ...


Thanks m8.


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