fiance hired a lawyer

[daboyz 36]

You can fire an attorney at any time, and for any reason. It's never too late. Either your fiance doesn't understand this, or he means that it's too late to get his money back. The latter is true - the lawyer probably won't refund any of his money.

It sounds like your fiance hired an assembly line visa paperwork service, and they're operating from a checklist. A decent attorney who provides personal service would be expensive, and they would charge an hourly rate. He wouldn't be finished paying them until they were finished with his case.

Your fiance may feel bad about losing the money he's already spent, but he'd feel a lot worse about being needlessly delayed or denied because of bungled paperwork. Maybe you should put your foot down and insist he either hire a competent immigration attorney, or invest the time to become educated enough to handle it himself. This is too important to leave it up to some paperwork mill.

How do you fire an attorney once the G-28 is in force? All the paperwork goes to them once you file that.

[inna & Brad 1]

If you are comfortable doing it yourself... fire the Lawyer! My first lawyer sat on is fat rear and wasted 35 days of my life. The second lawyer was quick to get things submitted but made a error when converting to his documents.. causing an RFE and additional wait time! My thought is do the K1 yourself, once you get in the country have them help you with the next steps if needed. good luck.

[rududu 2]

well fiance is saying that its too late to fire the lawyer,coz he signed a contract, well we will see,he said everything should be sent out next week,keeping my fingers crossed.

[pushbrk 12,824]

Many law firms charge a set rate for a petition. Most do not charge by the hour.

It is also far from "unnecessary" for the attorney to be interested in documentation of any prior US visa paperwork or USCIS/INS issued documents. Nor should it be considered "unusual" for counsel to be interested in an old passport.

I see absolutley nothing wasteful or untoward about this attorney's performance based upon what the OP is reporting.

Frankly, neither do I. It sounds more like due diligence to me. Hiring a professional is always a two-edged sword. They need to protect both your backside and their own. When you handle your own case, you can trust your interpretation of the facts. Professionals need the facts and to make their own interpretation. That's what they're being paid to do.

[JimVaPhuong 4,863]

How do you fire an attorney once the G-28 is in force? All the paperwork goes to them once you file that.

Send a letter to USCIS notifying that you've fired your attorney, and are withdrawing the G-28. If you're hiring a different attorney then just let your new attorney file a new G-28, which will supersede the previous one. You can even file a G-28 making yourself the representative, but USCIS sometimes kicks about this because they are of the mind that the G-28 is primarily for attorneys. However, 8 CFR, section 292.1(a)(3) specifically allows it, provided you meet a few conditions.

Frankly, neither do I. It sounds more like due diligence to me. Hiring a professional is always a two-edged sword. They need to protect both your backside and their own. When you handle your own case, you can trust your interpretation of the facts. Professionals need the facts and to make their own interpretation. That's what they're being paid to do.

Meh. Making them dig up a bunch of documents which aren't needed for the initial petition filing, and not instructing them to provide documents that are required, is a needless waste of time. They could easily figure out which documents they'll need for the petition stage during the initial interview or questionnaire. Once those documents are provided and the petition has been filed, they could begin working on documents needed for the visa application.

Asking them to provide up front a bunch of documents that are not needed for the petition, and may never be needed at any point in the process, is worse than USCIS/DoS bureaucracy. They're simply working from a checklist, and holding up the petition until all of the boxes have been ticked.

[pushbrk 12,824]

Send a letter to USCIS notifying that you've fired your attorney, and are withdrawing the G-28. If you're hiring a different attorney then just let your new attorney file a new G-28, which will supersede the previous one. You can even file a G-28 making yourself the representative, but USCIS sometimes kicks about this because they are of the mind that the G-28 is primarily for attorneys. However, 8 CFR, section 292.1(a)(3) specifically allows it, provided you meet a few conditions.

Meh. Making them dig up a bunch of documents which aren't needed for the initial petition filing, and not instructing them to provide documents that are required, is a needless waste of time. They could easily figure out which documents they'll need for the petition stage during the initial interview or questionnaire. Once those documents are provided and the petition has been filed, they could begin working on documents needed for the visa application.

Asking them to provide up front a bunch of documents that are not needed for the petition, and may never be needed at any point in the process, is worse than USCIS/DoS bureaucracy. They're simply working from a checklist, and holding up the petition until all of the boxes have been ticked.

That's possible but you were not a fly on the wall during the initial interview. Of course, there's no excuse for not requesting documents that WILL be needed.

[Alcheringa 39]

Sounds like JohnnyQuest either used an attorney or service himself, or is an attorney!...

One cannot argue the lunacy of paying someone else a premium to fill out a few basic forms and assemble a simple package. Not with this resource available, which literally spells out the requirements. Sure, some say they just don't have the time. But why are these always the first people to complain when it goes awry?

No matter how kind-hearted or well-intentioned an attorney or service-provider is, he/she will not have the same interest vested in it that you do. Period. Stories abound corroborating that, including this one.

Sure, there are attorneys and others that will gladly accept a bloated fee and provide a fast, efficient service -- but why pay for it? It's a perfect example of blind consumerism.

I liken it to paying someone $200 at the register of a grocery store to pull your wallet out of your pocket, swipe your credit card, sign the receipt, and carry your groceries to your car. That sounds downright silly. So why are folks paying $800-$1500 for a petition?

Most will agree that the best way to tackle a K-1/CR-1/AOS is to educate yourself and take ownership of the process.

I don't know where the OP currently stands, but she has the right idea. Unfortunately, it appears it might be too late to recover the lost fees.

[daboyz 36]

Sounds like JohnnyQuest either used an attorney or service himself, or is an attorney!...

One cannot argue the lunacy of paying someone else a premium to fill out a few basic forms and assemble a simple package. Not with this resource available, which literally spells out the requirements. Sure, some say they just don't have the time. But why are these always the first people to complain when it goes awry?

No matter how kind-hearted or well-intentioned an attorney or service-provider is, he/she will not have the same interest vested in it that you do. Period. Stories abound corroborating that, including this one.

Sure, there are attorneys and others that will gladly accept a bloated fee and provide a fast, efficient service -- but why pay for it? It's a perfect example of blind consumerism.

I liken it to paying someone $200 at the register of a grocery store to pull your wallet out of your pocket, swipe your credit card, sign the receipt, and carry your groceries to your car. That sounds downright silly. So why are folks paying $800-$1500 for a petition?

Most will agree that the best way to tackle a K-1/CR-1/AOS is to educate yourself and take ownership of the process.

I don't know where the OP currently stands, but she has the right idea. Unfortunately, it appears it might be too late to recover the lost fees.

Exactly!

[rududu 2]

Sounds like JohnnyQuest either used an attorney or service himself, or is an attorney!...

One cannot argue the lunacy of paying someone else a premium to fill out a few basic forms and assemble a simple package. Not with this resource available, which literally spells out the requirements. Sure, some say they just don't have the time. But why are these always the first people to complain when it goes awry?

No matter how kind-hearted or well-intentioned an attorney or service-provider is, he/she will not have the same interest vested in it that you do. Period. Stories abound corroborating that, including this one.

Sure, there are attorneys and others that will gladly accept a bloated fee and provide a fast, efficient service -- but why pay for it? It's a perfect example of blind consumerism.

I liken it to paying someone $200 at the register of a grocery store to pull your wallet out of your pocket, swipe your credit card, sign the receipt, and carry your groceries to your car. That sounds downright silly. So why are folks paying $800-$1500 for a petition?

Most will agree that the best way to tackle a K-1/CR-1/AOS is to educate yourself and take ownership of the process.

I don't know where the OP currently stands, but she has the right idea. Unfortunately, it appears it might be too late to recover the lost fees.

yup,from the start i told him that we dont need no lawyer,and i was right,i just dont want to throw this in his face and be like 'i told you so'

[rududu 2]

Send a letter to USCIS notifying that you've fired your attorney, and are withdrawing the G-28. If you're hiring a different attorney then just let your new attorney file a new G-28, which will supersede the previous one. You can even file a G-28 making yourself the representative, but USCIS sometimes kicks about this because they are of the mind that the G-28 is primarily for attorneys. However, 8 CFR, section 292.1(a)(3) specifically allows it, provided you meet a few conditions.

Meh. Making them dig up a bunch of documents which aren't needed for the initial petition filing, and not instructing them to provide documents that are required, is a needless waste of time. They could easily figure out which documents they'll need for the petition stage during the initial interview or questionnaire. Once those documents are provided and the petition has been filed, they could begin working on documents needed for the visa application.

Asking them to provide up front a bunch of documents that are not needed for the petition, and may never be needed at any point in the process, is worse than USCIS/DoS bureaucracy. They're simply working from a checklist, and holding up the petition until all of the boxes have been ticked.

thats exactly how i feel,it just makes me sad coz of the lost money,he could have visited me instead and coz of the wasted time,everything could have been sent out weeks ago,but no, need this paper,need that paper, it just drives me nuts coz all what she is asking is not necesarry for the initial application, i explained that to my fiance,well hopefully it will be sent out next week.

[Rebecca Jo 1,962]

Sounds like JohnnyQuest either used an attorney or service himself, or is an attorney!...

JohnnyQuest has always handled his own paperwork.

JohnnyQuest has always consulted with an attorney while doing so.

thats exactly how i feel,it just makes me sad coz of the lost money,he could have visited me instead and coz of the wasted time,everything could have been sent out weeks ago,but no, need this paper,need that paper, it just drives me nuts coz all what she is asking is not necesarry for the initial application, i explained that to my fiance,well hopefully it will be sent out next week.

I hope you and your fiance have an honest sit-down before you marry about finances.

[SunDrop 59]

One cannot argue the lunacy of paying someone else a premium to fill out a few basic forms and assemble a simple package. Not with this resource available, which literally spells out the requirements. Sure, some say they just don't have the time. But why are these always the first people to complain when it goes awry?

One can argue it, for an number of reasons. Some people are overwhelmed by the process - my ex husband is paying a firm to handle his Canadian immigration. And he still can't get the bits that he needs to take care of straight!

And the ones who pay someone to handle it have every right to complain when it goes awry. You complain if your hairdresser doesn't give you the cut that you wanted. You complain when you get your car serviced and a problem persists. You pay these professionals to do something that you don't feel capable of doing yourself. You expect a standard of service and complain if you don't get it.

Sounds like the issue here is more relationship based than what the heck the lawyer is doing. While I agree that it's very frustrating for the petition submission to be delayed by requesting documents that aren't needed prior to filing, when the gathering of said documents could be done while the petition is doing it's time at the service center, the fact that this couple can't agree on how best to proceed and/or spend their available funds is what the energy should be concentrated on.

[rududu 2]

JohnnyQuest has always handled his own paperwork.

JohnnyQuest has always consulted with an attorney while doing so.

I hope you and your fiance have an honest sit-down before you marry about finances.

sound like a smart man to me

90 days after im in USA to do it no but seriously,thats the only thing i dont like talking about.

Edited April 3, 2010 by cottoneye1

[rududu 2]

the fact that this couple can't agree on how best to proceed and/or spend their available funds is what the energy should be concentrated on.

1st he paid the lawyer using his own money, 2nd i see your point, 3rd it makes me really sad .