Immigration Attorney Rant

[Kang Lang 7]

i also hired an immigration attorney for the process in 2007 when i was petitioning for my now husband. the contract read that he would take me through the conditional green card process for a flat fee of $x. i paid a 50% deposit and let the games begin, as mentioned by others here the clerk did the bulk of the work and it was sub par at best. egregious errors including some that were just plain stupid such as giving my husbands phone number as a local san francisco number (that neither of us had heard of) and he was the beneficiary.

i initially hired this attorney on a recommendation from a dear friend who had successfully petitioned his now wife based really on my own fear that i would make these very simple types of mistakes and cost myself time in reuniting with my fiance. i spent sooooo much time correcting and calling and emailing that i wish i had the confidence to just do it myself. the night before the interview my fiance slept like a baby while i stayed up all night reviewing and correcting forms in an internet cafe in bangkok(ugh) i phoned the attorney many times over the night who basically just told me to relax "a few small errors won't make a difference" this was also the time he thought it was a good idea to say, why are you in bangkok? he had originally told me i must be present for the interview or we'd be denied, yet another false statement, although i'm glad since the i.o. was very interested in the denied b2 and the failure to mention a u.s. girlfriend. she actually asked me about it directly as well.

all that said, the 3 things i came away with after the experience were 1) i should have run screaming from his office when during my consultation he suggested (and we did, actually i am glad he was denied at least we didn't have a fraud issue to overcome) apply for another b2 and then just overstay and marry, he could get us through the process to aos. he figured the 2 previous b2 visas would make him a shoe in for a 3rd. REALLY REALLY to suggest fraud ai-yah. 2) if i had just read the forms carefully i absolutely could have done it as our case was straightforward, i ended up a S.M.E afterward. 3) i completely severed ties with the attorney after the morning of the interview including never sharing the results of the interview and not paying the balance 50% of the contract (which i figured he was not entitled to since he did a sub standard 50% of the work (the k-1) and didn't do the aos since i did it all. he sent an email about 6months after the interview asking if my husband was successful and reminded that if he was and had entered, and we did not marry in 90 days he would face a lifetime ban (UM NOT TRUE, problematic and unnecssarily difficult if you don't but does not lead to automatic lifetime ban dumdum)

all said and done, i would not recommend an attorney for straightforward cases, no one would be as careful or care as much as YOU do about being successful in reuniting with your loved ones.

good luck and i hope it works out better, stay on top of your attorney and go over all the forms with a fine toothed comb!!!

[Dodi 69]

Attorney's unprofessionalism strikes again.

I prepared a huge file for my fiance's Packet 3 documents. Made 3 complete copies (one for me, one for my fiance, one for the atty, in the hopes she'd prove useful when it comes time to the AOS). Everything is organized, put into a classification folder, sectioned and indexed with printed tabs and astrobrights between each document (or group of documents). I did this just like I would a legal file for a client of my own, and it's all been triple checked. She wouldn't have to DO anything to the packet, I just wanted her to have a copy, and she said she was going to send it to him. I didn't know if she had a cheaper way of doing it since she sends so many international packets.

I called my attorney last Tuesday to let her know that I'd received my NOA2, and that I was ready to meet with her to deliver my packet to her. She said Thursday would be a good day to meet, so I told her I'd have it all ready. I forgot to get a time from her on the phone so I emailed her, and she replied with a scanned hard copy of my NOA2 that had been sent to her office and asked me if we could meet Sunday afternoon instead. She makes weekend appointments often, so I thought nothing of it, but again, no time was given. I tried to call her on Friday afternoon to get a time, but I got the office voicemail, so I left my name and number and asked her to call me and let me know, and said that if I didn't hear from her I'd just come at 1pm. So I waited.

No call. I was kind of worried, so I called her cell on Saturday, left a msg there and again on the office voicemail. About 5pm on Saturday I finally got a text that she'd call me this morning to let me know what time. Something "came up" so she was busy. No call today. Not even a text.

I give up. I'm sending it to him myself. It's not like she can do anything from here on out anyway.

Edited July 12, 2010 by Dodi

[keka 1]

When i start my process everybody want to take my case , they told me "No , dont apply for k1 visa think about it , do you think the american government want you in USA for get married , no its impossible get married here and then he take you with him like american citizen" also

" just go for a B1-B2 visa"

I was really scared , but we find this page and honestly is one of the best things that can ever happen to us!

One place ask us for 2000 USD the sencond said "its ok dont worry the price that you have to pay is going to be a good deal for you , yes but how much? . . dont worry"

We decide to take the risk and here we are , waiting the interview date

Yes we need a LOT of patient but if i can be with him for the rest of my life i can do it , just i hope dont be with out him to much

I miss him, i cry , he cry . . its kind of sad process in some point. . we just want to share a life together . .

God . . im so sad . . i really need him with me . . i want sleep with him , eat with him . .

Sorry for my feeling just i start to feel depress . .

Anyway , dont worry just try to do all your form done right and we can help you if you have questions

[thongd4me 69]

Attorney's unprofessionalism strikes again.

I prepared a huge file for my fiance's Packet 3 documents. Made 3 complete copies (one for me, one for my fiance, one for the atty, in the hopes she'd prove useful when it comes time to the AOS). Everything is organized, put into a classification folder, sectioned and indexed with printed tabs and astrobrights between each document (or group of documents). I did this just like I would a legal file for a client of my own, and it's all been triple checked. She wouldn't have to DO anything to the packet, I just wanted her to have a copy, and she said she was going to send it to him. I didn't know if she had a cheaper way of doing it since she sends so many international packets.

I called my attorney last Tuesday to let her know that I'd received my NOA2, and that I was ready to meet with her to deliver my packet to her. She said Thursday would be a good day to meet, so I told her I'd have it all ready. I forgot to get a time from her on the phone so I emailed her, and she replied with a scanned hard copy of my NOA2 that had been sent to her office and asked me if we could meet Sunday afternoon instead. She makes weekend appointments often, so I thought nothing of it, but again, no time was given. I tried to call her on Friday afternoon to get a time, but I got the office voicemail, so I left my name and number and asked her to call me and let me know, and said that if I didn't hear from her I'd just come at 1pm. So I waited.

No call. I was kind of worried, so I called her cell on Saturday, left a msg there and again on the office voicemail. About 5pm on Saturday I finally got a text that she'd call me this morning to let me know what time. Something "came up" so she was busy. No call today. Not even a text.

I give up. I'm sending it to him myself. It's not like she can do anything from here on out anyway.

Chalk it up to experience.

The fine print in most attorney/client agreements says there is no guarantee:

You agree that I have made no guarantee regarding the outcome of any part of your case. I have or will give you my opinion as to your chances of success based on my knowledge and experience, but there are no guarantees as to how your case will turn out.

Sample Attorney Client Agreement

[Dodi 69]

Luckily I have no contract with her, so I'm not liable for fees. I'm sending his packet out today after work.

[Leigh Ann 8]

Luckily I have no contract with her, so I'm not liable for fees. I'm sending his packet out today after work.

:blink:

That's sign # 1 of being a bad lawyer!

[Dodi 69]

The main reason we didn't draw up a contract was because she wanted to barter some of the fees with me. I'm a trained paralegal (though I don't work in a firm now) and she needed someone with family law experience to help draft some cases she was starting to take in.

We were going to work out some of her fees, but didn't draw up a specific contract because we were going to see how it played out a little to start with. Thank we didn't!!

[daboyz 36]

I've asked repeatedly here to have an attorney option in the timelines. They wont do it because VJ gets advertising dollars from them. My wife would probably still be sitting in Thailand if it wasn't for this website. This clown made more than 10mistakes in our case. Thanks to this "attorney" it took my wife 3 months longer to come to the US. He sat on our paperwork for 2 months before filing the I-130, probably using my petition as a coaster for his beer. Then when it it came to NVC, they had no idea what to do because they had K visa on the brain. I actually had to edit the document he sent me to fill out the DS-230. They just cut and pasted an image of the DS-230.

If you can file your taxes on your own, you can go through this process on your own. Even if you get an RFE, it only puts you back two weeks or so.

I would have had more fun lighting cigars with the $1800 I sent them.

[daboyz 36]

I would quite simply ask for my moneuy back and fire her. She has done nothing for you, but cost you money and cause you stress and headaches. Why would you pay someone to treat you this way?

I know hindsight is 20/20, but in this situation, but at the least she owes you a refund.

Problem with that is once you file the G-28, all the correspondence goes to the lawyer. So it's practically impossible to fire them once the G-28 is in force. Everything from NVC went directly to them. I never saw anything, and was totally in the blind.

[ValerieA 350]

I had a similar experience to yours, daboyz. They caused a 2-3 month delay on filing my I-130, I actually had to email them asking "um, shouldn't I be getting some evidence together for you so you can file?" Instead of getting a formal list of everything needed, they sent me an email saying "oh yeah, send us this and this and this by Aug 13/09". I got all that together, sent it to her, and she was on holidays that week. Why on earth did you want them by that day, then? On top of it, when she got back, I got ANOTHER email asking for additional originals that she had missed the first time! All this, when I could have filled out the I-130 myself and sent it in with the copies of documents, which is all that was needed. Sigh. It could have been sent in by the beginning of July.

Oh, and one last time - she sent me an email that they were finally filing it, mid-September. I emailed back a week later, to confirm it had been sent. Yes, yes, it went off, no problem, just waiting for confirmation. A week after that, I got another email apologizing, it had not actually been sent in yet. #######? So it didn't get sent in until early October. Extremely frustrating.

So, I come to visit my husband for a few months. I find VJ. I start researching stuff myself (because I am just that way, should have done it from the beginning, but I did not have time until I wasn't working). THAT'S when I found out that I didn't just need the police clearance, I had a criminal record (DUI) so I had to get a criminal record check done by the RCMP. Which takes SIX months. As explained to her in my very first phone consultation, I wanted to use a lawyer for this instead of doing it myself because I wanted to make sure the DUI would not be an issue. Sigh.

I have called lawyers many extremely rude names during this process. Especially with the number of mistakes I have had to correct on the paperwork that their drone filled out, who can't even get my last name right, never mind birth dates or mother's middle name. Not all lawyers can be painted with this brush, I know that, but there sure seems to be a lot of horror stories about immigration-focused lawyers.

[daboyz 36]

I had a similar experience to yours, daboyz. They caused a 2-3 month delay on filing my I-130, I actually had to email them asking "um, shouldn't I be getting some evidence together for you so you can file?" Instead of getting a formal list of everything needed, they sent me an email saying "oh yeah, send us this and this and this by Aug 13/09". I got all that together, sent it to her, and she was on holidays that week. Why on earth did you want them by that day, then? On top of it, when she got back, I got ANOTHER email asking for additional originals that she had missed the first time! All this, when I could have filled out the I-130 myself and sent it in with the copies of documents, which is all that was needed. Sigh. It could have been sent in by the beginning of July.

Oh, and one last time - she sent me an email that they were finally filing it, mid-September. I emailed back a week later, to confirm it had been sent. Yes, yes, it went off, no problem, just waiting for confirmation. A week after that, I got another email apologizing, it had not actually been sent in yet. #######? So it didn't get sent in until early October. Extremely frustrating.

So, I come to visit my husband for a few months. I find VJ. I start researching stuff myself (because I am just that way, should have done it from the beginning, but I did not have time until I wasn't working). THAT'S when I found out that I didn't just need the police clearance, I had a criminal record (DUI) so I had to get a criminal record check done by the RCMP. Which takes SIX months. As explained to her in my very first phone consultation, I wanted to use a lawyer for this instead of doing it myself because I wanted to make sure the DUI would not be an issue. Sigh.

I have called lawyers many extremely rude names during this process. Especially with the number of mistakes I have had to correct on the paperwork that their drone filled out, who can't even get my last name right, never mind birth dates or mother's middle name. Not all lawyers can be painted with this brush, I know that, but there sure seems to be a lot of horror stories about immigration-focused lawyers.

Lessons learned I guess. (sigh) To them it's just a stack of papers with faceless names.

On another note, how did you get your police records? I ran into some issues in Quebec when I lived there. I'd like to know what they have on me. PM me.

[Leigh Ann 8]

Not all lawyers can be painted with this brush, I know that, but there sure seems to be a lot of horror stories about immigration-focused lawyers.

I think I said this earlier, but it's because there are no requirements to be an immigration attorney. Literally, you can graduate from law school having never taken an immigration course, take the bar, be admitted to practice and then hang a sign outside saying that you do immigration work, even if you've never read a section of the INA in your life. There's no regulation of the practice at all. There are no required immigration courses during law school, there is nothing about immigration on the bar exam, and AILA doesn't require anything other than for you to pay a fee.

Theoretically, if you say you're an immigration attorney, you have to live up to a higher standard, but there's really no enforcement of that w/ the state's disciplinary board. And malpractice suits....that takes a lot of time/energy, especially when people just want to have their loved ones with them. It's not a very good system! I'd be interested to find out what happens if people took their experiences to an ethical board, but it would have to be really egregious.

It's weird, too, because this is more important to people's lives - to have their loved ones with them. But other areas of law, like patent law and other areas, have a much greater focus/regulation. Doesn't seem right.

[ValerieA 350]

No, it doesn't seem right. My lawyer came highly recommended by a friend of ours, who is an extremely respected defense attorney. We have since had a conversation with him, explaining the issues we have had and to stop recommending her. I think she is probably great with Mexican immigration (this is Houston, after all, and I believe her husband immigrated from Mexico), but she did not spend the time to investigate how immigrating from Canada is different. Assuming that the forms you get from one government vs another will be materially the same - well, FAIL. Also, the Montreal consulate is extremely backed up, and she didn't know that. Oh, one final thing, that really set my teeth on edge - 2 weeks after it was announced, I had to explain to her that the K-3 visas were being administratively closed by the NVC. She hadn't heard.

[Leigh Ann 8]

No, it doesn't seem right. My lawyer came highly recommended by a friend of ours, who is an extremely respected defense attorney. We have since had a conversation with him, explaining the issues we have had and to stop recommending her. I think she is probably great with Mexican immigration (this is Houston, after all, and I believe her husband immigrated from Mexico), but she did not spend the time to investigate how immigrating from Canada is different. Assuming that the forms you get from one government vs another will be materially the same - well, FAIL. Also, the Montreal consulate is extremely backed up, and she didn't know that. Oh, one final thing, that really set my teeth on edge - 2 weeks after it was announced, I had to explain to her that the K-3 visas were being administratively closed by the NVC. She hadn't heard.

Yes, all of the processes differ so much, I think, so it makes it very hard to be competent in all of the processes.

My attorney is great, very well known in one area, but he does less AOS stuff so he told us a couple of things that haven't been true re: what we need to send in. I just chalked it up to him doing other things most of the time.

[Dodi 69]

Update for today.

Nearly 2 weeks after I gave up on the atty and sent the paperwork I'd compiled to Peter myself, she finally calls me back yesterday. She wanted to know if I received the NVC letter that she "thought" her paralegal sent to me before she went out of town on Monday. I told her that no, I hadn't. She said that it looks like our case will be sent to London very soon, so we should meet up to put together the paperwork to send over to him now that she had the case number, and that she had some time next Wednesday free.

I said, "I've had the case number for 2 weeks. I sent the paperwork to him almost 2 weeks ago. He got it on Monday. Our case was sent to the embassy last week, arrived there last Friday, was logged in yesterday and Packet 3 was already sent out."

She said, "You already sent out the paperwork? But you needed this scan code to put on everything, this case number, so that when he sends things back to the NVC they can scan it in!"

I said, "What are you talking about? For a K1 he doesn't send anything to the NVC. It's all at the embassy stage now."

She replies, "Are you sure? Hmmmm.... I'll have to look here.... K1's are so different than K3's.... Well, you should be ok then, I guess..."

Grrrrr. She needs to take down her shingle and find another line of work.