Lawyer termination impact on AOS case

[Vuvu zela 9]

My friend has hired a lawyer for filling and representation of his Adjustment of Status through marriage with a US citizen.

The case was sent to USCIS in late September.

So far he's gotten his biometrics done, but has not had any other updates from USCIS.

Because of unfortunate circumstances (he recently incurred an expensive medical bill), he is not currently able to afford his lawyer, and was wondering if the termination of the contract will impact the case whatsoever (delay, request for further information, denial of the case, etc...).

(There is provision for termination on the contract he signed)

He entered the US with an F-1 visa, was sponsored to an H-1B visa in 2008, but was laid-off early this year due to the downfall in the economy.

He is currently attending a university as a grad student.

I told him given his circumstances (marriage to USC, no criminal record), he should be fine.

But before he takes such a critical decision, I wanted to get the opinions of the many knowledgeable people from this forum.

Thanks,

[Harpa Timsah 13,258]

I'm not sure what your question is. If your friend fires his lawyer, he will have to respond to any RFEs he gets and also attend the interview, which will be the same if he retains his lawyer. Having the lawyer itself does not change the overall process or would firing one cause an automatic denial. A lot of people complete this whole process without a lawyer... it's not a court situation, it's about answering questions and compiling paperwork. That said though, some people are not able to tell the truth or answer questions simply and honestly or fill out paperwork.

Since we didn't use a lawyer, the only thing I wonder about is how one would change the point of contact and the address the correspondence is sent to. Hopefully it is a simple phone call to update records would suffice, but I really don't know.

Good luck to your friend.

[Vuvu zela 9]

I'm not sure what your question is. If your friend fires his lawyer, he will have to respond to any RFEs he gets and also attend the interview, which will be the same if he retains his lawyer. Having the lawyer itself does not change the overall process or would firing one cause an automatic denial. A lot of people complete this whole process without a lawyer... it's not a court situation, it's about answering questions and compiling paperwork. That said though, some people are not able to tell the truth or answer questions simply and honestly or fill out paperwork.

Since we didn't use a lawyer, the only thing I wonder about is how one would change the point of contact and the address the correspondence is sent to. Hopefully it is a simple phone call to update records would suffice, but I really don't know.

Good luck to your friend.

Thanks for your answer.

He is unsure if the firing of the lawyer will delay, or maybe complicate his case with additional paperwork at the immigration level.

He wonders if it's just as simple as cutting ties with the lawyer and moving on...

Or if there is a potential of any ramifications at the immigration level due to the termination of the contract to represent him that could impact or delay the AOS case.

Edited December 6, 2010 by Vuvu zela

[juliava 80]

Your friend shouldn't have any problems. We hired a lwayer just to help us submit the AOS package as we were both very busy at that time and I wasn't familiar with this forum at all. After that we decided we didn't need him anymore to attend our AOS interview. We were pretty confident that we will be fine without him and I am glad we made that decision and didn't spend any extra money for it. Obviously we got approved. Make sure your friend gets a letter from the lawyer indicating that the service has been discontinued and have him carry that at the interview, just in case the IO wonders where the lawyer is.

[Vuvu zela 9]

Your friend shouldn't have any problems. We hired a lwayer just to help us submit the AOS package as we were both very busy at that time and I wasn't familiar with this forum at all. After that we decided we didn't need him anymore to attend our AOS interview. We were pretty confident that we will be fine without him and I am glad we made that decision and didn't spend any extra money for it. Obviously we got approved. Make sure your friend gets a letter from the lawyer indicating that the service has been discontinued and have him carry that at the interview, just in case the IO wonders where the lawyer is.

Thanks for your reply!

This is good info!

At what point during the process did you decide to cut ties with the lawyer ?

Was it before or after you got the interview notice ?

My buddy is now pretty much set on terminating the contract but he wonders if he should wait at least to get the interview notice in the mail before he fires the lawyer.

Edited December 7, 2010 by Vuvu zela

[juliava 80]

Thanks for your reply!

This is good info!

At what point during the process did you decide to cut ties with the lawyer ?

Was it before or after you got the interview notice ?

My buddy is now pretty much set on terminating the contract but he wonders if he should wait at least to get the interview notice in the mail before he fires the lawyer.

After I got the interview letter, I took my time gathering all the proofs of our marriage, then the lawyer reviewed my "package" and that's when we had the conversation about him attending or not attending the interview. You should tell your friend to not worry about making such decision, lawyers have nothing to loose in this case. They can make money elsewhere.

[Vuvu zela 9]

After I got the interview letter, I took my time gathering all the proofs of our marriage, then the lawyer reviewed my "package" and that's when we had the conversation about him attending or not attending the interview. You should tell your friend to not worry about making such decision, lawyers have nothing to loose in this case. They can make money elsewhere.

Ok sounds good!

Thanks for info!