Firing my attorney, where do I go from here?

[meandmybeloved 15]

I hope I am posting this in the right place.

So far here's my scoop. I filed I-129F 5/9/11.

RFE was in July and I submitted RFE right back to USCIS.

Now waiting for our NOA2.

Here's our problem. We hired Allan S. Lolly to do our paper work. We had read over the process of the k-1 and it

seemed over whelming at the time so we entrusted our papers to the atty. First, it took them 6 weeks from the time

they sent us the I-129F forms to complete till they finally submitted them to the USCIS. We never talked to them over the phone

but they would only communicate via email. This dragged things out by weeks. Second, they lost our check to submit the I-129 form and

they never told us, and when we called to see if the forms were submitted they didn't tell us they lost the check but that they were waiting

for us to send it. Ya, right. I emailed them and told them the day we had sent it and to be expecting it. This was another delay.

Then after they submitted the forms with our evidence of relationship, which consisted of facebook profiles of us writing back and forth, emails,

phone records,bank account statements showing rick had been here and we opened a joint account, gas receipts from Rick's travels, toll booth

receipts and lots of photos, we get a RFE. We didn't know why this would happen. This attorney was not clear about anything. Unfortunately Rick

and I did not find VJ till just this month, and had we of found it sooner I am sure a lot of our confusion about this process would not of been a problem.

After reading and understanding the difference between Primary evidence and Secondary evidence, we can see that we didn't' have enough if any primary

evidence and the attorney should have known this. Rick and I live only 8 hours from each other, so he drives here monthly.

So WHY did he not tell us before he submitted our evidence that we needed dates on our photo's. This

is what the RFE asked for when we got it back.

So, we submitted the photo's again but this time date and time stamped. They send us a email saying they were concerned about our evidence.I was so upset

at this point, I called them crying and stressed out and asked them why they are having a problem with what I just sent them. ( I by the way did not get to talk to the

attorney, but only the girl who answered the phone and forwarded my info to him) When they emailed me back finally, I told them I had submitted the info they asked for.

They checked into this and said, yes, I was correct and I sent them exactly what they needed and they apologized and said the attorney just didn't look at all the photo's.

( Just for the record, I enlarged the font size of the date and time so that it couldn't be missed, but I guess they missed it anyway.). Oh, ya, one more thing.

The attorney said that I am going to need a co-sponsor for Rick because I am unemployed here in the U.S. and told his assistant to send me the I-864 form. I HAVE READ ENOUGH

TO KNOW FROM VJ THAT THIS FORM IS FOR FILLING OUT AFTER AOS AND THAT THE I-134 form is the one we need now. Is this correct? I feel so upset right now because

this attorney seems to not give a darn about the fact that his mistakes can and could cost my fiance to be denied.

SO, HERE IS MY QUESTION:

What exactly do I have to do to fire my attorney and ask him to stop all work on our case, and then how do I go about contacting the USCIS so that they don't send anything more

to my attorney. I am planning on using the I-134 form and this I believe I bring with us to the interview, signed and notarized.

They have made this out to look like my fiance will come here and suck up off the government. Little do they know that Rick has 2 full time jobs in canada. One which he owns which is a 3rd shift cleaning company. Owning his own company may not help him to prove he has never been a slacker nor will he be. He has worked 7 days a week for years.

Ok, thanks for reading and helping in anyway you can. I trust the VJ members to give me sound and clear direction on this matter.

[Inky 1,110]

I-134 is the correct form for the K-1 at Montreal and Vancouver. 864 is not needed until the AOS process later down the road.

Not sure how to fire a lawyer I would guess call him and demand stop on the work and tell them they are fired and not pay them. Then contact USCIS and let them know via Tier 2 officer not phone jocky who picks up first. Thats just a guess though.

[meandmybeloved 15]

I-134 is the correct form for the K-1 at Montreal and Vancouver. 864 is not needed until the AOS process later down the road.

Not sure how to fire a lawyer I would guess call him and demand stop on the work and tell them they are fired and not pay them. Then contact USCIS and let them know via Tier 2 officer not phone jocky who picks up first. Thats just a guess though.

Thank you for your speedy reply.

[Mochamich 7]

Sorry to here about all your trouble with this lawyer. Sometimes I wondder why we even have lawyers they are so selfish it's more about the money that it is the client. You need to be making at least above poverty level $17,000 to sponsor your fiance. So it's good you will be getting a co-sponsor. I suggest you take some time out to make sure everything is in order before sending any paper work out.

The affidavit of support you will need to collect a letter of employment, pay stubs, and income tax papers from your sponsor. The VJ guides will be of great help to you on this.

[Velociraptor 0]

It seems like your attorney don't have a clue of the process. It's I 134 for the affidavit of support for K1.

The way things are going on, follow your case carefully (checking on uscis status) otherwise the attorney might mess it up; or best lose him

I've been through K1 and it's not that difficult to follow.

Good luck with everything.

[Bryan and Isabel 29]

This proves that if you want something done right, you gotta do it yourself. =(

[Ning 619]

I hope I am posting this in the right place.

So far here's my scoop. I filed I-129F 5/9/11.

RFE was in July and I submitted RFE right back to USCIS.

Now waiting for our NOA2.

Here's our problem. We hired Allan S. Lolly to do our paper work. We had read over the process of the k-1 and it

seemed over whelming at the time so we entrusted our papers to the atty. First, it took them 6 weeks from the time

they sent us the I-129F forms to complete till they finally submitted them to the USCIS. We never talked to them over the phone

but they would only communicate via email. This dragged things out by weeks. Second, they lost our check to submit the I-129 form and

they never told us, and when we called to see if the forms were submitted they didn't tell us they lost the check but that they were waiting

for us to send it. Ya, right. I emailed them and told them the day we had sent it and to be expecting it. This was another delay.

Then after they submitted the forms with our evidence of relationship, which consisted of facebook profiles of us writing back and forth, emails,

phone records,bank account statements showing rick had been here and we opened a joint account, gas receipts from Rick's travels, toll booth

receipts and lots of photos, we get a RFE. We didn't know why this would happen. This attorney was not clear about anything. Unfortunately Rick

and I did not find VJ till just this month, and had we of found it sooner I am sure a lot of our confusion about this process would not of been a problem.

After reading and understanding the difference between Primary evidence and Secondary evidence, we can see that we didn't' have enough if any primary

evidence and the attorney should have known this. Rick and I live only 8 hours from each other, so he drives here monthly.

So WHY did he not tell us before he submitted our evidence that we needed dates on our photo's. This

is what the RFE asked for when we got it back.

So, we submitted the photo's again but this time date and time stamped. They send us a email saying they were concerned about our evidence.I was so upset

at this point, I called them crying and stressed out and asked them why they are having a problem with what I just sent them. ( I by the way did not get to talk to the

attorney, but only the girl who answered the phone and forwarded my info to him) When they emailed me back finally, I told them I had submitted the info they asked for.

They checked into this and said, yes, I was correct and I sent them exactly what they needed and they apologized and said the attorney just didn't look at all the photo's.

( Just for the record, I enlarged the font size of the date and time so that it couldn't be missed, but I guess they missed it anyway.). Oh, ya, one more thing.

The attorney said that I am going to need a co-sponsor for Rick because I am unemployed here in the U.S. and told his assistant to send me the I-864 form. I HAVE READ ENOUGH

TO KNOW FROM VJ THAT THIS FORM IS FOR FILLING OUT AFTER AOS AND THAT THE I-134 form is the one we need now. Is this correct? I feel so upset right now because

this attorney seems to not give a darn about the fact that his mistakes can and could cost my fiance to be denied.

SO, HERE IS MY QUESTION:

What exactly do I have to do to fire my attorney and ask him to stop all work on our case, and then how do I go about contacting the USCIS so that they don't send anything more

to my attorney. I am planning on using the I-134 form and this I believe I bring with us to the interview, signed and notarized.

They have made this out to look like my fiance will come here and suck up off the government. Little do they know that Rick has 2 full time jobs in canada. One which he owns which is a 3rd shift cleaning company. Owning his own company may not help him to prove he has never been a slacker nor will he be. He has worked 7 days a week for years.

Ok, thanks for reading and helping in anyway you can. I trust the VJ members to give me sound and clear direction on this matter.

To fire the lawyer you would email them since you have said they dont have or use a phone. I would contact the bar association to let them know what took place. Call USCIS to find out how to notify them.

The 134 doesnt need to be notarized. You can try using the 134 for your co sponsor but they may ask for an 864 due to circumstances. Your 134 is signed by you & submitted by him. Check to see if you as a USC are allowed at the interview.

I dont know what you mean by they made it look like he will " suck up off the govt". His work background in Canada will have little to do with his actions here. With a K 1 he wont be working at all for some time. This is exactly why you as the USC must show ability to support him. If the U S govt believes he is here to be supported by the tax payers as you say he wont be immigrating here.

[Tim/Mav 305]

Sorry for the Drama in your case.It is true that when you hire an Attorney they will get the paperwork before you and sometimes you never see it. It can set on a desk for weeks without your knowledge.

When you hired the Attorney you signed a Contract that lays out the terms and conditions. Generally, these are never in your favor if you decide to terminate the Contract.

To FIRE Your Attorney must be in writing but you still maybe bound to the Contract as far as Monies. When you hired the Attorney your heart was in charge of your mind.

I'm sure your Attorney has paperwork submitted by you that you need back and they might posibly hold that until you pay them per the Terms and Agreements of your Contract.

Even with an Attorney, I got a RFE but was weeks later until I was notified.

If you wish to Fire the Attorney then you will have to contact them and discuss the Terms of the Agreement. AGAIN: This must be in writing. You will also have to notify USCIS that all Paperwork be sent to you with a copy of the dissulution of your Agreement with that said Attorney (to be safe)

Thats how you FIRE an Attorney in my thoughts and is Legal

[patient2010 93]

This proves that if you want something done right, you gotta do it yourself. =(

[bigdog 376]

Ours finished up our K1 but you can do it yourself. There was an excellent post like an interview with uscis management I read here, his opinion was the same why use an attorney. If their stuff went to the top of the pile maybe. Just send a letter registered asking him to stop and release you as a client. Their are some good attorneys out there.

[SapphireDreams 71]

Do you have a contract with your attorney? If so, are there terms and conditions for letting them go? Do you have to give them a certain amount of notice or are you still required to pay them? That's important information. I'm guessing that as lawyers, they have protected themselves, so you may have to finish what you started with them. You can however, do the Adjustment of Status portion on your own now though. And, if you can't fire them, then DEMAND better service! They should be having meetings and phone conversations with you. Email communication is not sufficient for explaining complicated processes like these if you arae paying them good money.

Second, yes you will be required to fill out the I-134 at your interview, and also show that you make 125% over the poverty level for your household (i know you have kids, so check what the required amount is for 5 people). You could still potentially need a sponsor, so ensure that you have someone lined up. You will need to show your tax returns (and any sponsors tax returns) and also pay stubs or proof of income. Also, for AOS, you will still need the I-864, so you're not home free with that form. Ensure that you will be able to fulfill the requirements of that form in the future when you get to that stage.

I agree with the poster who says you should file a claim with the bar association. I'd wait until after they're out of your life though.

Don't worry too much about being denied. Your fiance is from Canada, so not a high fraud country, and they know that Canadians are able to travel back and forth pretty easily, so your evidence is likely fine. I would ensure that your financial stuff is covered off on though, because that will cause a delay if you don't fulfill their requirements. His ability to work and his income unfortunately means nothing to them.

[JimVaPhuong 4,863]

Be careful! You're going to need the NOA2 approval notice for the adjustment of status filing. Since you've already gotten an RFE that means an adjudicator already has your petition. It probably won't be long before it's approved, presuming you don't get another RFE. Even if you fire your attorney now, there's a good chance the NOA2 is going to be sent to him. If his terms say that he isn't required to surrender any documents to you then you might have to pay to get another copy of the NOA2.

I would cool my heels a bit and wait for the approval. Once the petition is approved then the attorney is out of the picture for the remainder of the K1 visa process. Try to get the original NOA2 from the attorney. If they won't give you the original then at least get a good quality copy of it. A second generation copy will probably be good enough for AOS. Once you've got that then you can fire your attorney without any future negative consequences.

[meandmybeloved 15]

Do you have a contract with your attorney? If so, are there terms and conditions for letting them go? Do you have to give them a certain amount of notice or are you still required to pay them? That's important information. I'm guessing that as lawyers, they have protected themselves, so you may have to finish what you started with them. You can however, do the Adjustment of Status portion on your own now though. And, if you can't fire them, then DEMAND better service! They should be having meetings and phone conversations with you. Email communication is not sufficient for explaining complicated processes like these if you arae paying them good money.

Second, yes you will be required to fill out the I-134 at your interview, and also show that you make 125% over the poverty level for your household (i know you have kids, so check what the required amount is for 5 people). You could still potentially need a sponsor, so ensure that you have someone lined up. You will need to show your tax returns (and any sponsors tax returns) and also pay stubs or proof of income. Also, for AOS, you will still need the I-864, so you're not home free with that form. Ensure that you will be able to fulfill the requirements of that form in the future when you get to that stage.

I agree with the poster who says you should file a claim with the bar association. I'd wait until after they're out of your life though.

Don't worry too much about being denied. Your fiance is from Canada, so not a high fraud country, and they know that Canadians are able to travel back and forth pretty easily, so your evidence is likely fine. I would ensure that your financial stuff is covered off on though, because that will cause a delay if you don't fulfill their requirements. His ability to work and his income unfortunately means nothing to them.

Thank you everyone for all the advice and knowledge you offered. I will re-read the contract with my attorney, but as far as paying him goes he told us since february that he would require payments from us and by the time we have the payments all paid, we should be getting our interview. But we paid him up in july, which was our last payment to him. So he is paid in full.

My fiance is emailing the attorney letting him know of our dissatisfaction of his services. And today I received another email from the attorney regarding the stump vs. stump case. Never heard of it before but he says it's in regards to form I-864 and that the co-sponsor must read about that case and then choose to sign as a co-sponsor. My attorney attached the case with the I-864 forms. I think He is trying to scare us into believing we can't get a sponsor. It is not my fault that I am unemployed right now in the U.S. I have worked all my life but got divorced 2 yrs ago and have a 2nd grader and a kindergartener and need day care for my kids after school. I have no family that can watch my kids and daycare is so very expensive so I applied for daycare assistance so that I could work, but got denied. So this leaves me stuck between a rock and a hard place. I just hope that it doesn't make it impossible for my fiance to come to the U.S. I am aware he can't work till he files the AOS but while he is here, he will watch kids, which will free me up to work more flexable hours then before so allowing me to find work quicker.

Thanks again to everyone.

[meandmybeloved 15]

Be careful! You're going to need the NOA2 approval notice for the adjustment of status filing. Since you've already gotten an RFE that means an adjudicator already has your petition. It probably won't be long before it's approved, presuming you don't get another RFE. Even if you fire your attorney now, there's a good chance the NOA2 is going to be sent to him. If his terms say that he isn't required to surrender any documents to you then you might have to pay to get another copy of the NOA2.

I would cool my heels a bit and wait for the approval. Once the petition is approved then the attorney is out of the picture for the remainder of the K1 visa process. Try to get the original NOA2 from the attorney. If they won't give you the original then at least get a good quality copy of it. A second generation copy will probably be good enough for AOS. Once you've got that then you can fire your attorney without any future negative consequences.

thank you. You have a good point about cooling our heels and wait for the NOA2 to arrive. I will wait till we receive that notice. Thanks so much.

[pepper 34]

We hired a lawyer too for our K1 application and that was our biggest mistake. She never messed up our application and we were not RFEd for our photos which were not date stamped but there were lots of error on our application mostly typos.She just did not know what she was talking about or just wanted to keep us in the dark so we'll hire her for our AOS. My hubby(then fiance) signed a contract with the lawyer so we just cant fire her.When I discovered VJ right after we sent our paperworks I took charge of mostly everything,emailing the dumb b**ch and researching.

First of all USCIS sends a complimentary copy of the NOA2 to the petitioner. NVC also sends a copy of the approval letter to the petitioner so I was able to schedule my medical and interview without our lawyer knowing it because she was telling me to wait for packet 3 from the US Embassy. It doesnt work like that in Manila. I assembled my paperworks without her help but with LOTS of it from VJ.

When I got here in the US I emailed her and told her that hey I am here now can you please send back all our paperworks?Boy she was so surprised that I got here that fast without her help.She even had the gall to ask us if we want to hire her on our AOS for an additional $2500! Hahaha...When I received all our stuff from her I told her she's fired!

Goodluck!

Edited September 21, 2011 by earp