need help.. lawyer made mistake in I-485 application

[ruerue 0]

hi everyone.. i came here legally in march 2004 with h4 visa.. my mom was primary. we all got our i-130 approved in 2006 and filed for i-485 and my family got their GC except me. so we followed up with the status and it showed pending till 2011 ( that long... i know !!!) and all this time i went to school and became a nurse and was working with the EAD that i had to renew yearly as my lawyer had advised. then in march of 2011 during a follow up on status from the USCIS, they informed me that my application was rejected and in june of 2011 ICE picked me up and put me in detention for removal. all this happened so quick that i couldn't really understand what was going on... i bonded out after 2 months in detention and in the meantime lost my job and came financial harship. needless to say, my lawyer never informed me of the decision by USCIS and then would not return my calls or offer any help after all payment was made to him.

therefore i ended up hiring another lawyer ( a well qualified one ), who specializes in removal procedings and etc, after i hired him, he informs me that my previous lawyer made a mistake in the application and that's why i was rejected and in removal proceedings. when my previous lawyer filed i-485, he filed mine based on employment instead of dependent, because my mom was primary and i was dependent. he checked the wrong box in the application and so now im screwed. my first master hearing was in may 2013 and the govt said that i overstayed my visa (which expired in 2006) and my lawyer agrued that it was a clerical error by my previous attorney and to have the case dismissed and grant the GC. the govt objected and said the they needed more time and my next hearing is in jan 2014. the judge seems to understand the problem because in the I-130 i was shown as a dependent and in the I-485 application my lawyer checked the wrong box and based the application on employment.

has anyone been or know anyone with similar situation and how it turned out? i am planning some action against my previous attorney but a little hesitant because hate dealing with the court system and lawers etc. USCIS has refunded my application fees to my previous attorney and he has not returned the money yet... i just wany to move on with my life and havent worked since 2012 and totally dependent on them which is freally embarrasing but still bearable. what are my chances of getting my GC if any... any suggestion and opinion will be greatly appreciated. thank you all for your time. feel free to ask for any clarification. thank you.

PS my brother is already a citizen now !!!

[Calicolom 266]

I would think you could file a complaint with your State Bar.

[ruerue 0]

Yes.. my current lawyer has adviced me to do that..

[Simeon 25]

Sorry this happened to you. While I don't have any personal experience, I just wanted to encourage you to not be afraid of the legal system. It may be complicated, but once understood, it's not as scary and monolithic as it looks. Your previous lawyer's inexperience and poor judgment is costing you a lot of time and money right now, and should be repaid by means of a settlement and a formal complaint to the state bar.

[ruerue 0]

That one possibility I'm looking at but first I need to get myself out of this mess. My current attorney said that it is very likely that the judge will grant me GC but still unless I get the motion granted for sure I am very anxious. Thank you for replying Simeon.

[BatmanUSA 105]

I wish you the best..