A newbie with timing concerns!

[Kym 0]

If this guy does not hold himself out to be an immigration specialist or someone at least familiar with immigration law and procedure, he should have advised Kym of such or he should be disciplined. If he does say he's an expert or specialist, then his negligence is even more glaring and he should be disciplined.

Regardless of his level of expertise - he messed up big time and should be held accountable. Period.

I completely agree with you, he should be held accountable!!!

As for him claiming to be an immigration specialist....I assume he does claim this. I am trying to leave out names (at this early in the stage at least) but the name of the lawfirm he practices at is:

The ______________ Immigration Law Group. The blank being the last name of the attorney in charge. To me that says that eveyone at the firm specializes in immigration, wouldn't you agree?

[meauxna 15]

I'm going to throw in my two cents' worth on keeping the lawyer for the time being.

He has access to avenues that we individual peititoners do not, and he has motivation to make this right. There is some value in that attorney yet.

[kitkat1 5]

More to Mo's point, I wouldn't fire him until you have PROOF that he has fed exed the petition to the Nebraska Service Center. Then, boot him!

[Widge 0]

My heart goes out to you, at the time of our K-1 filing we had an excessive wait (compared to others) for no apparent reason though and I remember the 'waiting and watching' I CANNOT imagine the utter heartbreak if, like you, I had finally discovered that it had never even been filed correctly I think I would have been broken - but I guess that serves no useful purpose so I guess it's fightback time!

A couple of things occur to me in no order:

(i) I would be a little worried if my lawyer had made such a fundamental error as sending it to the wrong place as to whether he had made any other major/minor mistakes in the process of completing/filing the forms, submitting evidence of relationship etc.. Is he an experienced immigration attorney or just a lawyer who 'said' he could do it.

(ii) Just a thought it would be possible if the K-1 was not in play for him to come over in April for the marriage to take place as planned and for him to return to Australia and file then for the married visa - this does have some advantages over the fiance visa in the long run as detailed by Rebecca (obviously he would need evidence of his intent to return to Aus but many tourists DO marry and return)

(iii) I am in total agreement that a 'simple' DUI should cause no problems whatsoever but one way of finding out for certain what is on his police record is to apply for the Police Certificate now.

Just some thoughts, like I said my heart goes out, I too am another oldie but goodie waiting till 47 to take the plunge but on a happy note it is definitely worth the wait

[Alex+R 0]

More to Mo's point, I wouldn't fire him until you have PROOF that he has fed exed the petition to the Nebraska Service Center. Then, boot him!

I agree. Show him you mean business, make him work his little heinie off for you, and then follow through with punishing him.

[rebeccajo 14]

I too hope that Darryl's previous indiscretions do not require a waiver.

The disclosure that he presently travels on a visitors visa gave me pause to think he is ineligible for the VWP. As we are on the outside looking in we don't know the full reasons he travels this way.

Edited January 30, 2007 by rebeccajo

[lisaf 0]

wow, what a nightmare...

Kym, just wanted to mention something about your fiance visiting you. ( I dont know how much time he has spent in the US to date) I had made four 90 day trips in between April 04 and Dec 05 with the visa waiver program On the last entry they pulled me into the little room and gave me a really hard time. They accused me of living there, blah blah.. Eventually they said ok but this was the last time for at least nine months. Which was fine as we were assembling the K1 package that trip. So, be careful if you are planning more trips, from other posts Ive read , immigration is much harder on guys than girls coming in, you dont want a denial to add to your problems. I know you've waited for EVER, but once you get your NOA2, the Australia side of the business is actually really quick. I mention this as fewer Aussies do K1 due to DCF which I knew nothing about at the time.

We got hit by IMBRA ( recalled petitons and waiting for new I-129F to be generated)just after we applied. At the time ,going through Vermont to OZ , I could have expected to be back realistically in around 4 months. ( applied in april - hoped to be back in late august for summer wedding, NOT!!!. it did draw out to nearly 8 months. As you can see I got married 3 weeks ago. But you know what, we were so happy it was over, we didn't care anymore about wedding plans or wedding day. Just that it was DONE. We went to town hall in the morning and out to dinner in the evening with two other friends That was it. For all the ranting and raving about the waiting that we did, it all seems like ages ago. Though at the time it was awful.! We thought we may have a bit of a party in the summer this year , but now we are not really bothered. We are together, thats what matters.

Best of luck!

[meauxna 15]

I agree. Show him you mean business, make him work his little heinie off for you, and then follow through with punishing him.

That's my little cutthroat!

Expedite. I'd be beating on him for that starting yesterday.

[Kym 0]

I dont know how much time he has spent in the US to date

We got hit by IMBRA ( recalled petitons and waiting for new I-129F to be generated)just after we applied.

I think Darryl has spent a minimal amount of time in the United States. At least it sure seems that way to me. From November '05 to June '06, he was here 3 different times and approx. 3 weeks each visit. His visits were right around 3 months apart.

We also got hit with IMBRA. I have a funny little story about IMBRA to further explain how incompetent our lawyer is...as if I really need to explain that any further.

Darryl and I met with our lawyer on June 13, 2006 to do all the necessary paperwork to file for the K-1 visa. He couldn't file right away because I still needed to get a copy of my birth certificate, which I had to him about a week after. A couple weeks after we met with our lawyer, my Mom called me at work wanting me to read an article in the newspaper. It was regarding immigration and she didn't know if it would pertain to me. It was regarding this new IMBRA law. When I read what new questions needed to be answered I realized that we had not answered these questions when we met with him on the 13. I then called our lawyers office to question this and they informed me that this had JUST been put into effect and they planned on contacting me anytime for this additional info. They faxed over my answers, I signed, faxed it back and followed up by mailing the original. I didn't receive my NOA1 until July 17, 2006. Almost a month later! I am allowing an extra week for the receipt of my birth certificate, but that should have been the ONLY thing to hold up processing. It sure makes me wonder if I would have never contacted them if they really would have called me to get this additional information, or would my paperwork have been so-called filed without it.

I should have realized something was fishy with him then. But I honestly just didn't know any better. I guess I needed to be hit upside the head with a ton of bricks before opening my eyes!

[bostonparis 0]

In your letter to the law firm, I would recommend asking that someone else review your file as soon as possible, since you can no longer be confident in the abilities of your present attorney. What if he screwed something else up? You don't want to have to wait to get that fixed, on top of everything else.

[ladykelia 0]

I don't have any useful advice to give, but wanted to offer my deepest sympathies. I am outraged for you! Good luck and I hope the rest of the process goes much more smoothly for you.

[TimsDaisy 0]

Kym - how did you find this attorney? And if he practices as part of a firm/group that calls itself the "immigration law group" then, yes, he is holding himself out as having expertise in the area.

And Meauxna - this attorney is NOT worth keeping around if he really is as negligent as the picture Kym paints here.

Kym you have an absolute right to every scrap of information in your file at the office - if you gave any evidence to the lawyer to hold, etc - get your file back, send your letter to the managing partner, then call the partner to explain, sweetly, that you are prepared to rain hellfire and brimestone on his/her entire practice and in the meantime, you are demanding immediate reassignment of your case to someone more competent while you contemplate your options for further action.

Alternatively, find a good malpractice attorney and just go with it from there.

[Kym 0]

Kym - how did you find this attorney? And if he practices as part of a firm/group that calls itself the "immigration law group" then, yes, he is holding himself out as having expertise in the area.

And Meauxna - this attorney is NOT worth keeping around if he really is as negligent as the picture Kym paints here.

Kym you have an absolute right to every scrap of information in your file at the office - if you gave any evidence to the lawyer to hold, etc - get your file back, send your letter to the managing partner, then call the partner to explain, sweetly, that you are prepared to rain hellfire and brimestone on his/her entire practice and in the meantime, you are demanding immediate reassignment of your case to someone more competent while you contemplate your options for further action.

Alternatively, find a good malpractice attorney and just go with it from there.

I always love your advice...thank you.

Would you believe he was recommended to us? I have a friend that knows a lady in her office that used this attorney. Kind of a friend of a friend type thing. I didn't do any research on him because I thought Darryl was originally meeting with him ONLY to get what our options were, advice if you will. But Darryl had already planned on asking me to marry him and wanted to talk to a lawyer about it when he got here...before asking me! I knew nothing of that at first. His first impression was ok because Darryl left there feeling pleased with him, he then went straight to my parents to get their blessing and then took me out that night and proposed. Darryl and I met in... gosh, I think either 2000 or 2001 and yet this was still a shock to me! I knew this was a huge decision for Darryl as he has a lot of ties to Australia. We were happy as clams and thrilled to get the process started as soon as possible. Little did we know we were entering into a nightmare.

Now, this lawyer does specialize in immigration, I am pretty sure. However, he did tell Darryl at one point along the way (long after we had hired him) that he normally does not handle these type of cases...K-1 visas. I think he said he usually handles already married couples and one spouse is being deported for one reason or another...some issues as that. However, I do not feel that should excuse him, he knowly took our case and if he were not competent enough to handle it, he should have never taken our money and agreed to represent us. End of story.

[TimsDaisy 0]

You're right - if he doesn't have the knowledge necessary to take your case, it doesn't matter that he's done other stuff kind of in the same vein. He needed to advise Darryl of his shortcomings and get informed consent.

Sometimes lawyers mess up. We're human, not superhuman, and we don't have all the answers. Which sucks because we should be magicians. Believe me, I wish I could solve my own problems.

However, a lawyer should ALWAYS be forthcoming and responsive to a client and should follow up on cases and maintain a knowledge of current law. And read the directions on the form.

[meauxna 15]

And Meauxna - this attorney is NOT worth keeping around if he really is as negligent as the picture Kym paints here.

TD,

I appreciate your candor and willingness to admit that attys can make errors--you'd be amazed at how few of your collegues will say the same.

After observing many flavors of immigration lawyers over the past years, and this may shock you, this guy isn't the worst one out there. This is a horrible error, he didn't handle it too well, but I don't know if this would qualify as gross negligence. That doesn't mean that I wouldn't be on him.. he'd be hearing from me, but he *does* have the ability to do some things that we mere mortals do not--things that CAN move this case forward. He can be more effective at fixing this than Kym can, or even another attorney.

It might help to remember that as of now the result is more important than who is wrong vs right. The desired result is a speedy reunion and an on-time wedding if possible.

As far as the visiting thing, that is his call as an attorney to choose to recommend that to his clients or not. If he told her it is against the law for the foreign fiance to enter, that is another thing, and I'd like to know which law he cites.

It is highly likely that this firm, and this lawyer, specialize in employment related visas. A lot of immigration attorneys do their primary work in the lucrative employment side and think (mainly correctly) that family cases are a walk in the park. Family cases *are* easier, BUT, as with anything, repetition is what cements the process, and if he just doesn't have a lot of family cases, the mistake he made is easy to make.

Bottom line: if it were ME, I would be booking this guy on a guilt trip and working him for tha absolute most premium service his offices can offer. I would continue to learn as much about the process myself as I could so I could monitor him. In this situation, I think there is more value in keeping him than firing him, and that's just one person's opinion.

ETA: I see you are saying keep the firm, but ditch the individual lawyer. I guess I am really saying the same thing--it's not like the attorney worked this himself (?). I think it's highly likely that his paralegal or legal secretary did the forms. But, the case will be better off in a lawyer's hands than Kym's at this moment.