Lawyer doesn't know what he's doing

[puffers 14]

hi everyone,

i'm really frustrated and i am hoping anyone here knows if there is anything i can do to get my money back, because it turns out our lawyer does not know what he's doing.

It's been a long journey for us with 3 RFE's and long waiting times. so far i thought this was all just the governments fault but i'm starting to realize that it's not.

to explain a little bit what happened:

we already had the lawyer for K1, and besides 1 RFE, everything went well, so we decided to get him again for AOS.

first we got 2 RFE's for AOS, which also caused a delay for me EAD. when i finally got my EAD after 4 months (last week), my first name was spelled wrong. i contacted him about this and he said that this is not a problem, and i should just go ahead and get my ssn. yes, i didn't get my ssn before because the lawyer told me that i'd have to wait. at the social security office, the officer told me to fire the lawyer since he doesn't know what he's doing, and that i should've went to get my ssn right after i got married. now i have to wait 4 weeks for my ssn card. and a few days later, the lawyer changes his mind and says "you can send the EAD back, it would be better that way, but it's up to you" ... i mean #######? its up to me? HE should know what to do, not me. anyways. so yesterday i sent back my EAD and now i'm waiting for a replacement. i also noticed that my ead card says "not valid for reentry to US". i asked the lawyer why i didn't get a combo card, and he says that the $1070 USCIS fee doesn't include the AP. I looked this up and it's just not true. on www.uscis.gov/i-485 it says that EAD and AP can be filed with AOS for NO ADDITIONAL fee.

oh, and another thing: i also keep getting letters for my AOS in my maiden name. for some reason they just don't change it, even though i put in 2 requests about this. anyways, i am pretty sure that this is not even USCIS fault, but that the lawyer just did it wrong on the applications. in fact I know he did it wrong on the AOS application, because i saw it when i signed it. I mentioned it to him and he said "doesn't matter"... well, it does. I don't want another typographic error on my GC after i already have one on my EAD.

So my question is: Can we get our money back?

Can we do ANYTHING?

i'm also worried because he has all our documents, copies of the applications etc. and when i asked him to send me a copy of the EAD application, to prove that the typographic error was caused by USCIS, he was just like "oh you don't need that.." and seemed like he didn't want to give it to me. probably cause it was his fault!

he has to give us our documents, right?

What can we do if he refuses to give them to us? we don't want to get another lawyer, we also don't have money for that.

thanks for reading

puffers

[Transborderwife 4,666]

No. You likely cannot get your money back. Perhaps you could ask for part of his fees back in good faith.

However didn't you look over everything before he sent it in? If not, that part is on you. Always review any legal document before submission.

[Jo Së 200]

K1 and AOS are very easy processes that can be done by anyone without a complicated case. In most cases, if the lawyer is not and experienced immigration lawyer, they will just take your money and delay the process.

Ask for your documents and fire the guy, if he refuses to hand the documents back to you contact your local bar association about the issue. There is not much you can do about getting you money back at this point.

Edited October 21, 2015 by Jose&Eli

[puffers 14]

Like I said I mentioned that mistake to him and he said he's gonna take care of everything and not to worry about it.

I know better now, but I can't go back in time and change anything, so I just need to know what to do from here.

[Unidentified 2,930]

Like I said I mentioned that mistake to him and he said he's gonna take care of everything and not to worry about it.

I know better now, but I can't go back in time and change anything, so I just need to know what to do from here.

Just like Jose&Eli said:

Ask for your documents and fire the guy, if he refuses to hand the documents back to you contact your local bar association about the issue. There is not much you can do about getting you money back at this point.

[Transborderwife 4,666]

K1 and AOS are very easy processes that can be done by anyone without a complicated case. In most cases, if the lawyer is not and experienced immigration lawyer, they will just take your money and delay the process.

Ask for your documents and fire the guy, if he refuses to hand the documents back to you contact your local bar association about the issue. There is not much you can do about getting you money back at this point.

Second this

[bstand 4]

Fire your lawyer asap! You don't need one if your case isn't complicated. If it wasn't for your lawyer, you could've applied for your ssn right after you got married but before your k1 visa expires. You'll have to wait until you get your new EAD for you to be able to apply for ssn. Your name (the spelling) has to match all your applications, all cards that was issued to you and letters. Clearly, your lawyer made a big mistake by not putting your new surname on the application. Mistakes like this will slow down your case and even delay the process that's why you have to correct any mistakes now before it's too late as this will cause you a lot of problems in the future when you travel etc. Another thing, he should've known that filing the AP with the AOS is free. Let's' just hope that you won't need to travel outside the US any time soon otherwise you'll have to file the AP separately with a filing fee plus the waiting period. Your lawyer obviously doesn't care about your AOS he only cares about the money. You have the right to get your documents back and sounds like you've already paid him so I don't see why he would refuse to give your documents back. You paid him for his service which you weren't satisfied and even caused it to slow down your case due to his inexperience but I don't think you can get your money back unless you file a complaint. My advice is to not hire another lawyer. People on this site can help you and trust me this is the site I go to when I did my AOS. Btw, you should ALWAYS double check everything before signing the papers. Good luck!!

[Unidentified 2,930]

Fire your lawyer asap! You don't need one if your case isn't complicated. If it wasn't for your lawyer, you could've applied for your ssn right after you got married but before your k1 visa expires. You'll have to wait until you get your new EAD for you to be able to apply for ssn. Your name (the spelling) has to match all your applications, all cards that was issued to you and letters. Clearly, your lawyer made a big mistake by not putting your new surname on the application. Mistakes like this will slow down your case and even delay the process that's why you have to correct any mistakes now before it's too late as this will cause you a lot of problems in the future when you travel etc. Another thing, he should've known that filing the AP with the AOS is free. Let's' just hope that you won't need to travel outside the US any time soon otherwise you'll have to file the AP separately with a filing fee plus the waiting period. Your lawyer obviously doesn't care about your AOS he only cares about the money. You have the right to get your documents back and sounds like you've already paid him so I don't see why he would refuse to give your documents back. You paid him for his service which you weren't satisfied and even caused it to slow down your case due to his inexperience but I don't think you can get your money back unless you file a complaint. My advice is to not hire another lawyer. People on this site can help you and trust me this is the site I go to when I did my AOS. Btw, you should ALWAYS double check everything before signing the papers. Good luck!!

A correction to this: You should have gotten your SSN before your I-94 expires. Your visa is a one entry and is now void.

[belinda63 3,038]

At this point all you can do is fire the attorney and try to fix things on your own. You can file for AP now for free by including a copy of the NOA-1 for the I-485. All your paperwork should have been submitted with your married name if that is what you are going to use. If it was submitted in your maiden name you can try contacting them and having it changed but it may or may not happen.

He has to give you a copy of everything. If he refuses contact the local or state bar association. You can also file a complaint with them. Good luck and deep breaths.

[puffers 14]

Thanks everyone!

Thankfully I was able to get my ssn with the EAD card that had a spelling error. The guy at the SSN office was nice and also advised me to fire the lawyer. We made sure the name is correct on my ssn.

I think I can get an AP without paying the fee, I just have to send a copy of my NOA1 for AOS. But I made an InfoPass appointment, where I'm gonna tell them about my situation and get all my applications corrected (the names).

I know now that I could've done this without a lawyer, but when I started I didn't know about this site and how easy it is, and just wanted everything to be right.. Well that didn't work out.

Anyways thanks again

[Hypnos 6,576]

Your lawyer sucks.