Lawyer's responsibilities/power?

[Villanelle 4,122]

So another thing to consider--- Ive read this on immigration blogs/lawyer ad sites; I dont have any links for you but i think if you google around you can find it.  Basically some people in your situation simply drop the petition that is hung up and file a new petition. Drop can mean anything from formally withdraw to just let hang there with no decision. When the second petition is filed it moves on its own, independent from the held up one. It goes in its own file with a link to the other file, it will go to the service center where a totally different employee then the one who looked at your first one will look at it. In the local office again a new employee will have the file. I also read speculation that sort of like a quality control issue employees can hold up certain files for no other reason then needing to meet performance quotas. Speculation yes, but it does explain it well. 

 

Ask your lawyer about filing another packet. If they are opposed get a second opinion.

[Crazy Cat 41,848]

3 minutes ago, Damara said:

So another thing to consider--- Ive read this on immigration blogs/lawyer ad sites; I dont have any links for you but i think if you google around you can find it.  Basically some people in your situation simply drop the petition that is hung up and file a new petition. Drop can mean anything from formally withdraw to just let hang there with no decision. When the second petition is filed it moves on its own, independent from the held up one. It goes in its own file with a link to the other file, it will go to the service center where a totally different employee then the one who looked at your first one will look at it. In the local office again a new employee will have the file. I also read speculation that sort of like a quality control issue employees can hold up certain files for no other reason then needing to meet performance quotas. Speculation yes, but it does explain it well. 

 

Ask your lawyer about filing another packet. If they are opposed get a second opinion.

Interesting...............How does filing the new petition affect the applicant's residence status?

[Usagi_tsukino 89]

3 minutes ago, Damara said:

So another thing to consider--- Ive read this on immigration blogs/lawyer ad sites; I dont have any links for you but i think if you google around you can find it.  Basically some people in your situation simply drop the petition that is hung up and file a new petition. Drop can mean anything from formally withdraw to just let hang there with no decision. When the second petition is filed it moves on its own, independent from the held up one. It goes in its own file with a link to the other file, it will go to the service center where a totally different employee then the one who looked at your first one will look at it. In the local office again a new employee will have the file. I also read speculation that sort of like a quality control issue employees can hold up certain files for no other reason then needing to meet performance quotas. Speculation yes, but it does explain it well. 

 

Ask your lawyer about filing another packet. If they are opposed get a second opinion.

I remember i read something about that too... you mean we can file a new one without withdrawing the first one and see which one gets approved first haha? : )

Thanks for the idea, i'll certainly ask the lawyer. I just don't feel like paying $1500 again 

[LionessDeon 2,060]

1 hour ago, banana_princess said:

Nice  yes, of course, our lawyer is an immigrational lawyer. 

Ok.  Not everyone hires a specialized immigrantion lawyer. They should have contacts and know how to get things moving. 

[millefleur 5,046]

Sorry to hear about all this, OP. It really sounds like a Kafkaesque nightmare....just wondering, what type of visa did you enter on?

 

I think it's worth checking out another lawyer. Your whole case seems so strange and uncalled for. I wonder if it's bad luck or if the lawyer is making things worse. Getting a second legal opinion is a good idea.

Edited June 1, 2017 by millefleur

[WandY 430]

I went to law school many years ago, but do not work as an attorney. This is not advice, just opinion. I do know how to apply a little pressure to a slow and/or incompetent lawyer. Attorneys fear bar complaints more than anything else. If you feel that your lawyer is hurting your legal case and status, you can file a complaint with the state bar association. I've been involved with one of these, and it's a messy and long process - use as a last resort.
 However, just mentioning this to your lawyer may get things moving - or sever the relationship. Before you do a bar complaint, consider something less severe.

 

Find out if your attorney has been in trouble with the state bar association and/or other governing/licensing bodies. The state's secretary of state or state division of professional registration will have those public records. Check with the local Better Business Bureau. Google his/her name along with "complaints" and see what comes up. All of this can either make you sick, or maybe calm your nerves. If your attorney is clear of complaints, that's probably a good sign that maybe he/she just needs a little prodding. Don't be afraid to say, "Maybe I should check with the bar association to see what you are supposed to be doing for me. How do I do that?"  Sometimes that is enough to get the lawyer moving - if for no other reason than to alleviate the threat and potential career-ending situation.

 

You can also be patient, but persistent. Calling local representatives (congressman, etc.) probably won't do much, but it's worth a shot. Hiring another attorney will be expensive and probably add more time to the process. Let me know if you need any help with filing complaints. Hang in there. You'll be OK.

[EMBELL_17 102]

20 hours ago, banana_princess said:

Hi all! Many of you are familiar with my situation, yep, still no news. (Those who are not - you can read my signature).

My question is, what is a lawyer supposed to do if USCIS is taking this long? All my lawyer does is sending service requests, and we all know that those are useless.

Did any of you have a lawyer and a similar problem, what did your lawyer do? I just don't understand if we have a horrible lawyer or what.
Thank you.

Hi princess, I am a practicing attorney but I do not specialize in immigration law. I am not sure what else the attorney can do but s/he is obligated by the professional rules of conduct to (1) keep you informed, and (2) offer competent legal service. I am not sure of your payment structure with him but if you are paying by the hour, he should have an itemized log. If you paid one fee, he should still have kept track of the efforts he made in your case. Ask for a print out of the log. If you are still convinced that he is not diligently representing you, go to another immigration attorney and express your concerns. This entire scenario is difficult because you have no idea what the hold up is. He may have done everything in his power. This is why you need to know what he has done in order to determine whether he is being good counsel.

[Usagi_tsukino 89]

8 hours ago, millefleur said:

Sorry to hear about all this, OP. It really sounds like a Kafkaesque nightmare....just wondering, what type of visa did you enter on?

 

I think it's worth checking out another lawyer. Your whole case seems so strange and uncalled for. I wonder if it's bad luck or if the lawyer is making things worse. Getting a second legal opinion is a good idea.

I am adjusting from J-1. Ahhh, the weird part is that it's not strange at all, i do not understand why all this is happening at all  the case is very straightforward, i swear.... 

[Usagi_tsukino 89]

@WandY
@EMBELL_17

Thank you for your comments, it was very helpful.

We are paying separately for everything, one payment to submit papers, then another one for the interview and so on. Ugh, do you think it could be done in order to make us pay more? May be i am too naive but i can't believe this : ( 

We went there today, the supervisor said he thought they were done with our case (yeah, he memorized us already) and promised we will get the decision in 4-6 weeks. I do not believe this because i heard those promises so many times  Well, i guess we will be back in 4-6 weeks. I will consult other lawyers. If it's denied (or depending on what happens in 4-6 weeks) i really don't think we will continue with our. I don't know hard how one need to work to get our case denied. Seriously, it's a pretty simple case, i'm not joking. The thing is, originally we filed without a lawyer, but we got a weird RFE, we didn't know what to do so we got the lawyer and she helped, i thought she was good.

[EMBELL_17 102]

15 hours ago, banana_princess said:

@WandY
@EMBELL_17

Thank you for your comments, it was very helpful.

We are paying separately for everything, one payment to submit papers, then another one for the interview and so on. Ugh, do you think it could be done in order to make us pay more? May be i am too naive but i can't believe this : ( 

I'm reading your signature line but unclear about what Ombudsman replied? It might be worth ditching the lawyer and spending the money on submitting another application with the exact same information previously entered by the lawyer. No idea if you can apply for a fee waiver due to their own incompetence (unlikely but may be worth a shot). Your case is absolutely crazy and I cannot begin to imagine how frustrated you are. You may not qualify for community-based legal aid and I do not know where you are located but some law schools have immigration clinics (with very passionate students of law and extremely competent and qualified supervising attorneys) who may be able to offer some resources. Check one out.

[Usagi_tsukino 89]

On 6/2/2017 at 11:18 AM, EMBELL_17 said:

I'm reading your signature line but unclear about what Ombudsman replied? It might be worth ditching the lawyer and spending the money on submitting another application with the exact same information previously entered by the lawyer. No idea if you can apply for a fee waiver due to their own incompetence (unlikely but may be worth a shot). Your case is absolutely crazy and I cannot begin to imagine how frustrated you are. You may not qualify for community-based legal aid and I do not know where you are located but some law schools have immigration clinics (with very passionate students of law and extremely competent and qualified supervising attorneys) who may be able to offer some resources. Check one out.

Thanks! We didn't get anything back from Ombudsman, and we didn't contact them again, because by that time we made our way straight to the officer and her supervisor. I figured our Ombudsman won't be able to do anything because the case was sort of moving all the time - either we got rfe, or the 2nd interview, or noid. The person we talked to on Thursday is our officer's supervisor, i truly hope this time he will get things done as he promised.

 

By the way, does anybody know if its normal that the case wasn't updated online since March 2015 (the only update is when they received it)?