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Immigration lawyer not performing

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Principesca

Junior Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? California

I'm posting to find out if there is anything I can do, if I can take legal action or get my money back.

I recently married an Italian citizen in the U.S. and hired an immigration lawyer to help us through the process of immigration. Before agreeing to anything I spoke to the lawyer in detail, he outlined many ways in which he could and would help us, and what his fee's were. He gave vague information about the process and immediately returned my calls (or within a few hours) until we hired him. His fee was $1600, $600 up front then $500 for the next two months. This was to cover filing of all documents, interview preparation, and the like. Since we paid the initial fee I have not spoken to the lawyer directly a single time. His paralegal was the only one to ever contact me, and it was always via email. The emails were very unprofessional, and I got so upset that I called out the paralegal and attorney. I emailed both pointing out my dissatisfaction and the unacceptable nature in which the case was being handled. The emails she was sending were copy & pasted without so much effort as to remove the guides such as (client's name). Example::

If your [[How to refer to beneficiary - lower case]] does not already have a social security number, [[Beneficiary he/she]] will be able to present [[Beneficary his/her]] EAD card to your local social security office and apply for [[Beneficary his/her]] SSN. In most cases, an SSN is available within 48 hours. The SSN will also allow your [[How to refer to beneficiary - lower case]] to apply for a driver license at your local DMV.

After my upset email to both the paralegal and the lawyer, the lawyer emailed me to say that I was right, this is unacceptable, and that the paralegal would be calling me to work something out. Three days later I still had not heard anything so I emailed the lawyer again. This time I got a phone call the next day from the paralegal saying she is sorry, she has been busy because her kids were home for a school break. I explained that I understand personal circumstances however I am paying for peace of mind during a highly stressful situation and instead of getting help they are adding to the stress. The lawyer had expressed an urgency to file all paperwork and yet anytime there was an issue creating a delay I didn't get any response for anyone for several days usually not until after I sent a follow up email inquiring about the previous one. Other than the one apology phone call from the paralegal there has been 0 phone communication.

Now we are less than a week away from the interview date, I am in desperate need of legal advice. I emailed requesting a phone call for more thorough interview preparation (they sent a generic "sample question" email from 2009 that had less than 10 questions on it, a quick online search revealed 10x the information). The paralegal responded saying she would see if the lawyer could call me, and days later I have still heard nothing from either. My husband and I both feel that we have been ripped off. It feels like the lawyer has not actually done anything for us. When we were filing the paperwork we were asked to fill out all of the forms manually, then they sent the complete versions to us for us to sign and send to immigration ourselves. I'm wondering what merits the $1600? Do we have any legal grounds to get our money back?
 


quincy

Senior Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? California

I'm posting to find out if there is anything I can do, if I can take legal action or get my money back. ... I'm wondering what merits the $1600? Do we have any legal grounds to get our money back?
It is impossible to tell you if you can get your money back. Posts on a forum cannot provide the information necessary to determine this.

A personal review of all facts by an attorney in your area would be necessary, with the facts needing review a detailed accounting of what has been done to date by the immigration attorney, and what the costs have been for him to do it.

There is no good excuse for professional correspondence to be sloppy. Unfortunately, many people are poor writers and so sloppy emails and letters happen.

The best time to investigate the qualifications of an attorney is before you hire the attorney.
 
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LdiJ

Senior Member
It is impossible to tell you if you can get your money back. Posts on a forum cannot provide the information necessary to determine this.

A personal review of all facts by an attorney in your area would be necessary, with the facts needing review a detailed accounting of what has been done to date by the immigration attorney, and what the costs have been for him to do it.

There is no good excuse for professional correspondence to be sloppy. Unfortunately, many people are poor writers and so sloppy emails and letters happen.

The best time to investigate the qualifications of an attorney is before you hire the attorney.
I agree with this and will also add, if your marriage is legit, you honestly do not need "preparation" for the interview, nor would preparation help you. In fact, it could hurt more than help. I have been through this myself. The whole purpose of the interview is to determine whether or not you have a legit marriage. Your answers to the questions matter, but are less important than your body language and relationship. If your marriage is legit, you really don't need any preparation.
 

Principesca

Junior Member
I agree with this and will also add, if your marriage is legit, you honestly do not need "preparation" for the interview, nor would preparation help you. In fact, it could hurt more than help. I have been through this myself. The whole purpose of the interview is to determine whether or not you have a legit marriage. Your answers to the questions matter, but are less important than your body language and relationship. If your marriage is legit, you really don't need any preparation.
Thank you for your input. It is comforting to know we should be fine, at the same time I have read a lot of horror stories about saying the wrong thing in an interview and it blowing up in your face. We hired a lawyer for peace of mind and guidance and are getting diddly squat.
 

OHRoadwarrior

Senior Member
I disagree OP may not be in a world of crap. He did not indicate the Italian came on a fiance visa, therefore the possibility of one or more waivers being required is possible.
 

quincy

Senior Member
I disagree OP may not be in a world of crap. He did not indicate the Italian came on a fiance visa, therefore the possibility of one or more waivers being required is possible.
Unfortunately, with an interview in less than a week, there is probably little chance that Principesca will have the opportunity to get in to see an immigration attorney other than the one she and her husband currently have. It is to be hoped that they have all the documentation necessary.

For some general advice, Principesca, you and your husband should both dress nicely for the interview (conservative clothing is best), and you should make sure to arrive on time (arriving early is best). Items that are not allowed on airplanes (liquids, sharp objects or weapons, etc) are also not allowed into your interview. Cell phones are often prohibited, as well.

Your attorney should be with you to help you with the questions. If you don't know the answer to a question, it is generally best to say you don't know. Don't guess at an answer.

When asked a question, answer what is asked. For example, if you are asked "when" something happened, don't give a why, where or how answer. The questions will be direct. Your answers should be, too.

If you have photographs of your wedding and of you and your husband with family and friends, those are good to bring along to the interview.

And, as LdiJ said, if your marriage is legitimate, you have little to worry about.

Good luck.
 
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Proserpina

Senior Member
This is absolutely appalling of the attorney. We can't promise that he'll give you a refund, but if nothing else there's at least a complaint process you can follow and from what you've said, you should follow that process.
 

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