B
Bafana
Guest
Can you please assist me in the following dilemma. I do not know in which of the categories this question fit but here it goes. My wife is working in Florida but her corporate office and attorney is in PA.
My wife's employer/attorney is busy with our Permanent Residency (Green Card) for the past two and a half years. When the process started her employer gave us a choice, to use their attorney (paid in full by employer) or they would give us $2,500 towards the use of another attorney. We decided to use their attorney just to let things go smoother. Since last May we were basically forced to use my wife's employer's attorney ('Use our attorney or considered yourself fired'), although we are from then on responsible for the attorney's fees. We did not sign any contract with the attorney.
Her (spouse) Labor Certification was denied by the Department of Labor back in May. The
reason by the DOL was that my wife's position was not advertised according to their regulations. So either the attorney or the employer (or both) made a mistake.
The attorney/employer started the Labor Certification process again.
We are not allowed to contact our attorney (as per employer) and have to contact a person in the employer's corporate office to get any information. According to them this is to keep costs down, but we are responsible for the costs. Since October it is now the third person in that position. They normally do not know what is going on.
At one point in time when I called the attorney she told me that we are technically not her clients and cannot answer any of my questions, although we are responsible for her fees.
Do we have any recourse against the attorney or employer for not abiding by the DOL's regulations? Isn't that what we are paying her for? Should we be responsible for the cost of doing the Labor Certification all over again because of their mistakes.
What is the attorney's responsibility in regards to feedback and keeping us up-to-date with our pending applications (she never contact us to keep us informed).
I would really appreciate your help.
Thank you
Charel J. van Vuuren
[email protected]
My wife's employer/attorney is busy with our Permanent Residency (Green Card) for the past two and a half years. When the process started her employer gave us a choice, to use their attorney (paid in full by employer) or they would give us $2,500 towards the use of another attorney. We decided to use their attorney just to let things go smoother. Since last May we were basically forced to use my wife's employer's attorney ('Use our attorney or considered yourself fired'), although we are from then on responsible for the attorney's fees. We did not sign any contract with the attorney.
Her (spouse) Labor Certification was denied by the Department of Labor back in May. The
reason by the DOL was that my wife's position was not advertised according to their regulations. So either the attorney or the employer (or both) made a mistake.
The attorney/employer started the Labor Certification process again.
We are not allowed to contact our attorney (as per employer) and have to contact a person in the employer's corporate office to get any information. According to them this is to keep costs down, but we are responsible for the costs. Since October it is now the third person in that position. They normally do not know what is going on.
At one point in time when I called the attorney she told me that we are technically not her clients and cannot answer any of my questions, although we are responsible for her fees.
Do we have any recourse against the attorney or employer for not abiding by the DOL's regulations? Isn't that what we are paying her for? Should we be responsible for the cost of doing the Labor Certification all over again because of their mistakes.
What is the attorney's responsibility in regards to feedback and keeping us up-to-date with our pending applications (she never contact us to keep us informed).
I would really appreciate your help.
Thank you
Charel J. van Vuuren
[email protected]