Inj2009

Hi,

I just registered with British Expats.com. I wish I had found this forum a long time ago. I’ll try to be concise.

I’m British. Married to a US permanent resident. Go married Oct 08. She had earlier been granted political asylum in the U.S. I did some research early 2008 about the I-130. Looked promising. But I still wanted to know the facts.

Consulted a US immigration attorney, summer 2008. Paid about $300. He said that it would “take about a year” on the I-130 route, so best to go the H-1B route (he was wrong – although I gave him the facts, he totally overlooked the fact that my wife is not a U.S. citizen. That’s a difference between about a year and five years on the I-130 route!). But I do not have a degree. He said it’s okay – judging by my CV I should be able to get an equivalency test done. UK A-levels plus my work experience = ‘?’ in U.S. educational terms. Also, I have worked in the non-profit sector for years, and in the US there are, apparently, fewer restrictions on H-1B visas for the non-profit sector. It all sounded promising.

So after our October wedding, we were in less of a rush than we might have been to file the I-130. But also, various other things to deal with that have taken time. Unfortunately we’ve been too slow. I’ve now been in the U.S. for almost three months on the visa waiver programme. We planned to file the I-130 immediately, but we just ended up getting confused by various stuff we read about. How does the I-130 affect the H-1B etc. or how does the H-1B affect the pending I-130? We can’t afford to make mistakes.

Did a lot of internet research. Wanted a second opinion on what the lawyer told me. Went to a local bar association, paid $30 to register and got referred to an immigration lawyer for a free 30 minute consultation. Got pretty much the same info (but with less enthusiasm that it would all work out okay). But due to constant interruptions throughout the consultation, and a completely messy / chaotic office, and the lawyer’s weird attitude, I decided I wouldn’t be returning there for help. I told the bar association. They referred me to someone else. What the hell. Free advice. But this guy turned out to know even less than I know about immigration! And he said he charges $3,500 to file the I-130. He also told me loads of stuff that is simply not true, according to what I had already learnt and according to what some helpful people on the Visa Journey forum told me following the consultation. He had a few details to check and would get back to me. A week later, nothing.

None of these three lawyers told me what people on the Visa Journey forum told me: an employer files the H-1B. You can’t file it yourself, even with the help of a lawyer!

That is what I had previously understood. For years. Common knowledge, isn’t it? Well, the first lawyer, the “immigration attorney”, had told me to apply for jobs, tell the potential employee that I have an attorney who has guaranteed he can obtain the H-1B visa within a month, but the employer just needs to agree to "sponsor" me by offering me the job and agreeing to the H-1B visa application. Since I was paying the fees, it was more likely that the potential employer would be willing to employ someone from the UK. Looked realistic on paper, but I wasn’t so confident about the reality.

Incidentally, this is what he wanted to charge for getting me an H-1B:
Lawyer fees $3,500
US government filing fee $320
Anti-fraud fee (?) $500
Education evaluation assessment $350

A few days ago I emailed this lawyer, telling him that he made a mistake about the I-130, and that I was having my doubts about his promise of an H-1B. So I sent him an email as I was curious to know what response I would get. I received this reply:

“You need to be properly informed and updated as to H1-b's in general---both for profit and non profit-and as to your other issues of concern. It would therefore be a good idea to schedule a proper phone consultation.”

Okay I need an update, but I thought he had already “informed” me in summer 2008?

I said I wasn’t in a position to pay more consultation fees right now, but nonetheless asked how much (out of curiosity to see if he would address my concerns regarding what he had told me or if he was trying to just get my money). He replied: “Usually its $350 but as we already had one..we can do for $175.”

I am trying to think of a suitable reply to this email. I’d like to put him on the spot a bit. Does anyone have any suggestions?

Someone on the Visa Journey forum warned me: “This happens quite a lot, but I'm afraid it's usually a scam. There are lots of 'visa agents' that claim to be lawyers and say that they will get you a H1B for a fee. You won't get the visa or the fee back.”

Very curious to know what others make of all this. I hope I’ve not been too naïve. It seems I made a mistake. I didn't know anything about this situation, so I sought the advice of an "expert". A legal expert. It seems he told me what he thought I'd want to hear, and is still happy to take more money. And this is all carried out legally in the name of "law"?

So now I feel like I don’t have a chance on the H-1B route and we have to wait two years until my wife becomes a citizen. I’m seriously stressed by this situation and these “law people” talking rubbish and being too willing to take my money. After a four-year, long-distance relationship of the occasional three weeks, two weeks, or three months together, and two or three months apart at a time, I really can't stand to be separated from my wife any more.

Thank you for reading.

Noorah101

Sorry to hear you've been put through the run-around. Regarding the I-130, my advice is to have your wife file it ASAP and get you a "place in line". Then, when she becomes a USC, a visa number will be immediately available to you, and it should only take about 8 - 10 month after that point to get your Immigrant Visa.

Sorry, I don't have enough knowledge to advise on the H1-B side of things.

Oh, and regarding how to respond to that one lawyer...my advice is, just don't. Let it all go. Now that you know your facts better, consider that all a learning curve, and let the past year's mishaps go. Don't try to "put him on the spot".

Rene

Inj2009

Thanks Rene,

But are we really to let these people get away with this? I'm not looking for revenge, but I'd hate to think of someone else paying $300 for this immigration attorney's "advice".

So I guess there's no point in me even bothering to apply for jobs in the US. I don't have a degree. Fallen at the first hurdle. Wasted a lot of time. Got ready for an impossible journey. I feel rather stupid. The only plan-b is the I-130.

Thanks for your comments.

Best wishes.

Inj

Ray

A degree or 12 years experience


The exception is, when you get an equivalency evaluation that says your work experience in the field is equal to a 4 year bachelor degree. Three years of work experience in the field is equal to one year of college education. A evaluation from a professional service that evaluates work experience and/or foreign degrees would be able to determine whether your work experience and college degree would be enough

Noorah101

What is your plan for stopping it? Writing to him isn't going to stop him.

Writing to him and reporting him, isn't necessarily going to stop someone else from falling into the trap. Don't feel bad, live and learn.

I can understand your disappointment, but I don't think you wasted time. Money, perhaps, but unless you did something else with your time, you didn't waste it. Even if she had filed the I-130 last year, it wouldn't have made a difference today.

Hang in there. Maybe someone else here will have some ideas for you.

Best Wishes,
Rene

Inj2009

Thanks Ray, that's helpful.

Does anyone know where I can get an equivalency evaluation done?

thanks.

Ray

I can remember short URLs
www.wes.org


or google education evaluations

Inj2009

Thanks, Ray, for the URL.

Thanks again Rene,
Well, without handing any more money over I'm curious to see how much or a shammer this guy is. I want to be absolutely certain that I'm not wrong about him. Then I'd be happy to paste his name here and leave a comment on his youtube pages. Yes, it turns out he now has youtube pages. Not sure what to make of that. I googled his name before handing over $300. I couldn't find anything bad about him. No warnings. What's another five minutes spent on this? If it means someone keeps their $300?

All the best.

Bluegrass Lass

I believe that is against site rules. We do not allow 'Name and Shame' threads.

If you still feel like you want to use a lawyer, please go to www.aila.org. AILA is the American Immigration Lawyers Association. You can search for lawyers in your area. It's fairly expensive for lawyers to join AILA, so I would hazard a guess that the vast majority who join would have good knowledge of imm. law, otherwise they wouldn't bother to join. Sure, some of them could still be scammers, but I think it's less likely.

Inj2009

Ok. Point taken. Sorry. I don't want to break any rules or do anything inappropriate.

Having spoken to three lawyers, I don't think I want to speak to any more. At least right now. I feel sick.

But I will keep the URL for future reference. Thank you.

meauxna

I'm so glad you found your way here; I wanted to reply to the MISinformation in your thread at VJ.

I don't have anything to offer you at the moment, but just wanted you to know you did good to seek info elsewhere.

Eric S

I can vouch for WES. My wife used them to validate her bachelor's degree from Spain. We found out about them because she needed it to get her teacher's license in Massachusetts. The Mass. Dept. of Education had a list on their webiste of organizations that they would accept.

If you are looking at a particular job (or university if you're considering continuing your education in the US), you might want to check with them on which organization's validation they will accept.

- Eric S.

cathy22w

My equivalency cost more than $350. They used a combination of my education (counted for 3 years towards the 4 year required degree) and used my work experience for the rest.

I used Morningside Associates - I think they're in New York. (www.morningeval.com).

Inj2009

Thanks Meauxna, Eric and Cathy. I’ll look into WES and Morningside Associates.

So, if someone gets a job offer, and the employer is willing to sponsor them/make the H-1B application, is a lawyer usually involved? Or is it a simple procedure for the employer to carry out? Can much go wrong with the application as long as there is a job offer and the employee meets the H-1B criteria? Or does the involvement of a lawyer help? If someone was to tell a potential employer “I have an immigration attorney”, is that going to have the opposite effect and put the employer off?

How does the process usually happen?

Is it true there are thousands of H-1B visas “spare” this year? But that’s no good thing, right? It means a lack of jobs, of course, not a lack of potential applicants. It’s not like they’re about to relax the requirements to reach the maximum quota or anything!

Thanks all. Have a good evening.

Noorah101

There is almost always a corporate lawyer involved who handles the H1B processing for the company. First you get an employer who wants to hire you, they run it by their attorneys and make sure you qualify for the visa, then they submit the paperwork to get it started. Eventually, you get called in for a visa interview in your home country, and then come to the USA to start work.

Yes, there are still H1B spares this year, which as you said, is not a good sign. It means employers are not as willing to hire people who need visas.

Rene