British Expats
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British Expats (https://britishexpats.com/forum/)
-   US Immigration, Citizenship and Visas (https://britishexpats.com/forum/us-immigration-citizenship-visas-34/)
-   -   immigration attorney recommendation (https://britishexpats.com/forum/us-immigration-citizenship-visas-34/immigration-attorney-recommendation-924266/)

nudda Apr 18th 2019 6:48 am
immigration attorney recommendation
 
I'm having a tough time finding someone who is reliable. I went to see an immigration attorney the other day who spent a whole 5 minutes with me telling me what I already know off this forum and other sites, For this, I had the pleasure of paying him my hard earnt cash (consultation fee). Felt cheated to say the least. I think a good attorney will ask you questions to probe you for information. To that end, can someone who personally has used an immigration attorney recommend them? I am looking for real experiences where youv'e been happy with the experience rather than just contacts (i.e. ffamily and friends). Someone in the AZ, NV, CA region would be great.

Thanks!

civilservant Apr 18th 2019 10:39 am
Re: immigration attorney recommendation
 
J Craig Fong is often mentioned by the resident retired attorney on these boards.

Pulaski Apr 18th 2019 11:54 am
Re: immigration attorney recommendation
 
Originally Posted by nudda (Post 12672631)
I'm having a tough time finding someone who is reliable. I went to see an immigration attorney the other day who spent a whole 5 minutes with me telling me what I already know off this forum and other sites, For this, I had the pleasure of paying him my hard earnt cash (consultation fee). Felt cheated to say the least. I think a good attorney will ask you questions to probe you for information. To that end, can someone who personally has used an immigration attorney recommend them? I am looking for real experiences where youv'e been happy with the experience rather than just contacts (i.e. family and friends). Someone in the AZ, NV, CA region would be great.

Thanks!
Conversely, I think you have just proved what people are invariably told here, that unless you have significant complicating factors, such as a criminal record, a lawyer won't add any value and that you can get all the support you'll need here on BE.

I think you have been told this before, but now you've paid some legal fees and have only apparently proved that the advice given here previously was good advice.

nudda Apr 18th 2019 2:15 pm
Re: immigration attorney recommendation
 
Thanks for the J Craig Fong recommendation.

Pulsaki - I have been told I need to consult an immigration attorney for specific matters which is what I tried to do. I am essentially trying to figure out (a) can I change jobs without any negative conseqeunces and (b) if there is any way to expedite my i485. I ask about 'b' only because I have read on some sites that its possible to speed up the process if a letter can be obtained from the employing company about losing a resource if things do not speed up. I wouldnt be in a position to use this exact reasoning maybe but wanted to determine if there are other ways to speed up processing. I thought this would only be possible if I consulted an immigration attorney myself.

tht Apr 18th 2019 2:58 pm
Re: immigration attorney recommendation
 
Originally Posted by nudda (Post 12672756)
Thanks for the J Craig Fong recommendation.

Pulsaki - I have been told I need to consult an immigration attorney for specific matters which is what I tried to do. I am essentially trying to figure out (a) can I change jobs without any negative conseqeunces and (b) if there is any way to expedite my i485. I ask about 'b' only because I have read on some sites that its possible to speed up the process if a letter can be obtained from the employing company about losing a resource if things do not speed up. I wouldnt be in a position to use this exact reasoning maybe but wanted to determine if there are other ways to speed up processing. I thought this would only be possible if I consulted an immigration attorney myself.
As a preface this is all back in 2010 under an administration with different goals, but my experience was that their is more you can do than just wait, but I have no idea if it helped or was a coincidence, and your situation is obviously different.

I had my i485 pending and wanted it to come through so I would feel comfortable committing to a US mortgage on a US property, I was also given the impression that the loan approval process and rate would be better as I could be seen as lower risk. This apartment was not just for me, but also for my USC girl friend / now wife.

My I485 was not filled concurrent, the I-140 was approved in about 10 months and the company lawyers filled the I485 about 4 months later at my request and it took an additional 7 months to approve.

After waiting for some time the company lawyers filled a request and I did an info-pass afterwards, but we got no new information.

I finally wrote to the office of the Senator (D) who represented the district I lived in with my USC girlfriend and detailed the negative impact on her as a USC for the delay and asked if they could get an update. They had a form and specific team who handled it, so I presume they get a lot of similar requests. I have no way of knowing if my request sped it up, but 2 days later I got the approval email.


nudda Apr 18th 2019 3:23 pm
Re: immigration attorney recommendation
 
Originally Posted by tht (Post 12672774)
I had my i485 pending and wanted it to come through so I would feel comfortable committing to a US mortgage on a US property, I was also given the impression that the loan approval process and rate would be better as I could be seen as lower risk. This apartment was not just for me, but also for my USC girl friend / now wife.

My I485 was not filled concurrent, the I-140 was approved in about 10 months and the company lawyers filled the I485 about 4 months later at my request and it took an additional 7 months to approve.

After waiting for some time the company lawyers filled a request and I did an info-pass afterwards, but we got no new information.

I finally wrote to the office of the Senator (D) who represented the district I lived in with my USC girlfriend and detailed the negative impact on her as a USC for the delay and asked if they could get an update. They had a form and specific team who handled it, so I presume they get a lot of similar requests. I have no way of knowing if my request sped it up, but 2 days later I got the approval email.
Thanks for sharing your experience. I actually am not too far off your situation. I am close to the 7th month for the i485 pending, have a USC girlfriend and have not bought a property because i want to get a better rate on the mortgage showing them i am here to stay via GC. Maybe I can do something simialr to you? Would it be possible for you to share the redacted letter you sent to the office of the Senator so that I can use it as a template? I am sure my girlfiend will support me on this. p.s: No plans to marry yet :) Thanks!

scrubbedexpat099 Apr 18th 2019 3:34 pm
Re: immigration attorney recommendation
 
You can expedite EAD or AP if you have reasons, they do seem to be more picky so you need a good documented reason.

nudda Apr 18th 2019 3:37 pm
Re: immigration attorney recommendation
 
Originally Posted by Boiler (Post 12672799)
You can expedite EAD or AP if you have reasons, they do seem to be more picky so you need a good documented reason.
Thanks Boiler but already have EAD/AP card in hand. It does seem this isnt good enough to change jobs through (I spoke to a recruiter about a job yesterday and they are not willing to accept it for employment)

scrubbedexpat099 Apr 18th 2019 3:40 pm
Re: immigration attorney recommendation
 
Originally Posted by nudda (Post 12672800)
Thanks Boiler but already have EAD/AP card in hand. It does seem this isnt good enough to change jobs through (I spoke to a recruiter about a job yesterday and they are not willing to accept it for employment)
Well there are Federal discrimination Laws, now some jobs require security clearance, you have to be a USC, but an Employer would outside of these be opening themselves to a law case. Recruiter, well I guess they can decide who they take on, or not.

nudda Apr 18th 2019 3:42 pm
Re: immigration attorney recommendation
 
Originally Posted by Boiler (Post 12672802)
Well there are Federal discrimination Laws, now some jobs require security clearance, you have to be a USC, but an Employer would outside of these be opening themselves to a law case. Recruiter, well I guess they can decide who they take on, or not.
The role I was interested in that they were really interested in hiring me for didnt need SC. They just have their own strict policy on only hiring someone with minimum a GC. Whilst this is discrimination, I wouldn't opt to fight a case against them to hire me :)

scrubbedexpat099 Apr 18th 2019 3:47 pm
Re: immigration attorney recommendation
 
So your basis for an expedite is that you have a prospective Employer who does not comply with Federal Law.

I suppose the first thing you would need is documentation from them to support their illegal discrimination practices.

nudda Apr 18th 2019 3:59 pm
Re: immigration attorney recommendation
 
Originally Posted by Boiler (Post 12672805)
So your basis for an expedite is that you have a prospective Employer who does not comply with Federal Law.

I suppose the first thing you would need is documentation from them to support their illegal discrimination practices.
no the "other" job is not related. I am just trying to expedite the i485 process somehow to get a mortgage at the best rate and be able to move jobs if needed (lots of uncertainty as to what happens with the current job).

tom169 Apr 18th 2019 4:21 pm
Re: immigration attorney recommendation
 
Originally Posted by nudda (Post 12672803)
The role I was interested in that they were really interested in hiring me for didnt need SC. They just have their own strict policy on only hiring someone with minimum a GC. Whilst this is discrimination, I wouldn't opt to fight a case against them to hire me :)
Yeah, may want to stay away from a place that is quite possibly breaking federal law.

Reality is that unless they're government jobs, or a government contract, the employer cannot dictate what evidence you use on an I-9 to prove eligiblity to work.

My advice is keep your immigration status to yourself. If asked if you need sponsoring the answer is "no."

nudda Apr 18th 2019 4:22 pm
Re: immigration attorney recommendation
 
Originally Posted by tom169 (Post 12672822)
Yeah, may want to stay away from a place that is quite possibly breaking federal law.

Reality is that unless they're government jobs, or a government contract, the employer cannot dictate what evidence you use on an I-9 to prove eligiblity to work.

My advice is keep your immigration status to yourself. If asked if you need sponsoring the answer is "no."
Awesome. Many thanks for the info. I did not know this

nudda Apr 18th 2019 4:28 pm
Re: immigration attorney recommendation
 
I also found the below which confirms what you have said tom169 (not that I doubted you but wanted to see if I could find a source).

https://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central/em...discrimination


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