lisag8070

OK heres the thing, we paid for GC application to be filed in May 2006 with the Company Lawyer (was on H1B) we had to pay $9,000 up front

We did not sign anything....just agreed the price and paid monthly..(they deducted it from our wage).

Then we discovered that the Lawyer had not submitted anything until 27th June 2007 and even then it could not be submitted because it was the same day the Visa numbers went into regression. Our H1B ran out on 13th June 2007. Our Company kept telling us....there was no problems everything was running smoothly...and we will be OK.

We were lucky that my OH was head hunted and was approved for another visa before this date.

We have sent a letter of fact to both the Lawyer and Company telling them that they have 10 days to send our money back to us as they in a fact "did nothing for us"....but they have ignored it..

Here's my question can we hire another Lawyer to demand our money back from the 1st Lawyer that screwed us over, or will it be throwing good money after bad... and are we even in our right to ask for our money back..

At the end of the day we will go to see another Lawyer (one we trust) and have a Consult but I was just wondering what we could expect before hand...

Thanks


Lisa

dbj1000

Wow! I have no good advice, but I just want to say that that sucks! The only positive part is that at least your husband got headhunted.

My gut feeling is that you'd be throwing good money after bad. Hopefully some of our resident lawyers here will have some clear advice on how to go about applying pressure to your ex-laywer.

lisag8070

Thanks dbj1000

It does suck doesn't it..and your right we were soo very happy about OH getting another job with another Company...

I guess this is what happens when you put too much trust into a Company and Lawyer that you think is helping you, especially when you're paying for the service...

fatbrit

http://www.ncbar.gov/public/filing.asp

dbj1000

Yes, putting your trust in the soothing words of an immigration lawyer is a big mistake.

On more than one occasion my lawyer (who I was not paying for) basically said that he couldn't understand why I was so concerned about rushing the Green Card process, since I still had years left on my H1-B.

He was an extremely experienced immigration attorney, buy couldn't really empathize with our situation. I think the reason may be that he was dealing with really dreadful immigration cases - families about to be split up by deportation, undocumented workers struggling to stay in the country, illegal immigrants in jail awaiting deportation - so skilled, highly paid H1-Bs who are in status and doing just fine probably weren't top of his priorities.

lisag8070

Thanks fatbrit...

Putting a complaint through the Bar Association was going to be my next step...as I gave them 10 days to deal with this and it was up today.

lisag8070

Glad all things worked out for you.... and that you kept on top of your Lawyer....

We tried to keep on top of things but every time we phoned our Lawyer, (she never took the call) and then we would get the Company phoning us back asking us what did we need to speak to the Lawyer about and that they could answer all our questions...

fatbrit

This might be worth a read....

http://britishexpats.com/forum/showthread.php?p=5814046

lisag8070

some good tips there Thanks again.


This was another fact that we put into the letter we sent both the Lawyer and Company...we told them "you have been unethical in the way you have handled this matter due the fact that there is a conflict of interest between the Company and ourselves" and we also stated that we never signed anything...

We have actually had a Consult (as every thing went South) with another Immigration Lawyer and he told us what to write and to demand our money back, and then to file a grievance with the State Bar, and also to send a copy of the letter to the Partners in the Law Firm...

fatbrit

Personally, I'd file with the bar and see what happens. If they want to settle, don't forget to add the time and effort you spent trying to get the money back to the money they took but didn't do anything for.

If they get reprimanded by the bar but still don't want to pay up, it's definitely looking like court time. If the bar won't do anything, it's still possible but looking less likely you'll get a settlement in your favor -- but still worth considering.

lisag8070

UPDATE:

as of 2 mins ago I have just received this letter by Fed-Ex

We are in receipt of your letter and are arranging to have the relevant files pulled from storage. We will respond to the issues raised as soon as possible after our review is complete.

Should you have any questions in this matter, pending our review, please do not hesitate to contact me.

So what do you think....should I still submit the grievance on Monday or should I tell them they have 1 week and then I'll go to the State Bar..

fatbrit

Bunch of shysters playing for time and trying to control the situation. Fed-ex 'em back you want a meeting with someone with authority in their firm at your local Starbucks at 10 a.m. on Wednesday morning. Said person should have full authority to complete negotiation of settlement and should bring the checkbook with them. Don't forget to keep a receipt from Fed-ex -- you can add it to their bill.

chicagojlo

My best advice is to let you know that files can be pulled from storage the same day if necessary, and within 24 hours otherwise. So if they start stringing you along with that then at least you know they are talking crap.

lisag8070

Unfortunately I can't do that as they're based in New York...unless I can demand that they fly down here for a meeting...?

But I agree with you that they are stalling...which is why I want to send a letter and tell them they have 7 days 'to review the files' and then the gloves are coming off...

lisag8070

yea I know but how do I proceed from here...

1. Get a Lawyer to fire off another letter.
2. File a grievance with the State Bar

or both..