My interview is next week but just discovered errors in the application

[donna777 12]

We hired a lawyer because I am prone to panicking and thought this would be the best course of action, to be honest its actually caused much more stress than if I had done it myself.

Anyway we recently received news that our interviews are coming up, in the next 10 days now, and I have been requesting information from my lawyer since we received the dates. He has just now provided me with all the forms that we sent uscis so that we can prepare for the interview. However right away I noticed that there are mistakes. My previous married name is not listed (I didn't actually use my married name on anything at all officially-no passports, banks, drivers license etc but it should still be listed I feel) and also my mothers maiden name has not been listed. Instead they have used her current name and written n/a where the maiden name is asked. I asked them to provide me with the original questionnaire that I sent them, but they have conveniently lost that.

My lawyer insists that the officer will simply make the changes at the interview and this is a matter of routine and nothing to worry about. But I am worried, panicked in fact, because thats what I do :) Does anyone have any thoughts/answers? Thank you for any help.

[mushroomspore 3,043]

20 minutes ago, donna777 said:

We hired a lawyer because I am prone to panicking and thought this would be the best course of action, to be honest its actually caused much more stress than if I had done it myself.

Anyway we recently received news that our interviews are coming up, in the next 10 days now, and I have been requesting information from my lawyer since we received the dates. He has just now provided me with all the forms that we sent uscis so that we can prepare for the interview. However right away I noticed that there are mistakes. My previous married name is not listed (I didn't actually use my married name on anything at all officially-no passports, banks, drivers license etc but it should still be listed I feel) and also my mothers maiden name has not been listed. Instead they have used her current name and written n/a where the maiden name is asked. I asked them to provide me with the original questionnaire that I sent them, but they have conveniently lost that.

My lawyer insists that the officer will simply make the changes at the interview and this is a matter of routine and nothing to worry about. But I am worried, panicked in fact, because thats what I do Does anyone have any thoughts/answers? Thank you for any help.

Fire the lawyer and ask to fix at the interview. Those are somewhat minor details, but they should be called to attention nonetheless. Honestly, if you can read/write English and you have a straightforward case (no criminal history, no complicated history with US immigration), you can DIY the paperwork.

[JeanneAdil 6,191]

Tell the lawyer you want your complete file and when u have it ,   fire him

your post does not say what state this is so i could not look this up by state (and it is state dependent)

 

HIs files should show he had you fill out a form for this information or he is negligent /  however,  understand that before any documents and the petition go out, u should read them over as they are ultimately your responsibility for the contents

 

Upon request, an attorney is required to promptly hand over the contents of your case files. Under the American Bar Association's Model Rule 1.16(d) (which has been adopted by most U.S. states), an attorney must, to comply with ethical and professional standards, "[surrender] papers and property to which the client is entitled and [refund] any advance payment of fee or expense that has not been earned or incurred" as soon as the representation is terminated.

[donna777 12]

36 minutes ago, mushroomspore said:

Fire the lawyer and ask to fix at the interview. Those are somewhat minor details, but they should be called to attention nonetheless. Honestly, if you can read/write English and you have a straightforward case (no criminal history, no complicated history with US immigration), you can DIY the paperwork.

Yes, honestly since the beginning we have had a complete nightmare with them. I know I shouldve really scrutinized the forms when we signed them, and knowing what I know now I definitely would have. We had our application returned 3 times previously due to their mistakes. Then USCIS sent out an rfe and told us that our sponsor was not sufficient - basically again because our lawyer did not ask for sufficient evidence from us to provide them, it was perfectly fine. Our sponsor has just under 2 million in assets and cash but our lawyer told us to see if we could find someone else. We told him no and that we would resubmit with further evidence. All of which I gathered together myself and sent it back to uscis, they approved the sponsor right away and it moved almost immediately to interview phase.

 

Thank you so much for your reply, because when I saw those details this morning I was practically inconsolable thinking that was that now. I really appreciate your comment.

[donna777 12]

9 minutes ago, JeanneAdil said:

Tell the lawyer you want your complete file and when u have it ,   fire him

your post does not say what state this is so i could not look this up by state (and it is state dependent)

 

HIs files should show he had you fill out a form for this information or he is negligent /  however,  understand that before any documents and the petition go out, u should read them over as they are ultimately your responsibility for the contents

 

Upon request, an attorney is required to promptly hand over the contents of your case files. Under the American Bar Association's Model Rule 1.16(d) (which has been adopted by most U.S. states), an attorney must, to comply with ethical and professional standards, "[surrender] papers and property to which the client is entitled and [refund] any advance payment of fee or expense that has not been earned or incurred" as soon as the representation is terminated.

Yes completely, I feel so stupid now that I didn't go through the forms with a fine tooth comb right at the beginning. Totally ridiculous that I didn't double check that. He did send me the complete documents this morning and to be honest I only got to page 2 before I noticed there were already errors...I haven't completed checking the rest of the pages yet because I thought we were done for right there. Now I'm afraid to continue checking. We're in CT. 

[Adventine 3,187]

I agree with the others. Get rid of the lawyer. You can DIY the rest of your application as long as you have a straightforward case (no criminal convictions, etc).

 

As an aside, your anxiety about the whole process may be assuaged if you and your spouse study the process yourselves. VJ has some great guides and a good search tool. Good luck with the rest of your process!

[donna777 12]

2 minutes ago, Adventine said:

I agree with the others. Get rid of the lawyer. You can DIY the rest of your application as long as you have a straightforward case (no criminal convictions, etc).

 

As an aside, your anxiety about the whole process may be assuaged if you and your spouse study the process yourselves. VJ has some great guides and a good search tool. Good luck with the rest of your process!

Thank you. Yes we're pretty straight forward I think. The only issue in our case is that I overstayed on a visa waiver. For that reason I felt like we really needed to have a lawyer etc. Myself and my 2 children came to visit my husband for the summer holidays, (he was a greencard resident at the time with an application pending for citizenship), we planned to stay for the summer and return to spain like we did the previous year to wait for the outcome of his citizenship. So far there had been no movement on his case in like 2 years. Anyway while we were here for the summer in 2019 his application suddenly moved and he received news that they had accepted it. It was at that point we decided to stay and adjust. But I really wanted to do everything the right way by hiring the lawyer...but so far I'm not sure thats working out.

Thank you!

[JeanneAdil 6,191]

26 minutes ago, donna777 said:

Yes completely, I feel so stupid now that I didn't go through the forms with a fine tooth comb right at the beginning. Totally ridiculous that I didn't double check that. He did send me the complete documents this morning and to be honest I only got to page 2 before I noticed there were already errors...I haven't completed checking the rest of the pages yet because I thought we were done for right there. Now I'm afraid to continue checking. We're in CT. 

Dont' be  afraid to check 

Better to know what is a mistake before the interview so u answer honestly 

you'll be ok

[Adventine 3,187]

It would help if you filled out your VJ timeline so that people here can help you better, and so that we can move your thread to the correct forum.

 

Based on the info you posted just now, this forum may not be the correct place for your thread.

 

Meantime, can you please clarify?

 

1. You and your kids entered the US on the Visa Waiver Program in 2019? When did you file to adjust status?

 

2. When did your husband become a naturalized US citizen?

[donna777 12]

1 minute ago, Adventine said:

It would help if you filled out your VJ timeline so that people here can help you better, and so that we can move your thread to the correct forum.

 

Based on the info you posted just now, this forum may not be the correct place for your thread.

 

Meantime, can you please clarify?

 

1. You and your kids entered the US on the Visa Waiver Program in 2019? When did you file to adjust status?

 

2. When did your husband become a naturalized US citizen?

Ok I will do that, thank you.

Yes we entered in June 19th 2019 on the visa waiver program, we first filed adjustment of status in November 2019. My husband naturalized on the 25th September 2019.

[Adventine 3,187]

Thanks @donna777

 

I've moved the thread to the forum Adjustment of Status from Work, Student, & Tourist Visas as you (the OP) and kids are adjusting from the Visa Waiver Program.

[donna777 12]

1 minute ago, Adventine said:

Thanks @donna777

 

I've moved the thread to the forum Adjustment of Status from Work, Student, & Tourist Visas as you (the OP) and kids are adjusting from the Visa Waiver Program.

Ok thank you for your help.

[SalishSea 16,770]

1 hour ago, donna777 said:

Ok I will do that, thank you.

Yes we entered in June 19th 2019 on the visa waiver program, we first filed adjustment of status in November 2019. My husband naturalized on the 25th September 2019.

Why isn't your husband sponsoring you?  Doesn't he work?

 

It seems that you signed and submitted forms without reading them.  Going forward, this is never a good idea.

[donna777 12]

2 hours ago, Jorgedig said:

Why isn't your husband sponsoring you?  Doesn't he work?

 

It seems that you signed and submitted forms without reading them.  Going forward, this is never a good idea.

He does yes, but there are 3 of us and he's self employed, it wasn't enough. I know, I would never do that again. But honestly we filled out a questionnaire by hand which he then put into the forms and then he actually emailed the forms across but it was literally just the part that required our signature :(. Knowing what I know now I would ask for the full document, but stupidly I trusted that it would all be accurate.

[PaulaCJohnny 712]

I had a very similar situation.

I made her ( because she refused so many times) to listen all her mistakes in a document and sign. I showed this document to the person who interviewed me. 
I fired her and asked for a refund because all the headache she caused. I get $1000 back!

I really recommend you to remove this person from your case ASAP.