Using an attorney

[Hoya21 1]

3 hours ago, pushbrk said:

Another error I see is that there was no need to file the petition before the 18th birthday.  You just needed to marry before the 18th birthday. 

Yes I was very happy to find this out. I don’t know why he didn’t know this as well. And we were married 12/14/2020, he was only 17.

[SalishSea 16,845]

8 minutes ago, Hoya21 said:

Yes I was very happy to find this out. I don’t know why he didn’t know this as well. And we were married 12/14/2020, he was only 17.

Your case is the poster child for why we nearly always tell new members that they can DIY their case, and usually avoid all the errors your lawyer seems to have made.

 

If I were you, I'd fire the lawyer and control of your own process.   No one has more invested in it's success than you.

[pushbrk 12,207]

9 minutes ago, Hoya21 said:

I just double checked my email with what I sent back to him. It was a G-325A Biographic information (for deferred action). 

 

also one I-130 And I was partially mistaken on my memory here. There was also an I-130a and i-864. I realize that the documents were just him being proactive as the 864 comes later but I didn’t know half of what I do now until I found this site… and I’m still learning.

 

As for payment, well I sent him the money for what was needed in full. 😕 but my bigger concern is making sure I know now what’s going on and I’ll get over money lost. 
 

the notice I have from his picture says. 

My question about fees is not to judge whether you did what your lawyer said or not.  Were there two separate receipt notices?  Were two separate filing fees of $535 paid?  Were two separate I-130 petitions filed?  These are important questions.  The answers will help us tell you how to proceed and clean up this mess.

 

The G325 a contains a lot of the information that would have been required on the I-130a form, but it is not a form used in the spouse visa process for the past few years.  It used to be, but is not now.  That the attorney even told you about the G-325a tells me he hasn't done one of these cases lately.  Do you know the issue date of the I-130 form you completed?  Do you know if the I-130a was filed?

 

If no I-130 was filed for the step child, then that's a key item to deal with as soon as possible.

[Hoya21 1]

13 minutes ago, Jorgedig said:

Your case is the poster child for why we nearly always tell new members that they can DIY their case, and usually avoid all the errors your lawyer seems to have made.

 

If I were you, I'd fire the lawyer and control of your own process.   No one has more invested in it's success than you.

I am leaning this way slowly. As there is more to our entire immigration than just the I-130 I am just taking it one step at a time to not act on a whim. I appreciate the confidence!

10 minutes ago, pushbrk said:

My question about fees is not to judge whether you did what your lawyer said or not.  Were there two separate receipt notices?  Were two separate filing fees of $535 paid?  Were two separate I-130 petitions filed?  These are important questions.  The answers will help us tell you how to proceed and clean up this mess.

 

The G325 a contains a lot of the information that would have been required on the I-130a form, but it is not a form used in the spouse visa process for the past few years.  It used to be, but is not now.  That the attorney even told you about the G-325a tells me he hasn't done one of these cases lately.  Do you know the issue date of the I-130 form you completed?  Do you know if the I-130a was filed?

 

If no I-130 was filed for the step child, then that's a key item to deal with as soon as possible.

As he was the one paying and essentially driving the case I have no idea how much he sent to the uscis from the amount I sent him. As it stands this moment It looks like I got 1 I-130 petition for my wife filed and paid $535. The received date, notice date, priority date all say 12/01/2021.  My name as petitioner. My wife and bene and her A-number above her name. 
 

apologies, I skipped over the other question. No I don’t know if the I-130a was filed. In fact you are likely correct on that. He mentioned having documents checked at the embassy and also NVC for verification? Honestly it didn’t make sense to me. The embassy thing was just around the time covid was hitting well near when the embassy was closing down on cases. 

Edited August 22, 2022 by Hoya21

[pushbrk 12,207]

7 minutes ago, Hoya21 said:

 

As he was the one paying and essentially driving the case I have no idea how much he sent to the uscis from the amount I sent him. As it stands this moment It looks like I got 1 I-130 petition for my wife filed and paid $535. The received date, notice date, priority date all say 12/01/2021.  My name as petitioner. My wife and bene and her A-number above her name. 
 

apologies, I skipped over the other question. No I don’t know if the I-130a was filed. In fact you are likely correct on that. He mentioned having documents checked at the embassy and also NVC for verification? Honestly it didn’t make sense to me. The embassy thing was just around the time covid was hitting well near when the embassy was closing down on cases. 

No embassy will be involved in your case until USCIS approves the PETITIONS (two of them unless you want to leave the stepchild behind) AND you get through NVC.  If there was no I-130a filed, USCIS will send an RFE (request for initial evidence) to the attorney of record.  If he is not "available" you'll never know about this.

 

Time to be clear why you are not having communication with the attorney.  Is he dead, sick, or what?

[Hoya21 1]

4 minutes ago, pushbrk said:

No embassy will be involved in your case until USCIS approves the PETITIONS (two of them unless you want to leave the stepchild behind) AND you get through NVC.  If there was no I-130a filed, USCIS will send an RFE (request for initial evidence) to the attorney of record.  If he is not "available" you'll never know about this.

 

Time to be clear why you are not having communication with the attorney.  Is he dead, sick, or what?

No response back from his number and my wife went to the office in bogota. Talked to a receptionist who had not seen him in months. Finally a reply came, communication via WhatsApp. He had a heart attack. 

[SalishSea 16,845]

44 minutes ago, Hoya21 said:

No response back from his number and my wife went to the office in bogota. Talked to a receptionist who had not seen him in months. Finally a reply came, communication via WhatsApp. He had a heart attack. 

Sorry to hear, but why would you engage an attorney who is not in the US?  I honestly don't get it.  That person is not licensed to practice law in the US, and obviously has < a cursory (at best) grasp on US immigration law.

[Hoya21 1]

I just realized I posted two copies of the same photo accidentally. I’ll blame my iPhone. 
 

I just wanted to clarify a few things because I appreciate everyone’s input here. 
 

She was denied a tourist visa before I proposed to her and I filed a I-129F. The I-129F processed smooth, filled out her DS-160 her and child’s. She got an interview and that didn’t go that well. She was sent home ( memory here is not exact but ) they ultimately came to her house. Asked for chat logs from the phone. We sent them to the email provided. 😞 yes I realize this was not good for us as suspected fraud. We didn’t hear back and finally I emailed the IV unit bogota? (Sorry for not being technical here, embassy email) With our case number it said it got sent back to the uscis

Your case is being returned to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) with a request for revocation. 

( this is why I opted to have guidance from a lawyer.) That and i was very un educated on the process ( still am). I stumbled across VJ on google!
 

Now my lawyer is probably my biggest concern if he is not able to be actively assisting or aware. Neither of which I know. I tried to add my case to the USCIS account that I created( wish I had done this long ago). It tells me I need an additional number below a notice of creation? Which I don’t have. Tomorrow I will give more accurate description of what I need as it’s late now. My hope being that I can see what’s going on. 
 

 

 

[Hoya21 1]

17 minutes ago, Jorgedig said:

Sorry to hear, but why would you engage an attorney who is not in the US?  I honestly don't get it.  That person is not licensed to practice law in the US, and obviously has < a cursory (at best) grasp on US immigration law.

Well looking back now yeah I know I was pretty naive but we aren’t born with knowledge. Honestly he was a recommendation from a family friend. After my wife talked to him, we paid him a little money to look into her file and see if he was able to or willing to take on our case. He had high pride on his success but I’m gonna say now that he wasn’t doing many of these petitions and sadly I’m trying to make the best of what I got. He claimed he was licensed in America , Cenpi International. Recently I have been wondering how to find out. I searched Florida Bar for his name but without result. Possibly using an associate yet these are not details I have and I try to never assume too much. 

[SalishSea 16,845]

6 minutes ago, Hoya21 said:

Well looking back now yeah I know I was pretty naive but we aren’t born with knowledge. Honestly he was a recommendation from a family friend. After my wife talked to him, we paid him a little money to look into her file and see if he was able to or willing to take on our case. He had high pride on his success but I’m gonna say now that he wasn’t doing many of these petitions and sadly I’m trying to make the best of what I got. He claimed he was licensed in America , Cenpi International. Recently I have been wondering how to find out. I searched Florida Bar for his name but without result. Possibly using an associate yet these are not details I have and I try to never assume too much. 

Yeah, overseas attorneys are not licensed in America.  To maintain a license, he would need to practice law here.   Sorry you got duped.

[pushbrk 12,207]

1 hour ago, Hoya21 said:

No response back from his number and my wife went to the office in bogota. Talked to a receptionist who had not seen him in months. Finally a reply came, communication via WhatsApp. He had a heart attack. 

So, is he able and willing to clean up his mess or do you need to do it yourself?

[Hoya21 1]

11 hours ago, pushbrk said:

So, is he able and willing to clean up his mess or do you need to do it yourself?

Last night I told my wife this is what we need to find out ASAP. We are both going to reach out again to the office, email, phone number and very soon we will have to make this decision with or without him. 
 

This attached photo is what I see when I try to add my case number online to my uscis account. Is this something I am missing or from my lawyer? Thanks