Changing Attorneys

[er1c 0]

I am considering getting rid of my current attorney as she is just terrible. Never responds to emails, never returns phone calls, gave me bad information on 2 occasions...

What ramifications are there if you switch attorney's in mid process? (I am waiting for NOA2 at the moment). Has anyone else gone through this before?

Thanks!

(And the reason why I got an attorney in the first place was so I would have someone to call if I had a question and we wanted to make sure there were NO mistakes on our papers...)

[Jaseball 0]

I am considering getting rid of my current attorney as she is just terrible. Never responds to emails, never returns phone calls, gave me bad information on 2 occasions...

What ramifications are there if you switch attorney's in mid process? (I am waiting for NOA2 at the moment). Has anyone else gone through this before?

Thanks!

(And the reason why I got an attorney in the first place was so I would have someone to call if I had a question and we wanted to make sure there were NO mistakes on our papers...)

Sounds like a bad deal. No ramifications really. Just call her up and tell her she is fired and you will be finding a competent attorney or handle the rest of the process yourself.

You may want to hold off and check if the attorney was the one to fill out and sign the I129F as the preparer. In that case I'm not sure if it matters, but you would need to check that out first.

[er1c 0]

I am considering getting rid of my current attorney as she is just terrible. Never responds to emails, never returns phone calls, gave me bad information on 2 occasions...

What ramifications are there if you switch attorney's in mid process? (I am waiting for NOA2 at the moment). Has anyone else gone through this before?

Thanks!

(And the reason why I got an attorney in the first place was so I would have someone to call if I had a question and we wanted to make sure there were NO mistakes on our papers...)

Sounds like a bad deal. No ramifications really. Just call her up and tell her she is fired and you will be finding a competent attorney or handle the rest of the process yourself.

You may want to hold off and check if the attorney was the one to fill out and sign the I129F as the preparer. In that case I'm not sure if it matters, but you would need to check that out first.

Yes, she did sign as the preparer. She received the NOA1 and informed me that it arrived.

[Jaseball 0]

Uggg, then I am not sure, since she is the one that seems to be the primary contact and even has your initial receipt. Did you already pay set fees in advance or is she charging you each step of the way? You may have to contact her and get her in person to talk about your dissatisfaction, but tossing her out may be more trouble than it is worth.

If you run into a problem like a RFE, which is what hiring an attorney is supposed to minimize you have a good reason to dump her, but if the NOA2 clears and you're SO can just go get the Visa, then may as well not rock the boat.

It's one reason I read this site and others and decided to do it on my own. I didn't believe paying someone else money would ensure a competent lawyer and even if I got a good one I know their own interest in my case wouldn't be higher than my own interest, so I just did it on my own. If I run into big problems or feel I am being messed with for no good reason I may consider an attorney, but so far it has been easy with resources such as this site.

[Dakine 26]

Fired mine my the first time around but I'd signed a g-28 [something like that] saying he was representing me and he had to notify USCIS he no longer was so the mail would come to me.

Didn't seem to slow down anything but at the same time I was worried as it's normally not a good idea to"change horses in the middle of the stream".

Did it my own after that.

Edited July 30, 2007 by beckypua

[er1c 0]

Uggg, then I am not sure, since she is the one that seems to be the primary contact and even has your initial receipt. Did you already pay set fees in advance or is she charging you each step of the way? You may have to contact her and get her in person to talk about your dissatisfaction, but tossing her out may be more trouble than it is worth.

If you run into a problem like a RFE, which is what hiring an attorney is supposed to minimize you have a good reason to dump her, but if the NOA2 clears and you're SO can just go get the Visa, then may as well not rock the boat.

It's one reason I read this site and others and decided to do it on my own. I didn't believe paying someone else money would ensure a competent lawyer and even if I got a good one I know their own interest in my case wouldn't be higher than my own interest, so I just did it on my own. If I run into big problems or feel I am being messed with for no good reason I may consider an attorney, but so far it has been easy with resources such as this site.

I felt fully confident in doing everything ourselves, but my girl insisted on a lawyer. With all the knowledge on this site, you really don't need one. But having that extra set of eyes could be a time (life) saver. I did get the attorney to split the cost 50% at start and 50% after the visa is issued and Im really not worried about the money part, it's just the whole lack of communication thing. I understand that a K1 fee isnt like a 'normal' case for a lawyer but she should still have time for me or at least say "You are going beyond the normal scope of what I charge, here is what we can do....".

[TimsDaisy 0]

In most/all jurisdictions you retain an absolute right to terminate representation at any time and take possession of ALL your client materials. Even in the case of a payment dispute or overdue bill, a lawyer NEVER has the right to hold on to your case materials.

Ditch that bad apple and either go it alone or find a new one.

[Minya's wife 24]

I am considering getting rid of my current attorney as she is just terrible. Never responds to emails, never returns phone calls, gave me bad information on 2 occasions...

What ramifications are there if you switch attorney's in mid process? (I am waiting for NOA2 at the moment). Has anyone else gone through this before?

Thanks!

(And the reason why I got an attorney in the first place was so I would have someone to call if I had a question and we wanted to make sure there were NO mistakes on our papers...)

Perhaps you can wait until you get your NOA2, track your petition and once it gets to the NVC, fire your attorney. The second half of the process is where the beneficiary "does all the work" anyways (medical exam, gathering of documents, interview) so there's not much need for an attorney at that point. Unless your have some issues which may need the back-up legal advice of an attoreny.

There is no reason why you shouln't be able to switch and/or simply get rid of an existing attoreny. The problem arises when you try to make sure USCIS no longer sends mail to the attorney on record. There have been others who moved during the process and even though they called to have their address changed, mail was still being send to the old address. So MO is wait a little longer until the NOA2.

Good luck!

-P

[er1c 0]

Well, I got rid of her today. It turned into a big argument and I proved her wrong on every point so it was kind of fun actually...

NOW, Im nervous about everything that we need to do before the interview, but Im sure with the help from VJ we'll be ok.

(Silly lady was telling me I still have many months to wait because they are only processing applictions from Jan 13th. When I said, thats funny because I was notified this morning of my approval. There was dead silence on the phone until she found something else to complain about!)

Anyways, thanks for the input guys!