Search the Community

Does anyone know of a good immigration lawyer (not marc ellis), preferably in Texas? Thanks in advance...

We had a disaster in Guangzhou. our visa was denied by Consular Officer. My wife was in the US for 13 yrs, we are married 6. with attorney help we filed 601a and I did previous i130, 864 and DS 260. all approved. Lawyer said no problem, we always get visa, only a couple of relationship questions. we were ambushed by CO, not a nice guy. he was aggressive in questions, zeroing in on entry to US issues. My wife was nervous and intimidated. Slammed -denied without any written or verbal explanation. no name of CO, no supervisor review. She is now stranded in China, me back in US alone. I'm dying w/o her. Warning DO NOT leave US for consular interview. be 110% certain. get second legal opinions. this is clearly my lawyers fault. the interview prep mentioned none of these possibilities. I would give up the green card we don't have to get her back. The GC is not necessary to be comfortable in US, especially if older. there are many incompetent lawyers, many turn over work to ignorant paralegals. I hope and expect to get 601 prepared & approved, but I got to figure out exactly where the wheels came off this time. I read the processing times run 9 months. consider your risks. they will deny very easily, w/o compassion or legal representation. tom

My mother-in-law is here on green card as of Nov 2009. We filed for her to become a US citizen, using a lawyer. The reason we decided to use a lawyer was due to claiming inability to learn English based on her medical condition. We did not know how to initiate this. Using a lawyer made sense. Wow, almost sorry we did not do more research on this. Mom had an interview. The legal assistant meet my wife and Mom at the interview. She had all of the documents except the last page. She made an excuse about delaying the interview, she would be back in 20 minutes with the last page. My wife made a feeble attempt at delaying, but they went ahead and had the interview. What an interview. It lasted over an hour and a half. One question directed at Mom. All the others were in relation to the legal assistant. How did we find her, what did she tell Mom. on and on. Towards the end of the interview, the agent said, you do not pass. He stated do not worry. You have answered everything we asked truthfully. You are not in any kind of trouble.Reason for not passing is N-648 Page 4 Question 10. not answered complete. It was only one sentence. And no explanation on why she could not learn English. Page six was also missing. Agent recommended seeing a different doctor. I assume this was based on the form not being filled out correctly. Well, now it seems the legal assistant has disconnected her office phone and changed her cell phone number. The interesting part is that she changed it several months ago. Makes me wonder if she already knew about possible problems. Since we could not reach the legal assistant, my wife took Mom to see the doctor to find out his part. He looked at what the legal assistant gave Mom. This is not what he gave her!! He produced what he filled out. Question 10 was not only filled out, but the continuation section was used to complete the answer. It also had page six, which is where Mom signs. He said, give this to immigration, things should be fine. Next we got a letter from immigration. Dated day after her interview. It is a continuance letter. It states to bring this letter with requested documents to next interview. On line shows Question: Should we just wait for a bit to see if we get an interview letter? or would it help to speed the process up to schedule an Info Pass appointment to turn in the documents?

HAPPY THANKSGIVING! Hope everyone had a great day with family and friends. Question. My wife heard that the new 10 year tourist visa deal Obama's talking about now is the way to go instead of a green card if you aren't looking to become a US citizen. It's been suggested to her that instead of being limited to traveling back and forth and having to stay in the USA for 6+ months under the green card, it is not an issue anymore as you could, under this 10 year visa, travel back and forth as many times as you wanted i.e. come here for 2 months, go back to China, come back for a month, go back to China, etc. (As an example). So what's the deal? She has had an opportunity arise in China that would require her to travel back and forth, but with the green card, although she hasn't had any issues yet from her numerous trips back and forth, we feel it's going to be an issue at some point. Any thoughts? Thanks! Rosie and Marc

YEHAAAA!!!! As all of you know, it's been a long and stressful road for us to get my wife's daughter her visa. Had the K2 but because of our attorney's misrepresentation, that opportunity was lost. So went through the whole Immigration visa deal. The Child Status Protection Act (CSPA) did come into play, which I was betting there was no way as so many people said it wouldn't, and they gave her the visa!!!! Said because of the problems with the crash of their system it would be sent to her in about 2 weeks. So persistance and hope and prayer does help, even though at some times we've been wanting to just throw up our arms in defeat. Just wanted to thank everyone on here that put up with all my questions. You all for sure helped a ton and we "THANK YOU!" for that. To finish up, all I can say is that if you're presistant and keep at it, even though it seems the system is flawed with huge delays and problems, it is possible for good things to come out of all of it if you hang in there. Have a great day and GOD BLESS!! Rosie, Ashley and Marc

Hello everyone! First of all some general info. My name is Nate. My wife's name is Huiying. We met in October of last year and fell in love. We were married in March and Huiying moved in with me. I have two children to another woman however, I have full legal and physical custody. We all live together and are very happy. Huiying came here on a J-1 visa in January of 2012. We were under the impression that she was not subject to a 2 year home residency requirement until a couple weeks ago. (Her DS-2019 said "not subject" but her Visa said "Subject") We filed an advisory opinion and it came back (after over a 10 week wait) that she is subject. She only has one month left here according to her DS-2019 and then an additional 30 days grace period. We are unsure what to do now. I know we need to obtain a J-1 waiver but, I have recieved so much different feed back. I would say I've spoken with about 9 different lawyers over the past few months. I've done a lot of research on my own as well. I read that a requirement for a "No objection waiver" is that she has 6 months remaining on her visa. So, one lawyer said "She just has to go home." Another lawyer said that we should file an exceptional hardship waiver. The estimated cost for her services and processing fees was $4,800. Another lawyer said that we should just file a "No objection waiver" anyway and see what happens. Either way Huiying will be overstaying her J1 Visa. I plan on calling the Chinese Embassy tommorrow and see if they can provide me with any direction. This entire Visa issue has caused so much stress between our othewise extremely happy family. I've lost so much faith in my government and lawyers for that matter. Can anyone provide us with anything that could help us in our journey? Thank you all so much. It is good to know there are others out there who have gone through similiar situations and prevailed.

My wife has her green card. Daughter had a K2 but due to our attorney screwing up big time that path is closed for her to come here. We were forced to go ahead and file the I-130. Both are Chinese nationals. She was 20 at the time. Now she's older. But here's the question. I've been trying about everything to see if there's a way so that her daughter can come over here to study. She's now in London studying but has always wanted to come here to study. Can we recind the I-130 and file for the F1? Or will she always be tagged now that she 'wants to immigrate' and would not be allowed the F1. Basically what happened was our attorney told us that she could visit with the K2, go back to London, when the biometrics and interview were needed, she could come back. Of course that wasn't true. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks, Rosie and Marc

If some of you've been following, lawyer messed up our app. I need to call USCIS tomorrow (per USCIS employee suggestion...30 days and no action) and see where we are at. But as I read everything I have a question. Rosie legally doesn't have a visa. The K1 expired (Feb 19) 90 days after she entered the U.S. Is she still able to go forward with the I-485? On the 485 the attorney typed in OVERSTAY as the status of her visa. Your thoughts? Sorry I ask so many questions. I just need to make sure I do everything right after he botched it the first time. Additionally, does someone have a link of a site that shows us exactly what we need to do to file the I-130 for her unmarried daughter that's 20 years old? What papers do we need to send in for that when we can send them in. We are going to do this all on our own. No more attorneys.

OK so it looks my attorney botched the AOS process as far as how we were actually supposed to file (K1 married within 90 days and so just send in the 485...instead we sent in both the 130 and 485 without the AOS fee as I was told they would send us a letter asking for it). As I find out, we did not have to file the I-130 and spend the $420 (although the check has not been cashed...April 18th it was sent in????). So now I'm a little worried. Just want to do the right thing. Can anyone suggest if it's possible for me to call and talk with someone at USCIS? We haven't been given a 797 or a letter or...anything. Please help if you have any info on this or experience. Thanks so much! Have a great day.

Hi Everyone, I hope all is well with everyone and everyone is moving along smoothly through this ridiculous amount of red tape...just to be together. Answer me this. A person can only send in the $420 initially with the $1070 to be able to be sent in at a later date (about 1.5 months). Just the way it worked out with the economy the way it is and a daughter going through med school and dependent on her old man to help. Attorney said it was OK and that they would process the $420, give us a case number and then request the $1070 to be sent in immediately. So this is what happened. It's been since April 18th that the papers and check got sent in. No response. Now my attorney is saying they might just send it all back if the $1070 isn't there. Please let me know what you think and what the repercussions of all this might be. Thanks!

I would like to ask a few questions please. 1) I seen on a website that couples are getting their VISA in 6 months. I would llike to ask couples who have received or is waiting for their VISA : How long did it take to get their VISA, would they recommend their attorney to me to use, his/her name , telephone contact number. Was he easy to talk to, did he or she speak Chinese, did everything go fast and smooth? 2) Should the attorney be in China so my girlfriend can talk to the attorney in Chinese when asking questions on how to fill in the forms? My friend's wife said she asked some friends in China who knows English to help translate the forms for her. Perhaps my girlfriend needs to do that. I think they wanted to keep the long distance calls to a minimum. I think she said she only talked to their attorney once cause the atttorney was in the US. 3)Would anyone's fiancee/wife be available if my girlfriend wanted to ask questions about this process and it's forms? My girlfriend could call or email if the person was in China or email if out of China already. Just asking to see who's out there who can help her. Anyone can write me here or my email is " motosue@hawaii.rr.com " . I had seen a couple of names on this website that was suggested. I printed them out one time but can't find it right now. Thanks for your help. Wilfred

I spoke with Marc Ellis tonight, he is in Vietnam at this time but somehow the calls go to him still... lol Anyway he answered many questions for me and gave some advise. He recomended we meet with a counterpart of his in GUZ to look over our papers and see if there is anything I should address. What do you think? How much use is it to get help 2-3 days before the interview? I think I have most everything covered but he suggested a few changes and thinks the meeting would help. I like Mr Ellis he was very very nice and I never felt like I was bothering him. Robert

I was wondering if anyone knew if attorneys in china can help parents with visa. My wife found one chinese lawyer service in Houston but they want $200. just to give an answer. I think his name is Mr. Wang in Guangzhou that has helped people with visas, and maybe he has contacts in Chengdu, does anyone have a connection email or telephone number so we can ask him to see if he could help, rather pay someone that lives there and works there opposed to people in the U.S. any thoughts on this?

We just received the letter today from USCIS stating that my step-son had been denied his AOS due to age out. We filed the I-485 in December, 2008, and had the interview on June 5th 2009. His mother was approved the next week, but we received no response on her son until today. They are saying he has 30 days to leave the country and there is no appeal. We had been told previously, both here in Milwaukee, and at the National 800# that there was no age out risk, since the I-485 was filed prior to his 21st birthday. I know others have been through this. I had previously bookmarked the article on ageout: http://www.asianjournal.com/pdf/PDF/2008_N...Y_sec2p%206.pdf I have sent this article together with the USCIS correspondence and the I-485 to a general purpose lawyer at Pre-Paid Legal. Any further suggestions, or experiences to share?

Would anyone here have any referrals to a divorce lawyer near Guandzhou city; my soon to be ex lives south of there in Zhanjiang city but I cannot seem to find any resources in the USA to help get the process started. Any information would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

We were originally scheduled for our biometrics on March 15, but because we would be out of town, we requested to be rescheduled for a later date, thinking it would be about 2 weeks from our request. As of today (April 8), still no appointment. So I scheduled one of the very limited USCIS Infopass appointments with the Phoenix office to talk about Sunshine's case while she is up taking care of business at our hotel out of state. The Phoenix USCIS "service" center had all the hallmarks of government inefficiency: 10 available windows, 6 of them occupied people right out of central casting for lazy government workers -- who were more concerned about their own personal matters and comparing shades of fingernail polish (i was close enough to listen, unfortunately) than helping the growing lines of customers waiting in the lobby area. Only 2 of the 6 employees even bothered to stop gossiping to help customers the 30 minutes I was waiting there. Now here is why I am upset: I tried to simply request an appointment for Sunshine's biometrics, and to see about how to get an AP for our scheduled May trip back to China. It turns out nothing could be done without her being present, even though I am her appointed and authorized representative per the G-28 form we filled out during AOS. Wait a minute! I was approved as a representative, and received copies of this. I showed him the copies of her info sent to my name. "Sorry, you must be an attorney to be a representative" "That's poppycock! I was approved!" He went to talk with the supervisor, who also agreed that I was not authorized. I asked to speak to the supervisor, a shrewish looking woman, about just wanting to set up a biometrics appointment a full month after we asked to reschedule. Her: "You are not authorized. Only lawyers are authorized. It seems you have misrepresented yourself." Me: "If that is so, why doesn't the G-28 require an Arizona Bar Number if only attorneys can be authorized representatives? Why was my petition approved by the national center? If they had a problem, why wasn't this denied? And why can't a husband be her authorized representative since she signed and approved this" Her: "Well that is the rule in this office, I am the supervisor." Me: "This is a federal form, and all offices should follow the same rules, correct?" Her: "In this office, I set the rules. If you are not a lawyer, you cannot do anything on her case unless she is present. That's it" At this time, this harpie-in-a-hairbun walked away. Has anyone else been denied? Also, who can I talk to about the Phoenix office and it's renegade rule-setting? I really think government workers in Arizona are the worst this country can muster.

Hi, Has anyone out there had experience using a lawyer or firm to complete the visa process? I am considering this in the hopes that it will speed up the K1 process a bit. Did any one have a bad/good experience using a particular firm? If so, I would be much obliged if you could share it with me. Thanks!

According to the white slip that my SO was handed at her interview on August 28, 2006, the Consulate is returning the petition to the CIS. The paper further states the beneficiary will be notified by mail when the case is sent back to the CIS. My SO has not received any notification as to date. Does this really mean that the GZ Consulate still has the case? If so, does anyone know why they would be holding on to it for so long?

I am in the midst of a very nasty divorce from a woman whose sole intention in marrying me was to get Permanent Resident Status for herself in the US. As an aside, I strongly urge everyone considering being the petitioner for a woman with little or no life in China to be very circumspect. It is not a good sign. My wife's lawyer is essentially blackmailing me by having had her conjure up an alleged threat of domestic violence (unverifyable; no report to police or friends; no possibility of "marks", etc.) and he is using that as a lever to get what my wife wants -- the removal of her conditional status next December. My lawyer feels we may be able to quid pro quo this thing, but he doesn't know much about immigration law (this now a domestic violence/divorce matter, with competing domestic violence petitions). 1. Does anyone know a good immigration lawyer in or near Charleston, WV who can provide my attorney with some much-needed technical advice about the removal of the Conditional Status process? It could be someone far away, I suppose, since they invented the telephone and the Internet. But local would be better 2. Does anyone here know the answers to the following questions: * Is there any particular significance to a marriage having lasted two years in so far as providing evidence of a "good faith" marriage? In other words, I have heard a very short marriage (i.e., less than two years) is very suspect. If full credibility is given to a two year marriage, does it need to be two years and a month? Two months? Our second anniversary (which will be mourned, not celebrated by me) occurs January 17, 2007. * If a couple is divorced, does the former wife automatically get to file for herself? Are her chances of being denied greater if she is divorced? * Does the husband's "admission" to some minor domestic violence charge (this is their blackmail), thus allowing the now divorced woman to file for herself, impact the husband's potential to get a visa for a new Chinese wife? Does it ensure the woman's success in her petition? My wife's only goal is to get the "Conditional" status removed, as she has no life whatever in Shenzhen, and probably entertained Hong Kong men to pay the rent on the would-be-here-condemned structure she called "her apartment" before we met. Her lawyer is willing to "drop" all allegations (i.e., lies they have fabricated) in return for a free ride in Pittsburgh in December, '07. He seems to feel all will be assured if I agree to admit I beat her. Of course, I never touched my wife in any manner other than with affection and love. Hearing them say these things is very so incredily painful. She in contast, threatened to kill me with a knife, abandoned me in August, tried to smash the windshield of my car, and I am the one fighting for my life! But Law is not about "right and wrong": it is all about what you can get away with in court. I really need this information, hopefully in the form of pamphlets or government publications or documents. Her lawyer is not willing to take "our word for it" and he has pretty much forced my lawyer to carry water for him because he knows his client -- a seemingly meek (wrong!), middle-aged Chinese woman who speaks no English -- cuts a very empathetic figure in court. So it's up to us to devise a way to get her her much-wanted Permanent Status. If I get screwed in the process, who cares? I really don't care if she stays or not (except for the I-864!). Then she'll be your (i.e., the US taxpayer's) problem. It's nice having an insane, violent Chinese woman roaming the streets of our great country. Help!

My lawyer has finally sent in our K1 petition to NSC. I went to his office on 4/25/2006, and proof read the finale package. I did this first with his assistant, and found some minor errors, which the assistant said he would correct right now. I then talked with the lawyer and he said it would be sent out Next Day Air that same afternoon (I had specificly said Next day Air, and he specificly said yes). He would also have his office give me a complete copy of the application. I said don't mail it, I would pick up my copy Thursday. At 5:00pm yesterday, I get the email with the tracking number, and it is 2nd day air and sent to the USPS address at NSC, not the private delivery carrier address at NSC. I immediatley phone him, but the clerk said it already was picked up, and both the lawyer and assisant had gone to dinner. I know it will get there tomorrow, but it is now being handled many extra times. Also today I get my copy in the mail from him, (he mailed it anyway). Upon me reviewing it, I see white out on the on the G-325A for her (I put the correct information, he thought it was wrong and changed it, then changed it back to my answer again, it was perfect at our review time), 4 blank spaces on one of the I-134 pages instead of the word N/A (he insisted we send this in with the initial application), 2 spelling errors on the cover letter and an incorrect date, he left off her country code on the phone number on the I-129F it should read (86), so he hand wrote it in after the phone number. Of course today the lawyer and his assistant are to busy to talk to me, I only get an email at 5pm, saying he would be in contact no later than tomorrow (Thursday). I did email him and phone him through out the day wanting to talk to either of them. My mistake, I should have waited for my copy so I could see first hand the corrections made. My mistake, I should have watched him fill out the shipping label, as I would have noticed the error immediatley. Will it cause a denial, no. Will it cause a possible RFE or delay at NSC, yes. I feel that there is no excuse for this as he is an immigration attorny. In the assistant's email to me today he also took the liberty to inform me that I had signed the paper letting them make decisions for me in the firms best interest for me. Error or mistake, the lawyer was hired by me to work for me. Legally not responsible, but morally very wrong. I will be requesting a face to face meeting with the both of them ASAP when we talk tomorrow. My questions are the following: 1. What would I say exactly to him in order to have him not represent me anymore as I have lost my trust and faith in him. 2. What form or paper would I have to sign or give him to terminate this releationship with the lawyer, and how would I word it. 3. What form or paper should I get back from the lawyer to acknowledge this fact, and who should sign it. 4. Because the I-129F will be at NSC tomorrow, I can not remove the paper that gives him power to act on my behalf and all of the papers show that his firm prepared the documents. Will NSC, NVC, GUZ, or anyone else have a problem with me removing the attorny from our petition? 5. What is/will be the proper and correct procedure to contact NSC to inform them that the attorny has been removed. 6. Who/should (I, attorny, both) will make this contact. 7. Is this done by mail, fax, phone, email, and to whom and where. 8. At what point of time should the contact be made, as they will only receive the I-129F tomorrow. Do I wait until the NOA1. Do I wait until the NOA2. Do I wait until it gets sent to NVC. 9. I need to be sure that all future communication will be coming to me and not the law firm, what is the exact procedure for this. 10. Later, will I be able to call DOS or someone else and verify that indeed the attorny is removed and all communication will be coming to me. 11. If not, in what way or manner can I verify that is will be coming to me. 12. After removal of the attorny, what happens if he still receives mailings or communication. Is he obligated to tell me that he received it. Does he have to tell me in a timely manner. Can he legaly charge me to give me these communications. My mind has many thoughts and ideas now, but I do not want any more mistakes or errors by this law firm. Any and all help will be much appreciated. Respond here, or feel free to PM me. I will even phone you if you think that is would be easier to talk on the phone. Thank you in advance, Mike

Hi anyone. I have a fiance in ShenZhen, China. We just met in early November. We would like to be together. We don't care where we get married in China or the U.S.A. Whatever process is easyiest, fastest and most efficent. I am very good at filling out forms and such. I can be very miticulus. I reside in Washington State. But am now in California. In anyone's opinion should I hire an immigration attorney? I have heard alot of horrible stories about trying this process yourself. Especially in China. I've been spending alot of money over this. But more would not bother me if it is "Really worth it" to hire an immigration attorney to be united with my fiance. ------Thank you very much for any opinions---Ben S.

My lawyer has me a bit confused! Two questions: 1) Exactly what fees have to be paid for a K3 visa in GUZ (at or before the interview)? The letter mentions a "Immigrant Visa Application Fee" and the attorney told me this does not apply to me? 2) Has ANYBODY heard of an American husband or fiancee being called on during the interview for questioning??? My lawyer says this is a possibility if the VO needs or wants information the wife cannot provide. I have never heard of this being done....... Thanks, Scott

Hi, We are looking for a lawyer now so if you had one and he/she works good, please recommend to us. Timeline will be the major standard for us to see whether he/she is good. (Seem to everyone.) Thanks for shareing. Anne

I don't want to get into too many details about my former lawyer right now. Just want to share some wisdom "learned the hard way." It's been 16 weeks now since I 1st delivered the paperwork to my lawyer to submit. I have been watching timelines thankfully. After fireing him and taking my paperwork back, I discovered what a mess he had gotten me into. I have only two documents from Immigration so far. I have the NOA1 and the RFE for the 130 for the NOA1. I will be returning the RFE in to the mail tommorow. The Lawyer mailed my 130 and 129 off at the same time "to speed things up." Chicago hasn't responded at all, hasn't even cashed the check. I do have the tracking # that says an envelope arrived there. When I called last week, explained my situation and asked if I should just send in another 129 since I already have the NOA1. (I see most everybody gets a response in 2 weeks.) She told me "absolutely not." She told me to wait another month for an Inquiry letter from Chicago. Great, so now I'm looking at 20 weeks now and all I have is NOA1. If you hire a lawyer, review the packages before he sends them. Watch him seal the envelope. All this time went by and I have had to babysit the whole way. A lot of time was waisted because he forgot (1month) and went on vacation when I needed to know if he had recieved any response from Chicago (3 weeks). When he got back, he said he had nothing and they never cashed the check. From the copies of the paperwork I saw for the 129, it's really no wonder I haven't heard anything. I know an RFE is coming someday (or month). I have a new 129 just about ready to ship off again with all the T's crossed and i's dotted. I think I could hear word back about NOA2 in two weeks or wait for 1 month for an RFE for the 129. I already know what's wrong and have just about evrything ready for when it arrives. ( I saw 1 timeline that someone waited 4 months for there 129 RFE with no response.) If I wouldn't have fired my lawyer, I would have never seen all the descrepancies and he wouldn't have caught them. Thanks for the timelines, they are very helpful.

Don't get me wrong, I am just about as angry about the visa delays as anyone else but I am still not beyond grasping at straws for a little hope. In checking the doc steen K1 board I just noticed where this immigration lawyer posted that he had received word from the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) that the headquarters of the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) has indicated to the AILA that the problems the INS had with the "FBI checks" (the lawyer's words) "have been resolved, and that approvals of adjustment of status and naturalization applications are proceeding." This lawyer, Matt Udall, goes on to observe, "Of course, I'm sure quite a number of these have piled up while the halt was in effect, so who knows how long it will take for an approval letter to arrive, for example, in an Adjustment of Status (AOS) case where the interview has already occurred." I have been so fixated on just the visa delay problem that I was not aware that this halt in processing of AOS had been taking place. Apparently there has been a gigantic delay in processing of all kinds of immigration related matters due to this name check process. Now, according to this lawyer, the INS is informing the AILA that a problem has been resolved. This may be a good indication for us.