Not sure if this is the right forum to discuss this, but figured I will ask for opinions here any way.
I hired an attorney for my EB2 NIW back in September 2002, at which time I knew absolutely nothing about how this process worked. Signed a contract the first time I went to his office and paid half of his asking price upfront, with the other half payable upon approval of I-140. Did not negotiate the price hoping for a constructive working relationship. However, as it turned out, I was not happy with his service -- (1) he procrastinates and I can't find a way to get him moving on anything. I hired him in September 2002 (downpayment as well) and the case was filed in May 2003 after my repeated calls and emails; (2) he was not terribly helpful. He gave me couple of sample recommendation letters from prior cases that are totally unrelated to my field/education background and I was left on my own to figure out how I need to present my case; (3) I was under the impression that he was filing EB1 EA for me, and all my recommendation letters (which I drafted) angled toward EB1 EA with no mentioning of NIW whatsoever. I did not realize that the attorney actually filed EB2 NIW until I received the receipt notice from USCIS. I was very upset that the attorney did not point it out to me prior to filing, particularly he claimed that he reviewed all the recommendation letters I drafted and submitted to him. In addition, I question the suitability of NIW for me (I am an MBA, not a biochemist or anything remotely related NIW) (4) he did not mention to me the possibility of concurrent filing of I-485, which could have allowed me to travel (my H-1 stamp is only valid for single entry within 3 months period which is highly problematic for me for both work and leisure travel). It was not until late 2003 that I learned from this forum that I could actually file I-485 right away and solve this issue. I asked the attorney why he did not mention that to me and he said that was because I "did not ask about it" (5) unbeknownst to me, he withheld one of the recommendation letters and did not file it with the original recommendation. He said that was in anticipation of the RFE. He submitted 5 letters (which I thought was too few), leaving out the one from the group head of the company had I worked with in the past (and the only letter from someone I worked with directly). While I had serious doubt on whether this is a good tactic, I was upset that he did not discuss with me about this.
Any way, in 2004 I filed for EB1 EA separately away from this attorney as I realized that he may not be as strong as I had naively hoped. In 2005, when I had only months left on my 6-year H-1, I got RFE for the EB2 case, in which (not surprisingly) USCIS looked for more evidence for both the second and the third prong. The attorney did not bother to call me to tell me about the arrival of RFE. I had to find it out online and call him to ask for the RFE to be faxed to me. I called him to follow up and see what I needed to do. He was ambivalent, and asked for stuff that I clearly would not have in my profession. I worked on the reply myself and drafted all the additional recommendation letters and a brand new petition letter (the attorney said that the original one he drafted was 5-6 pages long, and he refused to show it to me or let me review it citing that it was a "private professional work product", which does not make any sense to me given the circumstances, but apparently there was nothing I could do about it according to him). I gave him all the new signed recommendation letters and my new cover letter (~30 pages plus 9 tabs of supporting materials) within 30 days of receiving the RFE. I repeatedly called him afterwards and begged him to process mine ASAP and not to wait till the last minute. He agreed, and claimed that he and his assistant were "reviewing my case". Of course, he filed the response one day before the stated 90 day deadline, using mostly my work and maybe one at most two pages of additional materials he wrote. Co-incidentally, my EB1 EA case was approved one day before EB2 RFE was received by USCIS.
Now USCIS sent a letter to the attorney that they would stall my EB2 case since my EB1 had been approved. Subsequently, the attorney demanded payment from me for service rendered. I told him that (1) his 140 has not been approved, and I am not obligated to pay based on the contract we have in place (2) I am not happy with his service, particularly the way he procrastinates and never cares about the client's (my) interests. He went bananas. He said that there is nothing wrong with procrastinating as long as he filed the RFE prior to the deadlline. I offered to split the difference (I will pay half of the remaining balance) and he hung up on me.
Wanted to get some opinions from you, my fellow friends, who may or may not have gone through the same frustration with attorneys, on whether I should pay (not just from contractual obligation point of view, but also morally). Any thoughts will be greatly appreciated.
(well, I guess I am also venting a bit. sorry about that)
I hired an attorney for my EB2 NIW back in September 2002, at which time I knew absolutely nothing about how this process worked. Signed a contract the first time I went to his office and paid half of his asking price upfront, with the other half payable upon approval of I-140. Did not negotiate the price hoping for a constructive working relationship. However, as it turned out, I was not happy with his service -- (1) he procrastinates and I can't find a way to get him moving on anything. I hired him in September 2002 (downpayment as well) and the case was filed in May 2003 after my repeated calls and emails; (2) he was not terribly helpful. He gave me couple of sample recommendation letters from prior cases that are totally unrelated to my field/education background and I was left on my own to figure out how I need to present my case; (3) I was under the impression that he was filing EB1 EA for me, and all my recommendation letters (which I drafted) angled toward EB1 EA with no mentioning of NIW whatsoever. I did not realize that the attorney actually filed EB2 NIW until I received the receipt notice from USCIS. I was very upset that the attorney did not point it out to me prior to filing, particularly he claimed that he reviewed all the recommendation letters I drafted and submitted to him. In addition, I question the suitability of NIW for me (I am an MBA, not a biochemist or anything remotely related NIW) (4) he did not mention to me the possibility of concurrent filing of I-485, which could have allowed me to travel (my H-1 stamp is only valid for single entry within 3 months period which is highly problematic for me for both work and leisure travel). It was not until late 2003 that I learned from this forum that I could actually file I-485 right away and solve this issue. I asked the attorney why he did not mention that to me and he said that was because I "did not ask about it" (5) unbeknownst to me, he withheld one of the recommendation letters and did not file it with the original recommendation. He said that was in anticipation of the RFE. He submitted 5 letters (which I thought was too few), leaving out the one from the group head of the company had I worked with in the past (and the only letter from someone I worked with directly). While I had serious doubt on whether this is a good tactic, I was upset that he did not discuss with me about this.
Any way, in 2004 I filed for EB1 EA separately away from this attorney as I realized that he may not be as strong as I had naively hoped. In 2005, when I had only months left on my 6-year H-1, I got RFE for the EB2 case, in which (not surprisingly) USCIS looked for more evidence for both the second and the third prong. The attorney did not bother to call me to tell me about the arrival of RFE. I had to find it out online and call him to ask for the RFE to be faxed to me. I called him to follow up and see what I needed to do. He was ambivalent, and asked for stuff that I clearly would not have in my profession. I worked on the reply myself and drafted all the additional recommendation letters and a brand new petition letter (the attorney said that the original one he drafted was 5-6 pages long, and he refused to show it to me or let me review it citing that it was a "private professional work product", which does not make any sense to me given the circumstances, but apparently there was nothing I could do about it according to him). I gave him all the new signed recommendation letters and my new cover letter (~30 pages plus 9 tabs of supporting materials) within 30 days of receiving the RFE. I repeatedly called him afterwards and begged him to process mine ASAP and not to wait till the last minute. He agreed, and claimed that he and his assistant were "reviewing my case". Of course, he filed the response one day before the stated 90 day deadline, using mostly my work and maybe one at most two pages of additional materials he wrote. Co-incidentally, my EB1 EA case was approved one day before EB2 RFE was received by USCIS.
Now USCIS sent a letter to the attorney that they would stall my EB2 case since my EB1 had been approved. Subsequently, the attorney demanded payment from me for service rendered. I told him that (1) his 140 has not been approved, and I am not obligated to pay based on the contract we have in place (2) I am not happy with his service, particularly the way he procrastinates and never cares about the client's (my) interests. He went bananas. He said that there is nothing wrong with procrastinating as long as he filed the RFE prior to the deadlline. I offered to split the difference (I will pay half of the remaining balance) and he hung up on me.
Wanted to get some opinions from you, my fellow friends, who may or may not have gone through the same frustration with attorneys, on whether I should pay (not just from contractual obligation point of view, but also morally). Any thoughts will be greatly appreciated.
(well, I guess I am also venting a bit. sorry about that)
