I am writing to seek advice because of the weird and scary situation that I find myself in w.r.t. my H1 work permit.
Summary:
My company's lawyer who filed for my H1 extension entered into an argument about the fees with BCIS. She failed to inform her colleagues at the lawfirm, my employer or me when BCIS REJECTED my H1 extension application! 6 months later, after the lawyer was fired and her colleagues filed a new application, BCIS
send back a query questioning my legal status as of the past 10 months. The law firm is trying to appeal specially to an Immigration Director in Vermont to give me a second chance since none of this is my fault. The lawfirm estimates that the results of the appeal should be out within a month from now.
My questions:
What can *I* do legally/with BCIS to rectify the situation? If the appeal fails, what legal recourse should I take with the law firm for harming my career?
It's a pretty unfortunate/scary situation, if we can't trust our lawyers/doctors to do what they are paid to do. Especially if it it not brain surgery.
I look forward to responses from this board to my predicament.
Thank you very much.
Best regards,
kvv
----
Here are more details of my case for those interested:
* My current company's lawyer made an H1 extension application in Oct 2002, but received a query from BCIS saying that the fees was insufficient for a 1st H1 extension.
* The lawyer contested that in her response in Jan 2003, claiming that this was the second H1 extension.
* BCIS rejected the response and denied the application in April 2003. But the lawyer did not inform me or my current company or even her colleagues. The colleagues did not find a copy of the rejection notice in my case file.
* Over the next 5 months, the lawyer kept evading my and my company's inquiries about the status of the application. The head of the lawfirm told me later that she had a personal problem and a mental breakdown and was seeing a psychiatrist twice a week.
* BCIS website showed that they received the answer to their query and that processing would be completed in 60 to 120 days. They did not mention that the application was denied.
* In August/September, the bad service by the lawyer was escalated to the CFO of our company and the lawyer was replaced by a different lawyer from the same law firm.
* The new lawyer did not know why the previous application did not produce a result. She filed a new expedited H1 extension application a year after the first application was filed. She hoped to get BCIS to give prompt attention to the case. The company was willing to pay the premium processing fee.
* The new application got a query saying that the first application got rejected. Further, it asked for an explanation as to why I should not be considered out of status since January 2003.
* The new lawyer was surprised to know that the previous application was rejected, she said. She cannot find a notification from BCIS saying that the first application was rejected.
* Meanwhile the new lawyer is trying to make an appeal to the Director of Immigration Services in Vermont to give me a second chance since the current mess with my application is not really my mistake.
* If the appeal falls through, then I would have been out of status for almost a year. I would have to leave the country and my H1 track record will be tarred. I will lose an opportunity I have in my hand right now to change to a dream job. I may not be able to enter the country again on any other visa. I would lose many months of pay and opportunity to work in the US because of the lawyer's serious negligence and mistake.
What are my courses of action if the appeal to the Vermont Director fails? Can something be done to make BCIS give my case a second chance? Can something be done to make the law firm accountable for serious harm done to my career?
Summary:
My company's lawyer who filed for my H1 extension entered into an argument about the fees with BCIS. She failed to inform her colleagues at the lawfirm, my employer or me when BCIS REJECTED my H1 extension application! 6 months later, after the lawyer was fired and her colleagues filed a new application, BCIS
send back a query questioning my legal status as of the past 10 months. The law firm is trying to appeal specially to an Immigration Director in Vermont to give me a second chance since none of this is my fault. The lawfirm estimates that the results of the appeal should be out within a month from now.
My questions:
What can *I* do legally/with BCIS to rectify the situation? If the appeal fails, what legal recourse should I take with the law firm for harming my career?
It's a pretty unfortunate/scary situation, if we can't trust our lawyers/doctors to do what they are paid to do. Especially if it it not brain surgery.
I look forward to responses from this board to my predicament.
Thank you very much.
Best regards,
kvv
----
Here are more details of my case for those interested:
* My current company's lawyer made an H1 extension application in Oct 2002, but received a query from BCIS saying that the fees was insufficient for a 1st H1 extension.
* The lawyer contested that in her response in Jan 2003, claiming that this was the second H1 extension.
* BCIS rejected the response and denied the application in April 2003. But the lawyer did not inform me or my current company or even her colleagues. The colleagues did not find a copy of the rejection notice in my case file.
* Over the next 5 months, the lawyer kept evading my and my company's inquiries about the status of the application. The head of the lawfirm told me later that she had a personal problem and a mental breakdown and was seeing a psychiatrist twice a week.
* BCIS website showed that they received the answer to their query and that processing would be completed in 60 to 120 days. They did not mention that the application was denied.
* In August/September, the bad service by the lawyer was escalated to the CFO of our company and the lawyer was replaced by a different lawyer from the same law firm.
* The new lawyer did not know why the previous application did not produce a result. She filed a new expedited H1 extension application a year after the first application was filed. She hoped to get BCIS to give prompt attention to the case. The company was willing to pay the premium processing fee.
* The new application got a query saying that the first application got rejected. Further, it asked for an explanation as to why I should not be considered out of status since January 2003.
* The new lawyer was surprised to know that the previous application was rejected, she said. She cannot find a notification from BCIS saying that the first application was rejected.
* Meanwhile the new lawyer is trying to make an appeal to the Director of Immigration Services in Vermont to give me a second chance since the current mess with my application is not really my mistake.
* If the appeal falls through, then I would have been out of status for almost a year. I would have to leave the country and my H1 track record will be tarred. I will lose an opportunity I have in my hand right now to change to a dream job. I may not be able to enter the country again on any other visa. I would lose many months of pay and opportunity to work in the US because of the lawyer's serious negligence and mistake.
What are my courses of action if the appeal to the Vermont Director fails? Can something be done to make BCIS give my case a second chance? Can something be done to make the law firm accountable for serious harm done to my career?