I am not qualified to make this kind of decision, so I am only sharing the information. I think before it is too late, the correct evaluation should be made. I also would like to share this link with you (an immigration lawyer shares his experience):
http://www.avvo.com/legal-guides/ug...of-filing-for-aos-in-the-us-rather-than-riski
Back in 2012 when I first came across this link, a couple of things bothered me about the case referenced in this article (and they still do as a matter of fact
):
1. Article was posted on Oct. 20th, 2012 narrating the details of a DV 2013 selectee's case. The date discrepancy immediately caught my attention back then - as a DV 2013 selectee, I knew for a fact that the FY was just starting, so how could this lawyer have represented the case as narrated
? Merely a case of typo? I don't know.
2. Lawyer says the embassy denied the case because "the professional nurse’s diploma, did “not meet" the
minimum education requirement of at least a foreign high school diploma or higher" - hmmn - the requirement that needs to be met is
high school completion equivalent to a United States HS diploma - a simple play on words some might argue? I do believe the onus is to prove that the nursing Diploma is equivalent or higher to a US HS Diploma, not equivalent to a foreign HS diploma.
3. Lawyer says following the embassy's refusal to entertain the merits of the motion to reopen/reconsider, "the only recourse was to file a lawsuit in Federal Court in the U.S. (unlikely client could meet the costs.) - Well, the truth is even if the client could meet the cost, I believe such a suit would have been thrown out considering the fact that the client isn't based in the US and the denial never took place in the US.
4. I find it strange that the client and his family then decided to visit the US for some none DV related reasons, and upon learning of their presence in the US, the lawyer "suggested we
re-file their entire DV AOS applications in the U.S., this time with USCIS. - - -
Re-file DV AOS application
? How do you
re-file AOS when a previous AOS petition was never submitted to start with? The selectee supposedly processed CP the first time
- another play on words?
5. Lawyer says "on September 26, I decided to file a Mandamus Action lawsuit in Federal District Court against USCIS,
in an attempt to preserve my clients’ rights beyond the end of the fiscal year" - - - eh-mm - an experienced DV based AOS attorney (who isn't simply after the client's money) ought to know that a writ of mandamus even if successful will not result in the client being issued with a GC once the FY is over! Several case studies available on the internet where either the writ was considered moot, or the courts clearly acknowledged the fact that nothing else could be done once the applicable FY is over.
It is precisely because of attempts such as this that the 9 FAM 42:33 encourages the embassies/consulates to fully process cases to conclusion:
"We can appreciate posts' efforts to prescreen applications allowing unqualified applicants to withdraw their applications to avoid paying the required fees. Nevertheless, it is important to process such cases to conclusion and not to simply allow the candidate to withdraw the application.
Instances have arisen where DV winners who were advised not to make an application at a post abroad have then entered the United States and requested adjustment of status processing at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS)."
http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/87838.pdf
