URGENT: Immigration Lawyer as the last resort

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rahulddesai

Registered Users (C)
Hello all,

I have tried several things and now after seeing no results and suggestions from a few friends, I have decided to hire an immigration attorney. Of course, it's an expensive path because just the inital consultation will cost me $300. But I don't know what else to do. Anyways, before I actually meet the lawyer, I was thinking of e-mailing the details of my case to him so that he has an idea of the case before we meet. Is it a good idea to do this or is there any negative side to this. Here is the e-mail I am planning to send to the immigration lawyer:

My wife and I came to the United States in 2002. She had a Green-card since 1999 but she stayed in India and came to USA to renew her re-entry permit. In July 2002 she moved permanently to United States. I came to US on August 12th 2002 on F-1 (Student) visa. We got married in Circuit Court of Chicago on August 23rd 2002. We were engaged back in India before I came to United States. Currently I am on H1-B visa and my employer is ****. My H1-B was first issued in January 2005. In January 2004, my wife filed an I-130 petition for me. Of course, since she is not a citizen yet, this application falls under F-2A category (Family Based Preference 2A - Spouses and Children of Permanent Residents). As of writing this, travel.state.gov states in their visa bulleting that they are processing cases with the priority date of 15th March 2003. The priority date for my case is January 2004).

My wife applied for her citizenship in May 2006. She was called for fingerprints in June 2006. Since then her case is stuck in the "FBI Name Check" process. We have written letters to senators, congressman, CIS Ombudsman, FBI Director, USCIS Director and First lady. Nothing has happened. It is still under FBI name check.

1. Is there any way to expedite this process? I have heard from many people that there is an option of filing a WOM (Writ of Mandamus) which usually brings quick results if you case is stuck in the FBI name check. Is it worth going that route?


2. If my wife becomes a citizen, obviously, I would immediately have an immigrant visa number which would make our lives a lot better. It is affecting things like my finding another job, getting admission in an MBA school, planning family etc. all because I am on a non-immigrant visa.

3. This month I received a letter from National Visa Center (NVC) which was addressed to my wife. The letter asked my wife to send the enclosed Affidavit of Support Fee Bill and a cashier's check or money order payable to the Department of State for the processing fees of $70. The letter had a case number starting with BMB which means that it is referring to consular processing in Bombay, India. It also said that if my intention is to adjust status with CIS, then NVC should be notified about it.

a. Since I am already in the US, should I file for Adjustment of Status? When can I file for Adjustment of Status? Along with the Adjustment of Status, can I also file for Employment Authorization?

b. Is consular processing faster than doing Adjustment of Status within US? If I opt for consular processing, do I lose my H1-B visa? After the consulate interview, can I come back to the United States and continue working on H1-B until I receive my Green-card?

4. My employer has shown some readiness to sponsor me for an employment based green-card but that comes with its own set of problems. I am worried that I will be stuck with my current employer for several years until I receive my green-card. There are some other issues as well.

The most important thing here is to get my Green Card and my wife's citizenship. It's extremely frustrating and disturbing that for absolutely no reason, our case is being delayed by FBI and USCIS. At the very least, even if I can have my Adjustment of Status and EAD (Employment Authorization Document), I would be very happy at this point.

Thank you.


Do you guys think this e-mail is fine? I don't want to waste my $300 when I meet the lawyer. One of my friends said that give him the case details but don't give him options. I on the contrary think that I should e-mail him whatever I know so that at least the attorney does not tell me what I already know.

- Rahul
 
In January 2004, my wife filed an I-130 petition for me.
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a. Since I am already in the US, should I file for Adjustment of Status? When can I file for Adjustment of Status?
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you can file for AOS only when the priority date on her I-130 becomes current or if she becomes a citizen, whichever comes first. It looks like the wait will be about a year and 4 months for her LPR petition with Jan 2004 PD.

http://travel.state.gov/visa/frvi/bulletin/bulletin_3953.html
15APR03

Along with the Adjustment of Status, can I also file for Employment Authorization?
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yes

b. Is consular processing faster than doing Adjustment of Status within US?
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about the same in your case

If I opt for consular processing, do I lose my H1-B visa?
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no

After the consulate interview, can I come back to the United States and continue working on H1-B until I receive my Green-card?
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after the interview you will hopefully receive an immigrant visa. If you get stuck in a security check of your own, then - yes, you can come back on H1, since it's a dual intent visa.
 
I'm not sure what an attorney can do for you.

There's next to nothing that can be done for your wife's naturalization, beyond consistent work with your Representative or Senator's office to ensure things don't get lost. The good news is that in about a year and a bit, you'll probably be able to file an I-485based on the FB2A petition, or sooner if your wife's citizenship comes through.

That's not too bad a situation, and I'm not sure what your $300 consultation will give you beyond what you'll get here.
 
Thanks for your replies folks. Lucy, why do you think the wait would be about 1 year and 4 months? They are already processing April 2003, so doesn't the end of this year look more possible? Also, I thought that the FBI name check processed is being removed for Green-card processing now. FBI Name check will only be done for citizenship cases from now on, isn't it?
 
I agree with LucyMo and TheRealCanadian on the points they made. While I agree that your wife shouldn't be stuck in a name check, cheer up, with an H-1B you're still in a much better position than many other intending immigrants. You have the benefits of H-1B portability to start immediately with a new sponsoring employer, and you can take classes as long as you continue to work under your LCA. (I've studied towards a Master's degree for three years part time while working on H-1B.) If you get your permanent residency in 2 years you're still getting it pretty fast compared to others. If you were to go the EB route, you're looking at about a half year of advertising the position before you can even file your labor certification (which locks in your priority date) and from then it'll be several years (maybe 3-5 or more) of wait before you can file for your EB green card.

By the way, if you decide to do AOS instead of consular processing, which I think is pretty likely that you will, be sure NOT to pay the $70 fee to the NVC.

I-485s will now be adjudicated when they are pending 6 months, I believe, if the name check is holding them up. But the name check will continue.

Ok, now this will be $70 for Austriacus, and $115 each for LucyMO and TheRealCanadian. We accept cashier's check or money order. ;)
 
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I thought the name check applies only for green card ? not citizenship. Do you need to do it twice ?
In order to get the citizenship you need to get the green card first ( at least in my case) so you get your background check anyways..right ?
 
well, either 3-5 years pass from your GC to your citizenship... you could have committed crimes or became a terrorist in that time span... so they need to check again. :)
 
Hi there! Believe me, even if you send the information in advance to your attorney, s/he would not even look at your case before s/he meets with you and collects the consultation fee. Why don't you enroll in a Standard Family Legal Plan on www.legalserviceplans.info ? For $16 per month you'll receive unlimited consultations with immigration attorneys and then you can decide if you need to hire an attorney or not. I, personally, could prepare my adjustment of status, EAD, and travel document applications just by using their consultations. Good luck
 
Update

Hi Folks,

So, I met this lawyer who says that he charges between $3000 and $4000 for filing a WOM. He also said that since my wife didn't have an interview yet, WOM won't help. Is that true? Can you file WOM only if you have had your citizenship interview? My wife filed for her citizenship almost 2 years ago and has only gotten up to fingerprints yet. Why can't she also file a WOM to get this moving?

Once again, thanks for your responses.
 
rahulddesai said:
So, I met this lawyer who says that he charges between $3000 and $4000 for filing a WOM. He also said that since my wife didn't have an interview yet, WOM won't help. Is that true? Can you file WOM only if you have had your citizenship interview?
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That is my understanding.

Why can't she also file a WOM to get this moving?
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She can certainly file, but in areas of national security the courts will give great deference to USCIS and FBI and are unlikely to grant the writ at all, and most likely not before your PD becomes current.
 
So I have absolutely no option except waiting till the FBI name check clears, which might be years from now? Is there no one who has filed a WOM before getting their interview done?
 
Thanks for your reply. I understand about my PD becoming current but that's the problem - I have no idea when that will happen.

Is it worth considering my employer's offer to file a green-card when they are indirectly asking for a verbal commitment as well as no raise/promotion? If I had a green-card, I would definitely find another job, that's for sure. Also, I have 3 years left on my H-1 (34 months to be precise).
 
rahulddesai said:
Thanks for your reply. I understand about my PD becoming current but that's the problem - I have no idea when that will happen.
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I don't see a WOM or EB petition giving you any more certainty.

Is it worth considering my employer's offer to file a green-card when they are indirectly asking for a verbal commitment as well as no raise/promotion? If I had a green-card, I would definitely find another job, that's for sure. Also, I have 3 years left on my H-1 (34 months to be precise).
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Unless you are from a non-retrogressed country, I don't see how an EB petition would be faster or better for you than waiting for your PD to become current.
 
rahulddesai said:
Thanks for your reply. I understand about my PD becoming current but that's the problem - I have no idea when that will happen.

Is it worth considering my employer's offer to file a green-card when they are indirectly asking for a verbal commitment as well as no raise/promotion? If I had a green-card, I would definitely find another job, that's for sure. Also, I have 3 years left on my H-1 (34 months to be precise).
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Why not find another job right now? You can use H-1B portability to start as soon as the new employer files for your new H-1B petition.

I think the verbal commitment when a company sponsors your GC is fairly standard practice; about raise/promotion, if it were to constitute a material change to your salary and duties as defined in your LCA, your employer would have to re-file your H-1B, so having limited raises and promotion opportunities with H-1B is fairly standard practice too. Would the company pay for your GC and attorney's fees? Some companies make you pay for your EB GC yourself; mine first had a policy that you'll pay your own, now their policy is to make employees sign a contract that the company pays a portion, but the employee has to repay the cost for the GC if they don't work for a specific minimum time period.

Remember that with AC21 you can leave your employer after your I-485 is pending for a half year and keep the GC petition alive, so I think employers should have every right to make sure they don't invest in someone who will leave the company soon.

That said, it looks like your F2A PD is about a year away, and getting the EB process started will probably take about 6 months before the LC is even filed; and if you're from India you'd look at a couple years from then for your PD to come current. So I agree with TheRealCanadian, your best bet is to wait for your PD to come current in about a year.
 
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