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Can I drop my lawyer at this point?
Anonymous4 views6 answers
We have been using a lawyer for our i130 petition and they haven't really been helpful. Approved in July, and we are still to hear from NVC, my husband and I have had to make calls ourselves because our lawyers aren't updating us, my husband feels like we shouldn't pay them for the NVC stage because they haven't done anything for us, and we can do it ourselves.
I would like to know if we can do that legally?
Giacomo Jacques BeharImmigration AttorneySan Diego, CACA licensed ·
Yes, America is still a free country. You the clients are free to terminate the services of an attorney (or any other professional for that matter) at any time if not happy with his/her services.
You may do so if you wish, but before you do, just remember that it is always better to have legal representation than not to, because lawyers have special expertise. Good luck!
You can certainly fire your attorney at any time, however there are a few things to keep in mind. First, it often takes the NVC up to 90 days to assign a case number to an approved petition. Until this happens, there is literally nothing that your attorney can do to make it happen faster. This timeline is completely on the government. Second, most attorneys will only contact you when there are material changes in the processing of your case - whether that's a decision, notice, or something that the government requires from you. Most lawyers do not call you every day to tell you "we have no news, your case is still pending." Finally, you should know that although you can fire your lawyer, you may or may not be entitled to a refund of the fees you paid him or her. That's a matter of state law and you could talk to a NY lawyer about it if you want.
I agree with attorney Gerard Lazzara. There is a lag period between the I-130 approval and the National Visa Center receiving the information from USCIS and following up with instructions on how to proceed. So, while you are completely free to fire your attorney, your attorney may not be doing anything wrong. The timing of these cases is unfortunately slow and changing attorneys may not speed up the process since it is not in the hands how fast the other agencies work. Good luck!
