British Expatriate Network

My wife has had a major setback with the her Work Permit application..

Our L1/L2 were renewed without hitch in November - using the services of an immigration lawyer paid for by my company.

We applied for her work permit at the same time. We gave the info requested by the lawyer and the application went off.

On Dec 23rd - INS contacts lawyer and asks them to send two passport photos. We're on holiday at this stage but get the photos to INS by Jan 6th.

I questioned the lawyer why the photos were not included in the original application. Her assistant (by e-mail) advised me the rules had just changed and if they had known photos were required they would have advised us so.

Talking to friends and associates around here - it seems that all applications or renewal of Work Permits should be sent with two photos. I've downloaded an app form and that too clearly states that photos should be sent with the application renewal.

The absence of photos enables INS to stretch the processing time another 60 days. We have already been waiting nearly three months - so start to finish this has taken 5 months - when we know people in the same situation who only had to wait 1 month for a renewal.

This is causing my wife some difficulties and a lot of upset. It's also costing us money as she would like to change jobs (and should not really be working anyway at the current place and her employers are getting anxious about her status) but this is impossible without a Work Permit. I also resent the fact that someone has been given a large sum of money for their expertise and then demonstrates that they can't actually execute what they claim to be able to do? I seem to know more about the process than the lawyer -

What can I do? I've written to the lawyer asking them to prove the advice not to include photos in the application was correct. I'm still waiting for an answer but am convinced I'm correct.

Fees have been paid (but I can hold back payment for another Visa renewal they are handlng for the company). However, it's not the company who are suffering for this but my wife.

Ideas - please - how can I get the lawyer to cough up for the mistake and more importantly get a work permit for my wife ASAP...

I'd bug the hell out of your HR person at work until you get an answer. The lawyers office needs to at least admit that they gave you duff information (it might help to print off the information you found on the INS website to back up your point and hand one copy to the HR and one to the lawyers!). Sadly, the INS will probably have little or no sympathy for your plight - such is the nature of the beast - and you'll have to wait it out.

I wouldn't be too hasty to reveal that your dearly beloved is working if she is without a permit if I were you. They take a dim view of that sort of thing. wink

Good luck anyway. )

Debs x )

Clearly, the Immigration Lawyer is incompetent; not only have they caused a delay processing your wife's EAD application, they lied to cover up their mistake! I'd do exactly as Deb suggests.....talk to HR and express your concern about the incompetency of the lawyer they have chosen to represent their employees and print out the instructions which accompany the EAD application to support your concern; the instructions clearly state photos must be submitted with an EAD application.
It would not be prudent to disclose that your wife is working - that would almost certainly be detrimental to her application and may cause further delay, or worse, refusal. I'm afraid you will just have to wait it out with BCIS; they will not be sensitive to the fact that your lawyer mis-infomed you. I hope the delay is not too long.

No news yet - the lawyer only works four days a week (as I would to if I could command the kind of fees she does)

Unfortunately - can't really inform HR (I'm HR Dept amongst many other duties) and I chose the darn lawyer myself from Yellow Pages.
Needless to say I won't be using them again.

My wife (as an L2) has not had much luck with immigration lawyers. I'm an L1 - this requires them to put lots of documents, supplied by my company, into an envelope and fill out a few forms. This they manage very well for sevral thousand dollars.

As an L1 back in London we were told that my wife was eligible to work on an L2 visa. What the UK lawyer never told us was that L2 VISA holders require a work permit also. We never actually found this out until we got to the US and if we had know we could have applied much sooner than we did. So, strictly speaking this lawyer gave the wrong advice - what she should have said was L2 visa holders can work after they have applied and received a work permit.

It took a lot to persuade my wife to come to the US. A lot of the assurances I gave her about work etc (based on the advice of lawyers) turned out to be wrong.

Let this be a warning to anyone out there who thinks that using highly paid professionals improves the quality of the visa process. You might be better off doing it yourself.

My wife has stopped working now and in fact never worked without the correct dosumentation ever. wink

I'll let you know what happens.

If you need the name of another lawyer (ours is in NYC) then let us know. I have to say, she has been pretty spot on with everything we have done so far.

It is one of my pet hates when they don't tell you ALL the information you need to know. There is a presumption made that you must automatically know it therefore don't bother saying anymore! Very annoying but unfortunately not a lot you can do about it.

Hope you get it sorted soon.

Thanks for nothing US immigration lawyer..

She wrote...

"You are correct that we should have sent them with the initial filing, especially in light of the fact that we should have been extra careful as the filing was being submitted close to four months later than it should have been. We apologize for the oversight. With that in mind, if you so desire, we will refund the monies paid for your wife's EAD application and will continue to process it."

So she did screw up - but is trying to divert attention away from this fact by saying we should have applied earlier. Great - my UK employers gets a refund for the three months of misery and hassle endured by my wife. So these US/UK differences in language - An inability to read immigration instruction forms and to lie to clients who ask intelligent questions is not 'an oversight' in New York where i think we call it 'incompetence' in Londond - glad I'm not up on a murder charge with this twit -
evil

Take the money, get the EAD for your wife and set about finding another immigration attourney to carry on your journey for permanent residency.

BTW, misery and hassle are par for the course! wink )

Debs x )

So true :lol:

In fact, it really should be the motto for the BCIS and be displayed in every one of their offices, under the photo of President Bush.

Thanks for the words. I'm just venting and you've all been through it.

BTW - I'm not planning to be here forever - two-three years maximum - but you never know :wink:

Just back from Toronto - where me and the missus have beeN getting our Visas revalidated. Brrrr!

My wife's work permit arrived while we were away. Our lawyer has refunded the fee paid for the application. We're all set until Nov 2006 now. Hope this will see out our time in the US...

Glad to hear all is now settled! D

Debs x )

Great to hear things have turned out well. D