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Case mishandled by lawyer and closed with no prior notice.
I hope this message finds you well. I’m writing to inform you all of a very distressing situation regarding my previous legal representatives, Gehi and Associates New York. I found out yesterday without any warning or formal notice that they have closed my case and are no longer representing me, despite my case still being pending with USCIS. Over the past several months, I had been calling their office regularly for updates and requesting that my lawyer call me back. Unfortunately, I never received any return calls. Then yesterday, in a moment of panic over my immigration status and needing to see a doctor, I called again. The receptionist repeated the same line that the lawyer would call me back but this time I explained the urgency and my fears about leaving home without clarity on my status and ICE. After pressing further, the receptionist told me to wait five minutes, and then hours later finally informed me that my case had been closed by the firm. I was completely shocked. I was never contacted, warned, or given any explanation about this decision. I now believe that my lawyers mishandled my case. For the past three years, I had been consistently visiting their office, monthly and later every two months asking for updates. They kept pushing the timeline, from three months to seven, then nine, and so on. I asked multiple times why I hadn’t received any receipt notices except for my work permit, and they always told me to wait. Only in late 2024 did I discover that USCIS had tried to contact me by mail back in 2022, but the documents were undeliverable. I never received notices for my I-360, I-485, or travel permit only the work permit. My lawyers should have followed up with USCIS when I first raised this concern. But they didn’t. Instead, I was left in the dark while continuing to pay them $300 every month until 2023, when I could no longer afford to do so. I feel scammed, abandoned, and emotionally abused by my lawyers. These last three years have been filled with uncertainty and pain, especially after surviving abuse in my marriage. I came here hoping to rebuild my life, but instead I’ve been retraumatized, now not just by my past, but by the very people who were supposed to help me move forward. This has been an enormous shock, and I am struggling to process it. I feel completely alone and unsupported. Please advise me what go do. I went to the One Police Plaza to get my finger print done now I don’t know how should I sent it the uscis, that was supposed to be sent already with the VAWA packet, by my previous lawyers. They put me in the dark and difficult situation.