Q: Can I sue my lawyers for legal malpractice? They did not file my petition with the USCIS on time.
I had an L visa. The lawyers hired by my spouse’s company were supposed to file an extension petition with the USCIS for me since we were to return home 2 weeks after my I-94 expiration. However, they did not file the petition properly. Therefore, the USCIS sent a Notice of Deficiency to them, but they never respond to it. What is more, they never informed me about this and I happened to find out by chance two months later. Because of their incompetence, I overstayed my visa for two weeks. Now, I could face different difficulties:
1) Being denied entry by immigration officers next time I visit the US
2) Being denied a new visa by consular officers
3) Consular Shopping Bar
4) Being denied a visa for other countries
I would like to know if I should sue the lawyers already. I have not faced difficulties 1 to 4 so far because I have not tried any of those yet. However, I do not want to wait too much because of the statute of limitations.
Thank you so much for your help!
A: It would be worth your while to at least register a bar complaint against any attorney you feel acted in bad faith. As far as a lawsuit, your best bet would be to consult with an attorney regarding the facts in the case to get an idea if that would be effective.
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