How will my EB-5 case be affected by attorney disbarment? - EB5Investors.com

How will my EB-5 case be affected by attorney disbarment?

My attorney submitted my I-526 petition in September 2014. My EB-5 case is to join and personally manage a franchise restaurant. At that time my attorney had legal practice status. Just now I found out that he is no longer eligible to practice law. How will my EB-5 case be affected? Will USCIS open my case (it is still in Received status), read that my lawyer has been disbarred, and then deny my case automatically?

Answers

Ed Beshara

Ed Beshara

Immigration Attorneys
Answered on

You will be able to retain a new attorney to represent you from now on to assist you with the EB-5 process. The disbarment of your first attorney will not affect the EB-5 process unless the first attorney was negligent in the preparation and filing of the I-526 petition.

Jinhee Wilde

Jinhee Wilde

Immigration Attorneys
Answered on

Whether or not your case could be impacted depends on the grounds for the attorney's disbarment. If his disbarment was due to any misrepresentation, then USCIS could look into whether your case included any misrepresentation and therefore should be denied. I think it would be best if you immediately hire a new attorney to file a notice of appearance (new attorney of record) and review your filing to either resubmit filing or provide further substantiation to the previous attorney's filing.

Sufen Hilf

Sufen Hilf

Immigration Attorneys
Answered on

Your case should not be automatically denied. It depends on what your attorney did to get him/her disbarred. If he or she filed fraudulent documents for many clients, then your case may be subject to strict scrutiny. However, if your attorney is disbarred due to an action/conviction which has not much to do with the filing of your case, your case should not be impacted. You should find an attorney to substitute ASAP.

Lynne Feldman

Lynne Feldman

Immigration Attorneys
Answered on

I would suggest you retain other counsel and have them 1) enter their appearance in your case for any follow up; 2) review the file to make sure a complete submittal was made and, if not, supplement it with appropriate documents explaining that prior counsel has been disbarred.

Bernard P Wolfsdorf

Bernard P Wolfsdorf

Immigration Attorneys
Answered on

Your attorney's disbarment should not impact the adjudication; however it raises the question as to whether your case is properly presented, and you may want to retain new counsel to enter an appearance and review the case file for eligibility.

Ian E Scott

Ian E Scott

Immigration Attorneys
Answered on

Sorry that you had the negative experience of having a lawyer that was disbarred. The good news is that this will not impact your petition in any way. You can simply have a new lawyer submit a G-28 on your behalf. You should get the new lawyer to check on the status of the filing just to make sure there are no issues and that the lawyer actually sent what they were supposed to send.

Robert V Cornish Jr

Robert V Cornish Jr

Securities Attorneys
Answered on

First, you need to get an attorney right away so that relevant papers and RFEs are attended to in a timely manner. Your case should not be dismissed because your lawyer is disbarred, but you will have a lot of work ahead if the papers were not sent in correctly. You should also speak to your state bar association in order to see what steps you need to take to get your case files and fees back from this person. All of this means one thing get counsel TODAY to handle the paperwork and appear on your behalf.

Salvatore Picataggio

Salvatore Picataggio

Immigration Attorneys
Answered on

That is a very unique matter. Technically, an investor can file the I-526 petition without an attorney. One option is to withdraw the current I-526 and resubmit with another attorney or as a self-petition.

John J Downey

John J Downey

Immigration Attorneys
Answered on

No, his status after submitting your I-526 should not affect your application. Did his disbarment have anything to do with the EB-5 project? If not, there should be no repercussions regarding your case.

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