- Report: #330991
Complaint Review: Steven Redgate - San Antonio Texas
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Steven Redgate
6836 San Pedro, Ste. 101 San Antonio, 78216 Texas, U.S.A.
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Law Offices Of Steven Redgate immigration lawyer ripoff, immigration attorney that does not return phone calls, takes your money in the beginning and does not deliver as promised, worst experience with an application for permanent residence and employment authorization document attorney in san antonio texas San Antonio Texas
Samir Patel
11300 Expo Blvd Apt 117
San Antonio, TX 78230
210-289-7671
[email protected]
CC: STATE BAR OF TEXAS, Capitol Station, Austin Texas 78711-2487
CC: REDGATE LAW OFFICE, 6836 San Pedro, Ste. 101, San Antonio, TX-78216
To whomever this may concern,
On August 1st 2007 my wife (Rachel Patel) and I (Samir Patel) met with Toni Garza, a paralegal at the Redgate law office, located at 6836 san Pedro Ave. Ste. 101, San Antonio, TX-78216. We were seeking representation for three matters that were made clear to Toni.
1. File an application for permanent residence for me Samir Patel
2. File an application for a work permit for me Samir Patel
3. File an application for a travel document for me Samir Patel
We were told that the fees for said services would be $1500 and reassured that the approximate timeline from filing to completion would be approximately four to five months. I have a pending DWI case in Bexar County of which Toni was informed.
On August 28th 2007, after making the necessary financial arrangements, we paid Steven Redgate the sum of $1500 to represent me through the end of this process for the aforementioned items.
On September 14th 2007 I received a receipt notice for the form I-485 Application to register permanent residence and on the same day I received a receipt notice for the form I-131 Application for travel document. I was informed by this law office that there was a change in USCIS policy in which the forms I-485 and I-765 (Application for Employment Authorization) were to be filed together with a combined fee totaling to $1,010.00. Due to this I prepared a money order for this amount as well as another for $355.00 for the travel document and gave it to Steven Redgate.
During my school semester, I opted to work for Dynapac as an Intern. My primary responsibility was that of a programmer. After graduating school in December Dynapac was still interested in hiring me for a full time position. This is when I started getting concerned about the employment authorization document as I had not received a notice from USCIS notifying me of the status of this application. Mr. Greczka (Dynapacs Lawyer), Connie Nivens (Human Resources), Reuben Collins (Network Administrator), Toni Garza (Paralegal at Redgate Law Office) and Samir Patel (myself) had a phone conference on December 21st 2007 in regards to the status of this EAD.
Toni Garza clearly stated that the application for the Employment Authorization Document had been submitted and that it was pending with the USCIS, they had a tremendous back log of applications and would process the application in the order that it was received. At this time Mr. Greczka requested me that I ask Redgate for a copy of my file so he could take a look at a copy of the documents that were submitted for accuracy. The office refused to give me a copy of my own file, stating that it was not their policy to give clients a copy of their own file.
A few months later my wife and I were called in for the interview at the local USCIS office. During that time I asked the interviewer, an officer at USCIS, the status of my application for employment. She notified me that there was no record of any such application on file. The next day I approached Redgate and requested a copy of the application that was submitted to USCIS. His assistant told me that they do have a copy of the application but it does not have your signature on it.
Since the document was not signed by me it was obviously not submitted along with the other two applications for which I received receipt notices on the same day. When I called the office to investigate this matter further, the assistant told me that she had handed my wife an envelope on November 2nd 2007 that was delivered to Lees Summit, MO-64064. She claimed that this envelope contained my application for employment.
I have two concerns with this explanation that I was provided:
1. If the document was indeed in that envelope, why was it submitted in November and not September like the other two applications?
2. If the application for employment was in this envelope, then why does USCIS not have any record of receiving this application for employment?
As soon as I was told this story, I called customer care at USCIS and requested them to put in a document tracer for me. After a month of research they determined that there was no application for employment bearing my name in any of their offices.
Again I confronted Redgate with this information, he claimed that USCIS loose documents all the time and that this application was lost. In such a fashion he effectively disclaimed any responsibility of the application altogether and left the burden of finding an effective solution on my shoulders.
At this point I told him that we should file another application as that was the only other recourse. So on April 1st 2007, Almost Eight months after the initial application was filed we got to submitting a new application for employment. I was told to bring two passport size photographs and sign the forms. I then personally went to the post office and sent the form to the local USCIS office in San Antonio with no fee and a wrong return address, which was filled in by his assistant. Twenty days passed and I did not hear back from them, so I signed up for an InfoPass appointment, on my own accord and went in to speak with the InfoPass officers to determine the cause for this delay.
Here is what I was told:
Since your application for employment was filed separate from the Application to Register Permanent Residence, there should have been a fee of $340 included with the application. Furthermore the San Antonio District office Does not process EAD applications!
Frustrated and disenchanted I called the office of Steven Redgate right away. The assistant picks up the phone. I tell her what happened, and asked her to speak to Redgate right away. She said that he was busy, took my phone number, and assured me that he will call me back. 7 days have passed; I have tried calling the office repeatedly, but to no avail. My calls have been ignored and my case has been put to the side as if I was not a client anymore.
At this point, out of the initial three goals that were to be completed, only one of them has been seen to fruition. That is the application for my travel document.
I believe that my case has been handled in the most unethical manner imaginable. I believe I was told fabricated myths in order to prolong the case and to reduce the amount of work that this office would have to do. I also believe that if this office would have acted ethically and admitted to making a mistake and not submitting my application, this issue would have been resolved and I would not be typing this remorseful letter and I certainly would not be seeking grievance.
Since this office has nothing more to offer me, I would like for my file in its entirety to be handed over to me as soon as possible. I would also like Redgate never to represent me from here on out and all matters and communications between myself and the USCIS are to be forwarded to my place of residence even if they are accidently received by this office. Furthermore I would like to make my experience with this attorney public and let the world know of my case and how it was handled. I hope and pray that my efforts to publicize this issue will serve to better inform some other unsuspecting person in a similar position.
I am aware that the Texas Bar does not provide a financial remedy for Attorney Client grievances. I would however like this governing body to know that I have been unemployed since I graduated from UTSA in December of 2007. My wife has been working 12 hour days (including weekends) with the false hope that my employment documents would come in and I would relieve her of her burdens. This false hope was provided to us by none other than the Law Offices of Steven Redgate. Our justifiable reliance on this attorney has caused my family a great amount of hardship, both financially emotionally and mentally.
In conclusion I implore this governing body to investigate this matter further and take the necessary steps to prevent such a thing from happening to anyone else in the future. I request this body to inform me of any legal remedy that I am entitled to due to damages caused from malpractice. I also thank you for taking the time to understand my circumstances. Please let me know if anything else is required from me. I would me more than glad to provide any more information/proof/receipts/receipt notices etc. at your discretion.
Yours Truly,
Syntheticintel
san antonio, Texas
U.S.A.
Click here to read other Rip Off Reports on Attorneys and Lawyers
11300 Expo Blvd Apt 117
San Antonio, TX 78230
210-289-7671
[email protected]
CC: STATE BAR OF TEXAS, Capitol Station, Austin Texas 78711-2487
CC: REDGATE LAW OFFICE, 6836 San Pedro, Ste. 101, San Antonio, TX-78216
To whomever this may concern,
On August 1st 2007 my wife (Rachel Patel) and I (Samir Patel) met with Toni Garza, a paralegal at the Redgate law office, located at 6836 san Pedro Ave. Ste. 101, San Antonio, TX-78216. We were seeking representation for three matters that were made clear to Toni.
1. File an application for permanent residence for me Samir Patel
2. File an application for a work permit for me Samir Patel
3. File an application for a travel document for me Samir Patel
We were told that the fees for said services would be $1500 and reassured that the approximate timeline from filing to completion would be approximately four to five months. I have a pending DWI case in Bexar County of which Toni was informed.
On August 28th 2007, after making the necessary financial arrangements, we paid Steven Redgate the sum of $1500 to represent me through the end of this process for the aforementioned items.
On September 14th 2007 I received a receipt notice for the form I-485 Application to register permanent residence and on the same day I received a receipt notice for the form I-131 Application for travel document. I was informed by this law office that there was a change in USCIS policy in which the forms I-485 and I-765 (Application for Employment Authorization) were to be filed together with a combined fee totaling to $1,010.00. Due to this I prepared a money order for this amount as well as another for $355.00 for the travel document and gave it to Steven Redgate.
During my school semester, I opted to work for Dynapac as an Intern. My primary responsibility was that of a programmer. After graduating school in December Dynapac was still interested in hiring me for a full time position. This is when I started getting concerned about the employment authorization document as I had not received a notice from USCIS notifying me of the status of this application. Mr. Greczka (Dynapacs Lawyer), Connie Nivens (Human Resources), Reuben Collins (Network Administrator), Toni Garza (Paralegal at Redgate Law Office) and Samir Patel (myself) had a phone conference on December 21st 2007 in regards to the status of this EAD.
Toni Garza clearly stated that the application for the Employment Authorization Document had been submitted and that it was pending with the USCIS, they had a tremendous back log of applications and would process the application in the order that it was received. At this time Mr. Greczka requested me that I ask Redgate for a copy of my file so he could take a look at a copy of the documents that were submitted for accuracy. The office refused to give me a copy of my own file, stating that it was not their policy to give clients a copy of their own file.
A few months later my wife and I were called in for the interview at the local USCIS office. During that time I asked the interviewer, an officer at USCIS, the status of my application for employment. She notified me that there was no record of any such application on file. The next day I approached Redgate and requested a copy of the application that was submitted to USCIS. His assistant told me that they do have a copy of the application but it does not have your signature on it.
Since the document was not signed by me it was obviously not submitted along with the other two applications for which I received receipt notices on the same day. When I called the office to investigate this matter further, the assistant told me that she had handed my wife an envelope on November 2nd 2007 that was delivered to Lees Summit, MO-64064. She claimed that this envelope contained my application for employment.
I have two concerns with this explanation that I was provided:
1. If the document was indeed in that envelope, why was it submitted in November and not September like the other two applications?
2. If the application for employment was in this envelope, then why does USCIS not have any record of receiving this application for employment?
As soon as I was told this story, I called customer care at USCIS and requested them to put in a document tracer for me. After a month of research they determined that there was no application for employment bearing my name in any of their offices.
Again I confronted Redgate with this information, he claimed that USCIS loose documents all the time and that this application was lost. In such a fashion he effectively disclaimed any responsibility of the application altogether and left the burden of finding an effective solution on my shoulders.
At this point I told him that we should file another application as that was the only other recourse. So on April 1st 2007, Almost Eight months after the initial application was filed we got to submitting a new application for employment. I was told to bring two passport size photographs and sign the forms. I then personally went to the post office and sent the form to the local USCIS office in San Antonio with no fee and a wrong return address, which was filled in by his assistant. Twenty days passed and I did not hear back from them, so I signed up for an InfoPass appointment, on my own accord and went in to speak with the InfoPass officers to determine the cause for this delay.
Here is what I was told:
Since your application for employment was filed separate from the Application to Register Permanent Residence, there should have been a fee of $340 included with the application. Furthermore the San Antonio District office Does not process EAD applications!
Frustrated and disenchanted I called the office of Steven Redgate right away. The assistant picks up the phone. I tell her what happened, and asked her to speak to Redgate right away. She said that he was busy, took my phone number, and assured me that he will call me back. 7 days have passed; I have tried calling the office repeatedly, but to no avail. My calls have been ignored and my case has been put to the side as if I was not a client anymore.
At this point, out of the initial three goals that were to be completed, only one of them has been seen to fruition. That is the application for my travel document.
I believe that my case has been handled in the most unethical manner imaginable. I believe I was told fabricated myths in order to prolong the case and to reduce the amount of work that this office would have to do. I also believe that if this office would have acted ethically and admitted to making a mistake and not submitting my application, this issue would have been resolved and I would not be typing this remorseful letter and I certainly would not be seeking grievance.
Since this office has nothing more to offer me, I would like for my file in its entirety to be handed over to me as soon as possible. I would also like Redgate never to represent me from here on out and all matters and communications between myself and the USCIS are to be forwarded to my place of residence even if they are accidently received by this office. Furthermore I would like to make my experience with this attorney public and let the world know of my case and how it was handled. I hope and pray that my efforts to publicize this issue will serve to better inform some other unsuspecting person in a similar position.
I am aware that the Texas Bar does not provide a financial remedy for Attorney Client grievances. I would however like this governing body to know that I have been unemployed since I graduated from UTSA in December of 2007. My wife has been working 12 hour days (including weekends) with the false hope that my employment documents would come in and I would relieve her of her burdens. This false hope was provided to us by none other than the Law Offices of Steven Redgate. Our justifiable reliance on this attorney has caused my family a great amount of hardship, both financially emotionally and mentally.
In conclusion I implore this governing body to investigate this matter further and take the necessary steps to prevent such a thing from happening to anyone else in the future. I request this body to inform me of any legal remedy that I am entitled to due to damages caused from malpractice. I also thank you for taking the time to understand my circumstances. Please let me know if anything else is required from me. I would me more than glad to provide any more information/proof/receipts/receipt notices etc. at your discretion.
Yours Truly,
Syntheticintel
san antonio, Texas
U.S.A.
Click here to read other Rip Off Reports on Attorneys and Lawyers
