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John H Dodds

2.3
Rating: 6.5

Licensed for 27 years

Patent application Lawyer at Washington, DC
Practice Areas: Patent Application, Intellectual Property, Trademark Application ... +2 more

1707 N Street Northwest, Washington, DC

About John

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Licenses

Licensed in District of Columbia for 27 years

State: District of Columbia

Acquired: 1999

Good Standing

Lawyer disciplined by state licensing authority in 2007

Location

Law Offices Of Dodds & Associates

1707 N Street Northwest, Washington, DC, 20036

Law Offices of John H Dodds

1707 N St NW, Washington, DC, 20036-2829

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John H Dodds's Reviews

Avvo Review Score

2.3 /5.0

3 Client Reviews

Filter Avvo Reviews (3) Refine reviews to match your needs. Use the filters to quickly surface reviews that align with your case or priorities.

Showing 1 - 3 of 3 reviews | Practice Area Knowledge

Posted by Adalbert | October 09, 2025 | Hired Attorney | Immigration

ADDRESSING THE PREVIOUS REVIEW

Dodds & Associates has been in business for over 25 years. Since its formation in 1999 our office has helped thousands of clients with their immigration matters. Although we have clients from all over the world the majority of our clients are members of the Latino Community. It is noteworthy that our... office does not advertise and has not done so for more than 15 years; every new client that comes to our office comes to us via a referral from a previous or an existing client. We are proud of our high levels of service, open and transparent communications with all our clients and competitive prices. We work with a fixed fee schedule that allows every client to have a clear idea of what their application will cost from the start. We don’t charge for initial and even subsequent consultations, even though we are fully entitled to do so. We also do not charge to respond to emails and phone calls like many other law firms do. Finally we pride ourselves of having a docket with clear deadlines and reminders set for every item that is received by our office. We have never missed a formal deadline. It has never been our practice to request clients to post a review for us. Sadly it is only the unhappy few that decide to take the time and post one on.

Posted by anonymous | September 06, 2025 | Hired Attorney | Immigration

Avoid Dodds & Associates – A Costly Mistake That Put My Family at Risk

I’m writing this review to warn others: do not trust Dodds & Associates with your immigration case. Their negligence and lack of transparency have caused serious harm to my family’s legal status in the U.S. I came to them with a job offer and asked for guidance on applying for a work visa without... sponsorship. I made it clear this process would include my wife and kids. The lawyer recommended the EB1 route, charged us for the process, and failed to mention that all supporting documents needed to be translated AND notarized. After two USCIS Request for Evidence (RFE) letters, he casually introduced “Plan B” (EB2) and later “Plan C”—none of which were explained upfront. Throughout the process: - We were charged repeatedly for government fees and office processing, including for all my family IDs, but we never received our kids ID's. - His “associates” only contacted us when it was time to collect payments—not to guide us or answer questions. - We were charged twice for resubmitting work permit extensions and travel permits. - He pressured us to pay quickly for EB1 reconsideration and EB2 filing, calling more often about payments than about our actual case. When we decided to switch lawyers, he sent us a letter stating we had 30 days to leave the U.S.—claiming it was “part of the process.” We submitted the EB2 and EB1 RFE responses before the USCIS deadline, and the EB2 was approved. But when we applied for residency, it was denied because Dodds & Associates had mishandled our case and left us “out of status” for several days. We kindly ask USICS to re-consider since it was not our fault and we did everything by the book. Now, despite having EB2-NIW approval, we’re stuck. USCIS won’t issue our green cards, and we’re fighting to avoid a 10-year ban. We’ve paid our taxes, contributed to our community, and followed every legal step—but this firm’s mistakes have put our future in jeopardy. We’re now searching for pro bono legal help, but it’s incredibly difficult since our case doesn’t involve marriage to a U.S. citizen. I deeply regret hiring Dodds & Associates. They should remove “immigration” from their website entirely. If you value your future and your family’s stability, look elsewhere. --> ESPAÑOL: No confíen en Dodds & Associates – Arruinaron nuestro proceso migratorio Contratamos a este abogado buscando orientación legal para aplicar a una visa de trabajo sin patrocinador (tengo bastante experiencia a nivel internacional para una EB2) . Le expliqué que el proceso incluía a mi esposa e hijos. Nos recomendó aplicar a la EB1, cobró por todo. Tras dos cartas de evidencia (RFE), nos habló de un “Plan B” (EB2) y luego un “Plan C”, sin claridad ni responsabilidad. Sus asistentes solo nos contactaban para cobrar. Pagamos por trámites e identificaciones de mi familia y solo llegaron las mias. Nos presionaron para pagar rápido cada nuevo proceso, pero nunca nos dieron seguimiento real ni apoyo legal. Cuando decidimos cambiar de abogado, nos envió una carta diciendo que debíamos salir del país en 30 días. Aun así, logramos someter la EB2 y responder la RFE de la EB1. La EB2 fue aprobada, pero perdimos el estatus legal por culpa de su mala gestión, y ahora nos niegan la residencia. Mi familia está atrapada en un limbo legal. Hemos pagado impuestos, contribuido a la comunidad, y seguimos luchando para evitar una prohibición de 10 años. Este proceso nos ha causado un enorme estrés emocional y económico. No recomiendo este bufete bajo ninguna circunstancia. Si valoras tu futuro y el de tu familia, busca ayuda legal en otro lugar.

John Dodds

Replied last March 30, 2026

RESPONSE We have been in business for over 25 years. We don’t advertise, we don’t request people to post positive reviews (even when we have a very high approval rate) and we don’t normally respond to bad reviews like the one above. However, the review carries so many lies and inconsistencies that we have decided to convey our side of the story on this and other clients who choose to blame the attorney when the attorney had done nothing wrong. We can fully understand the enormous frustration people go through when they get a denial notice from the USCIS. We dislike the notices as well; they are not good for our business, not good for our reputation as an office but most importantly because they are incredibly disruptive. Any time our office receives a denial notice our team knows we all need to move extremely fast since the service only gives us 30 days to file a Motion to Reopen & Reconsider; to make matters worse by the time we have the opportunity to sit down with the client to discuss the next possible steps more time has elapsed and the filing of the Motion and a potential secondary application will by then have the character of urgent. We deal with the urgent matters with the corresponding urgency. That is in part what clients pay us for. If we get back to a client and tell him/her we need to file a Motion to Reopen & Reconsider in less than 30 days and also offer the option of a secondary application as a “plan B” of sort we are doing so in the best interest of the client. The reviewer seems to think we were eager to get money and that we were offering an EB2 just to get the extra revenue, when nothing could be further from the true. The service requires the payment of government fees, not us. The service requires EAD cards be renewed every so often, not us. The service issues denials for applications, not us. The service requires all documents be translated to English, not us. Sadly our office like any other law office requires to be paid for the work it performs. The client clearly resented that; but in that regard we do not operate any differently to any law office anywhere else in the world. Lastly the reviewer complains that our staff was contacting him to request payment and not answer his/her questions. Any person who has worked with an attorney before knows that if a client has a legal question, the legal question needs to be answered by their lawyer or paralegal in charge. If a staff member calls a client to remind the person of a balance due and the person asks him/her a question and the staff member tells the person to contact the attorney; that does not constitute refusing to answer a question. It is telling the person who to direct the question to. And it is done with the benefit of the client at heart. I would not like the receptionist in my doctor’s office answering my medical questions; even when she is the one contacting me to remind me of my due bills.

Posted by Kap | March 31, 2015 | Immigration

I got rejected because of this lawyer

I would have giving no star but you cannot do in Yelp. We got reject because with our greencard interview because of this lawyer. I was thinking this is a good lawyer because it was close to double cost. Other lawyers are coming to the interview but this lawyer asked $3000 extra to come, my friend... paid $1300 to lawyer and the lawyer came to the interview and he finished whole process without problem. When we went to interview first problem was officer asked where is your lawyer, he should be here for the interview. Second problem was everything was empty in the form. He did not write the last address, no any information about our parents, no any information about our work. When we filled the forms we wrote everything even after interview I checked it was full. With these problems person rejected our application it has been over 5 months we are still waiting. After interview I asked why you did not fill the form completely and his answer was stupid "we do not give too much information to immigration" this is the stupidest answer. Immigration gives the form so clear to fill up and how you can try to hide information from government. I have lost a lot of money and time. I do not recommend this lawyer. Already he does not do anything his son does all and that is the biggest problem. If you do not loose a lot of money or one of your life most important step you need to use a different lawyer. I really had big problems I hope it will be good for everyone else.

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Experience

Rating:  6.5 (Good)

Professional misconduct

This lawyer was disciplined by a state licensing authority in 2007.

Informal Admonition issued in DC, 2007

updated on 05/24/2012

An admonition means an attorney did something wrong but may still practice law. The Bar gives the lawyer an admonition in hopes that he or she will not repeat the behavior.

Associations

District of Columbia Bar

Member

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    This lawyer was disciplined by a state licensing authority in 2007
    Disciplinary information may not be comprehensive, or updated. We recommend that you always check a lawyer's disciplinary status with their respective state bar association before hiring them.
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