Lavi Sholem Soloway

Lavi Soloway nearly got me deported, lied to us on the phone, and didn't file paperwork when he said he was going to. He told us to ignore the denial notice we got, claiming it was in error. Turns out, it wasn't in error, and he was completely blowing smoke. When it became apparent that he'd s...crewed up my change of status beyond redemption, and allowed the time to elapse so that we couldn't file an appeal, he stopped answering the phone, wouldn't respond to email, and has yet to send us a copy of our file- so we were forced to pick up the pieces, finding a lawyer who would handle the fact that we had no idea whatsoever as to what paperwork he'd filed on our behalf. In the end, we had to file a FOIA request with DHS to find out what he'd actually done- which turned out to be not nearly as much as he said he'd done. I was out of status and clocking up unlawful presence time, and my lawyer wouldn't answer the phone. I have since discovered that he has done this before, to other people. He's completely irresponsible and does not do what he says he will do. Avoid him at all costs.

We hired Mr. Soloway for the purpose of obtaining a green card as a same sex couple. This process began June of 2013. We, did our own research as well and certainly felt capable of filling out all the government paperwork ourselves. However, there are many tricky parts that are not in the applicat...ion form. The US government has very strict interpretations that Soloway made clear to us. That knowledge lead us in the right direction as we approached our interview with the Immigration folks in Honolulu. We, at first, balked at having Mr. Soloway present at our interview, as it involved flying him from California to Honolulu and was certainly an additional expense we did not foresee. He did convince us, and we must admit, that without his presence we would not have obtained the green card. Mr. Soloway knew the Honolulu office and walked the very surprised interviewer through the whole process. On that day (September 12, 2013) we got that green card! Not even three months after our initial application. On reflection, it was the best money we ever spent. John and John

My husband and I consulted with this attorney regarding adjusting my husband's immigration status to legal permanent residency. At the time that we consulted with this attorney, it was anticipated that DOMA would be stricken and our same-sex marriage would no longer disqualify us for a green card. ...Soloway was rude (would not make eye contact or even shake our hands), had no concern for my husband's story, deflected questions about his experience, gave us legal advise that later turned out to be wrong and was only motivated by his own professional standing before other LGBT rights attorneys. The whole point of the consultation was to dissuade us from ever attempting to apply for a green card. His dismissiveness bordered on contempt. The $450 dollar consultation charge at the end was the most money we've ever paid for a 45 minute drama. I would definitely never recommend this attorney.

1. New York's office manager. Not polite and and not responsive. I called her to set an appointment. The following day I sent her an e-mail with a couple of questions and after 3 days I had to call her again, cause she had not replied. Her reply on the phone was "I am receivng hundreds of e-mails dai...ly". When I stressed out that the documents sent to us to fill in were not compatible with our case, she replied "misunderstanding". Then she set us up an appointment with an associate and required documents to be sent electronically. 2. Although thoroughly informed about the case (same sex couple mariage and issues related with spouses visas as well as possibility of green card petition), when we started making questions about visas and work permit etc., stunned he told us "he did not expect this kind of questions and had to call a partner". In additon, he did not have any of the documents already sent. 3. After the consult, we were told to get back to them in a week's tme, after we had posed specific questions. We did so, for 2-3 days, no reply. I call the manager and the reply was "we need to set up another consult but this time you will be charged" (the consult for LGBT couples issues is free, otherwise costs around $480). The line was not that good that day and I was trying to pose some questions as time is of essence and she replied to me in a rude way "Will you let me finish?". Nice way to talk to a client. Last, after the call, I sent the manager and the associate an email saying "you know our case and the details, you know what we need, can you give us an estimate more or less, about the cost and the timeframe?" No reply. Take your business elsewhere.