Lawrence Richard Holmes

I'd like to preface this by saying I've never been prompted to complain about a person being less than accommodating, because usually it doesn't really matter or isn't that important to me. I'm also VERY sensitive to the value of other people's time, especially those who invested a lot of their own t...ime and money to fulfill the jobs they have (lawyers, doctors, etc). It's hard to know how to rate the experience we had here. I selected Holmes and Ramos because of the values I saw expressed on their website. Here are some quotes directly from the site that sold me: "Bringing a fiancée or spouse to the U.S. can be a very emotional experience. During the visa process chances are that you and your fiancée/spouse will have questions that you will want to ask us. Often it is just a case of needing reassurance about something, but nonetheless it is very important to you. You will want to contact us by phone or email to discuss whatever is on your mind. We understand and this is part of the service covered by our legal fee." "There is also NO TIME LIMIT on your contacts by phone or email with our firm after you have hired us. All we ask is that you keep your contacts reasonable. An example of not being reasonable would be contacting us on a daily basis when there is no problem and no emergency." We experienced this kind of kind and thorough service with Chris, who took the time to walk us through the situation with his confident perspective after decades of experience. This was incredibly valuable to us, and prompted me to pull the trigger to move forward with Holmes and Ramos, despite our VERY tight budget. We also had a great experience with our initial paralegal, but early on we were transferred to Heather Carnaje, who did not at all embody these values that attracted us to Holmes and Ramos in the first place. I emailed Heather a handful of times throughout the 18 month long process for clarification and assistance (aside from all the times we had to email anyway because she was the one responsible for sending all forms and document requests to us to be completed), and called her probably 2-3 times (I'm a millennial, I hate calling people, especially people who's time a see as valuable), with only urgent matters. The few times I tried to call her she wouldn't answer, even though I called during her limited "office hours". Her demeanor was always rude, and once she told me - in email!! - that I had jeopardized my entire immigration process 16 months in, sending me spiraling in a panic, only to be told later by Chris (who, kindly, spoke to me by phone) that everything would very likely be fine (it was). If Chris, the actual lawyer, can take the time for a couple of calls to explain and simplify the process, in accordance with their company values, surely Heather should be able to at least communicate patience via email, answer questions in a timely fashion, and avoid dropping bombs on clients that throw them into a panic thinking that thousands of dollars and a year of their lives has potentially been wasted. The ability to interface with law professionals is literally the entire reason we paid for their service, and the accessibility and down-to-earth nature of Chris during the initial consultation is why we chose Holmes and Ramos, so the fact that we had to interface with someone so extremely difficult and unkind was definitely a huge let down. All that to say, the work was completed and the advice we received from Chris was very valuable, so I would recommend the company overall; but if you're hoping to be able to communicate with a paralegal without feeling like you're walking on eggshells, try to avoid Heather.