Please Help Emergency Immigration status-How to Leave

[Trex]

Dear Friends,

Thank you for this opportunity to seek help from you.I desperately need some informed expert advice about the proper course of action for me.Please go through my horror story.

1.I was on a student visa valid until 30th June 2008. I gave my passport to a solicitor firm for premium service for my IGS Visa. I am a legitimate student with a Masters from a top five university.After a few days later I found out that the Solicitors firm was raided by immigration people and my passport is with them. I immediately informed them the moment I came to know of it and lodged a police complaint too.There was no response from the Home Office.

2. I hired the services of a solicitor who wrote to the HO a few times requesting the return of my documents.The HO did not respond. Meanwhile, I joined a College,which is recognised by the HO, on a recognised course and applied for an FLRS.

3.After three months they sent it back saying that I need to resend the application in a new form and that they would refund the Visa fee.They did not refund the money so far.

4.Then, I resent the application in the new form.I even attended the Biometric interview in April.Then nearly after 18 weeks, in July they returned my application saying that I did not pay the Visa processing fee.I checked with my bank and the money was paid correctly. I attached the original bank statement showing the paid visa fee and asking for a visa.Just last week,after another 16 weeks, I received a letter saying I did not pay the Visa processing fee as they changed the application form into TIER 4 with an increase in the fee.There absolutely was no mention of the previous application being in time and the visa fee having been paid.They want me to make another application with another payment.

Now, my course ends in December.I am not sure they are going to act on my application in time to grant me my visa before my course expires.They have my passport and they do not respond when they are going to return.They never contacted me about any letter I sent.They have about 600 GBP of my money which they have not returned. I do not know if I am over staying. I cannot work anywhere because I do not have my passport with a valid visa. I cannot go home. My parents are aged and desperately want to see me. I am in my mid thirties and my career plans are ruined. My fiancée is very upset that I am delaying our marriage by years.

I did not break any immigration law and always informed every single detail to Home Office. If I take an Emergency Certificate and leave, can I ever come back into UK? Will I be charged with immigration offence. I have been living the life of a prisoner and reduced to live in reduced price items and stuff like tinned beans from Tesco and these days I am not even using public transport and walk miles to every place I need to go.Please help me.Please tell me what should I do to leave this country without being charged with immigration offence as I did not break any law.


I sincerely thank you for your help.

-
Trex

[Trex]

Any help/advice coming,ladies and gentlemen?Thank you.

[T_mahmood]

Sorry to know about your situation. The HO system is full with bunch of........
Well I were in your shoes, I would be looking for these steps.

1. Here a good immigration solicitor and write a letter a to HO with all the mess up they have made with your future.
2. Lodge a complaint (HO have a system of making a complain)
3. To make a case in the court of law with all the proof and not only asking for making things right but also for compensation.

Hope this helps.

Any help/advice coming,ladies and gentlemen?Thank you.

[Mr Rusty]

On the facts as you have stated, it is difficult to see how you can be suspected of any immigration offence. If you were, you would have been arrested by now and served with papers as an offender, and in all likelihood removed, as they have your passport. Also, they accepted a new application from you, which they would probably not have done if they were intending to take action against you.
It looks as if your passport is being held as evidence in some case against the solicitor. This doesn't mean that you have done anything wrong - there are cases where corrupt immigration advisors have used genuine documents to provide material for bogus applications for other people.
So if you leave the country, there is no apparent reason why you couldn't make a successful application to come back. But you shouldn't have to do that. If you were promised a refund and didn't get one, you have grounds for complaint, particularly as it appears that your problems seem to arise from that first returned application. If you leave the country, any outstanding application will be treated as abandoned and you will lose your money.
You need help to present your case. As you're obviously short of funds you could perhaps try the Immigration Advisory Service, who may be able to help you free of charge, or the Citizens Advice Bureau.

[The Station Agent]

You have a very sad situation there. But I am a bit confused - what is your priority? To leave the UK to see your parents or to stay here?

You need to work that out first. If I were you I would not carry on paying fees for visas which you cannot get (because you do not have your passport to stamp the visa / stay in).

If your priority is to leave the UK for a while, I would write to the Home Office by recorded delivery and demand your passport back along with an explanation of what they have been doing with it. They should give you it back and stamp it for at least 28 days from now on the status you held at the time your passport was taken (presumably student status). That would be the decent thing for them to do. You should also request a refund of the fees you have paid (for nothing).

If you want to look for explanations about why they did not write to you, could you have moved? Could they have been writing to a representative instead of you?

Re the refund, did you pay by card? If so, did you change your card after the payment? They cannot refund a card that no longer exists. These are just suggestions.

[Trex]

Friends, Thank you very much for your advice and your words greatly uplift my spirit. It was the time of the great IGS scam era where many colleges fraudulently issued a lot of fake certificates.This Solicitor firm has been dealing with one such college or so I was told. I repeat, I did my Masters from a top five university. I later also came to know that some students who were processing through this solicitor were approached by police and some were charged and deported. However, despite repeated letters and constantly updating them with my address and status, the HO never contacted the solicitor who was representing my case regarding my passport.
In the last letter, the solicitor thoroughly explained to the HO about my plight and demanded a return of my passport to no avail.

Station Agent, in the beginning I wanted to leave immediately when this thing happened as my visa was expiring.However, I was told that if I do that, I will never be able to come into this country.Just for the fear of it I stayed back. I wanted to clear my status and then go home for a visit.But, as I explained to you. that is getting remote by each passing month. I would like to leave at this point just to be able to see my parents and my fiancée. All I want to know is if I will have any difficulty in leaving,if the immigration people trouble me while leaving and if I can come back to UK in future on a different application/status etc.Please educate me.

Just to add another nail into the coffin, the solicitor firm that was representing me was closed due to internal problems last month and with it all the fees that I paid.

I approached the Community Legal Aid people today, and there is an appointment on December 15th.

Thank you once again and please provide any information you think can help me.

Best regards-
Trex