I came to the US last summer with J-1 visa. Visa was for only three months. I decided to stay longer and started looking for status change. One accredited lawyer promised me to prolong my visa. However, almost a year past, I still do not have even a notification from immigration office that they are studying my application. He says everything is going allright, that sometimes it takes this long. However, i suspect that he never send the application. Suddenly I look back and find out that i do not have anything serious to prove that he took money from me and promised to help me with my status. i do not know what to do. Afraid to go to immigration office. What should i do?

