Immigration scam awareness is on the rise. You cannot Google the word “notario” without finding dozens of resources and articles about immigration fraud. It is all too common for people to come to our office who have been the innocent victims of malicious offenses committed against them. Undocumented residents are targeted and taken advantage of by criminals promising unrealistic or impossible benefits. It is truly heartbreaking to have to tell someone that all the money they paid is wasted and the green card they expected will not be coming. They will not be able to visit home this year, like they had planned.
It is easy to picture this “scam artist” in your mind and see him as a predator, preying on the innocent. A stranger who feeds you lies and false hope with a hidden agenda to take your money and run! But it is not that simple. People are harmed not only by sinister scam artists purposely defrauding unsuspecting victims. Sometimes those with the best intentions can do just as much damage.
Not all non-attorneys and document preparers who offer immigration services are evil. However, uncertified non-attorneys are simply NOT qualified to give legal advice and despite their attempts to help, they can inflict irreparable harm to your immigration status and place you at risk of deportation. By providing legal advice, they are breaking federal and state law.
There are very good reasons why attorneys must be licensed to practice law. Bar-licensed attorneys are held to an extremely high standard of ethics. They are held accountable if they fall below those standards. They are educated in their field of expertise and most importantly, they know what they are doing. If you go to someone who is not bar-certified to get help with an application, there is no recourse for you if they mess up. And messing up does not only lead to denials and hundreds of dollars of forfeited filing fees, it can lead to deportation and 5, 10 or 20 year bars to readmission.
Not every individual who walks through our doors each day is sent home with a contract and a questionnaire. There are some people who do not qualify for immigration benefits and who may actually place themselves in great risk of removal if they pursue those benefits. Any reputable and trustworthy law firm will not sign every client who wants a visa or a green card. A good attorney will consider all the facts, investigate fully and give you a realistic and comprehensive explanation of your options and any potential risks that you face in pursuing those options. Only with the help of a professional immigration attorney in good standing can you make an informed decision about your future.
When a potential client comes to us for a consultation, we can help them. We can explain various methods available for legalizing status or obtaining work authorization. We can tell them what if any preliminary steps should be taken before beginning an application, such as obtaining immigration records or resolving past criminal issues. We can inform them of risks involved in their case. What we cannot do is fix a mistake that has already been made.
Last month we welcomed home a client of ours who had spent the last six months in Mexico. We had finally succeeded in bringing him back to the United States after a non-licensed document preparer had advised him (incorrectly) that he needed to leave the country in order to consular process back to the United States. By the time the client reached out to us from Mexico, the case was a disaster. There were multiple errors in the applications. The wrong waiver had been filed. And finally, the client had been told to leave the United States without having a proper waiver approved. The client had blindly followed the advice of this terrible document preparer who took his money and sent him home with no way to return. She has refunded none of his money and sense our threats of a lawsuit, has fallen under the radar, evading our attempts to hold her accountable. If she had been a bar-licensed attorney, we could have demanded sanctions and money back to the client. However, because she was just some unlicensed person handing out legal advice, she has disappeared and now may never been held accountable for her actions. The client had essentially paid this woman thousands of dollars to deport himself back to Mexico.
Thankfully, we were able to step in, file correct waivers, request expedition for his case, and got him back into the United States in just a few months. If he had come to us in the first place, he would NOT have spent the last six months in Mexico. He would have been here with his family and he would have been guided through the immigration process by a team of knowledgeable, professional attorneys.
Do not allow someone who is not qualified give you advice on your immigration case. It does not matter how smart they seem, or how much money they claim they will save you (they never actually save you any money), they are simply not qualified and not legally allowed to help you with your immigration applications. Seek the advice of a professional. The law firm of Wilner & O’Reilly Immigration Lawyers now has seven offices serving clients in Southern California, Northern California, Utah and all over the world. We are pleased to announce the opening of two new W&O’ locations in San Francisco and San Diego, California. Set up an appointment at our office nearest you. Because giving your money to anyone besides a bar-certified immigration lawyer is like paying to be deported.
* * *
Kelly S. O’Reilly is a nationally known immigration expert and former immigration officer. He is a highly sought after speaker on immigration and employment compliance issues. Mr. O’Reilly serves as the current chair of the Riverside County Bar Association Immigration section and is a partner in the full-service immigration firm of the Wilner & O’Reilly where he provides free consultations. Mr. O’Reilly can be contacted at (714) 919-8880 and he welcomes email inquiries at [email protected].
