Department of Consumer Affairs issues advisory on immigration consultants

The Los Angeles County Department of Consumer Affairs has issued an "infor-mation sheet" about immigration consultants in order to warn, educate, and advise the public about the limitations of the services immigration consultants are legally allowed to perform.

According to the Department of Consumer Affairs, an immigration con-sultant is "someone who is not a lawyer licensed in the US, and who charges a fee for helping you with your immigration case. The law strictly limits the things immigration consultants can do, as well as the regulations they must comply with in order to offer their services."

An immigration consultant is prohibited by law from:

Giving you any legal advice about your immigration status. This would include such things as how to obtain a work permit, bring your family to the US, or even which immigration form to use and/or what answers to fill in. In other words, immi-gration consultants cannot offer any legal advice.

Keeping your original documents. Consultants must return to you all of your original documents. I know that sometimes people come to me for consultation, and tell me that an immigration consultant kept their passports, approvals, etc., and the alien has no more copies of those documents. In the meantime, the consultant disappeared.

Lying to you by saying that they can get "special favors" for you, know "secret laws", or have "special connections" with government officials or agencies. Many aliens have told me that a consultant told them that he "knew someone inside INS", or that the immigration consultant knew about "special" or "secret" laws that somehow all reputable attorneys were completely unaware of, which could result in a quick green card. Those unrealistic claims are sure signs of a scam and fraud.

The only things that an immigration consultant can legally do are:

Fill out immigration forms that you select, with the information you tell them, and translate any of your information into English.

Help you obtain documents that you tell them you need for your case.

Refer you to an attorney, but they cannot charge you a referral fee.

Deliver or submit your completed forms to the USCIS.

Immigration consultants must also meet the following requirements:

File a $50,000 bond with the California Secretary of State in order to do business. The public can check on the validity of a consultant’s bond by calling (916) 6534984.

Give you a written contract, describing what they will do for you, and how much they will charge. You also have 72 hours to cancel the contract and get a full refund.

Clearly state in all their advertisements that they are not lawyers.

Post a sign at their place of business, telling you about their $50,000 bond information, including the name, address, and bond number of their bond, and again stating that they are not attorneys.

In fact, a person recently consulted with me after an immigration consultant handled her appeal to the Administrative Appeals Office (AAO) in Washington DC. In its decision, the AAO started out by saying that it would not recognize the immigration consultant as the person’s representative, noting that, "the peti-tioner’s ostensible (apparent) represen-tative does not indicate that she is an attorney, but states that she is the petitioner’s "bonded immigration consultant". That ostensible represen-tative’s name, however, does not appear on CIS’s list of accredited representatives. As such, the file contains no evidence that the petitioner’s ostensible representative is qualified and authorized to represent the petitioner."

In other words, despite what immigration consultants might say, in most cases, they cannot represent you before the Department of Homeland Security (formerly INS) or in court.

The Department of Consumer Affairs recommends that aliens seek the services of a "licensed attorney" for legal representation.

You know how important your immigration situation is to you. It is the difference between being separated from your family for years, and working at a low-paying job, or being together and working at a good job. Why would you entrust something that is so critical to your life and future to someone who is not licensed to practice law, is prohibited from offering legal advice, and who, in many cases, might wind up messing up your case? In fact, how can you expect someone who might be breaking the law (by engaging in the unauthorized practice of law), to help you follow the law? So, my advice is that for something as important as your immigration future, you should seek the advice of a reputable, licensed attorney.

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