News Update - March 14, 2009
By Alan Lee, Esq.†‡
“Immigration Fraud Prevention Act of 2009” Bill Introduced
in the Senate
The bill would make it a Federal crime to defraud citizens or non-citizens
in connection with any legal immigration issues. Also, the bill
would make it a felony for one to falsely misrepresent oneself as
an attorney or an accredited representative in any immigration matters.
This bill is in response to the growing number of individuals holding
themselves out as qualified immigration law attorneys. These “immigrant
specialists” or “consultants” often damage an
immigration case by filing the wrong documents, missing a deadline,
or failing to fully disclose all of the relevant information. This
leads to harsh results to immigrants such as a permanent loss of
work authorization or relief from deportation.
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