How Do I Protect Myself From Immigration Fraud?
Are you an immigrant?
Are you needing assistance with an immigration petition?
Is it removal of conditions on your green card, petition for an alien relative, adjustment of status or extension of visa?
Are you having a cash crunch?
Are you low income?
Are you in search of cheap services?
Do you fall under any of these categories?
There are lots of people out there who claim to be immigration consultants, notario public and others. These set of people can mar your immigration case. They claim to know how to assist with your case, the necessary documents to file your petition with and how to fill out the forms. They even request fees for forms. Most of these scammers claim to be either immigration attorneys or accredited representatives. Be on the look-out for them and ask a few questions before making a payment.
Can anyone fill out immigration forms?
The answer is NO. The only persons legally authorized to help you fill out immigration forms are accredited representatives and immigration attorneys.
Immigration paralegals who are strictly supervised by attorneys can also assist. Always ask for the Immigration attorney’s bar number, call the ABA to verify it, and also ask the accredited representatives to provide a copy of their approval for accreditation.
There are lots of authorized and knowledgeable immigration experts who are affordable.
Resort to them rather than fall prey to scammers who will not only mess up your chances of getting an approval on your application / petition, but also have you spend thousands of dollars.
Who is an authorized Immigration Service Provider?
The authorized immigration service providers are Immigration Attorneys in good standing at the bar and BIA Accredited representatives.
Not all attorneys specialize in immigration law but accredited representatives are well versed in immigration law. Although, the latter also have their specialties.
How can I tell who is an accredited representative?
If anyone claims to be BIA accredited representative; ask for the name, accreditation letter from Board of Immigration Appeals, date of expiration of the accreditation and then go online to check if the name is on the BIA roster.
Also, ask for a valid ID to confirm he is the actual person. Go here, on the top of the page, search by clicking on the alphabet that begins the last name of the “accredited representative” and the last names that start with that alphabet will populate.
Search for the BIA’s name and make sure there is a valid ID that matches the name.
For the indigent immigrants, most accredited representatives charge little to nothing to assist.
Attorney fees are scary most of the time, but if one does a due diligence, you will be able to find qualified people to provide legal advice on immigration law or your immigration options.
ABOUT NNENNA JONES
Nnenna Jones is the founder of Mijae Document Preparation Services and 8 to 8 Notary and More. She is a foreign licensed attorney, accredited to practice US immigration law and a paralegal. Asides working part-time in the areas of immigration and family law, she loves writing to educate the immigrant community on the latest news on US immigration and tips to assist them. She is an avid lover of Jesus Christ and loves making memories with her toddler son.
Connect with Nnenna on linkedin.
