Immigration Consultant Fraud

At Hill, Piibe & Villegas, we are often called upon to repair the harm and damage done through errors made by unscrupulous/negligent immigration consultants.  These unethical immigration consultants, also known as "notaries", "notarios," or even by the improper term,  "paralegals," are required to be bonded under California law; however, they are not allowed to provide legal advice, such as determining which forms to file, or to formulate legal strategy in how to proceed with an immigration case.  In doing so, they engage in the unauthorized practice of law (UPL), a felony under California law.

Victims are promised work permits or green cards, cheap fees, and fast results.  Unfortunately, these promises cannot be met, and the unethical notario escapes with the victim's money, often leaving him/her in a worse position than before.

Common results from notary fraud are inadvertent deportation orders that a victim does not discover until several years later when he/she applies for a green card, or supplying inaccurate information to the government, or outright applying for a benefit that the victim is not qualified to receive.  Other times a case is simply not well-prepared and the victim has lost valuable time and money.

Hill, Piibe & Villegas has handled hundreds of cases involving immigration consultant fraud/negligence.  Through appeals, motions to reopen, and other tools of the law, we have staved off unwarranted deportation orders, reopened old cases, turned around cases that seemed hopeless, and prevailed through the appellate process by exposing notario error.  We are on the cutting edge of carving out exceptions to the law where notary fraud is concerned, due to the large amount of cases that we see.