Hello everyone. This is attorney Joshua Mikrut here from New Liberty Law with your Liberty Minute.
Today I want to talk about a fraud problem, a gigantic fraud problem that exists pretty much always in immigration law, but it’s really been bad over the course of the last five or six years. Unfortunately, some of the people committing the fraud are lawyers.
Today I want to talk about lawyers and immigration businesses that take advantage of immigrants by filing false cases or by selling people immigration options for which they do not really qualify.
Point number one, there have been some very serious immigration fraud cases recently. A former immigration lawyer in New York was recently sentenced to almost six years in federal prison after admitting that he filed thousands of false VAWA cases. VAWA cases, as you may know, are for victims of domestic violence.
There are also lawsuits from immigrants who say lawyers filed VAWA or T visa cases that were false, exaggerated, or that the clients did not fully understand. Some of those lawsuits are still pending. So, the claims have not all been proven, but the warning is real. And I’ve seen examples of this in real life again and again and again.
The warning is real. There are people making a lot of money, owning private jets by selling immigration cases that should never have been filed.
Point number two, two programs I’m especially worried about are VAWA and T visas.
These are real immigration programs and they are very important. A VAWA can help certain immigrants who have been abused or treated with extreme cruelty by a qualifying U.S. citizen or permanent resident family member. A T visa can help certain victims of human trafficking.
But these programs are not for everybody. You actually have to qualify. You have to meet specific, very, very specific, sometimes very difficult legal requirements before you’re going to get these benefits, especially now under the present administration.
So, if somebody tells you, “Don’t worry, we get almost everybody a work permit through VAWA,” or “Everybody has something in their history that can be turned into a T visa,” that should be a huge, huge warning sign.
Point number three, never let anybody invent your story for you. This may be the most important thing I tell you today.
You should know exactly what your lawyer is filing with immigration. If someone tells you to exaggerate abuse, make up threats, change what happened at a job, say you were human trafficked when you were not, or sign a statement that you do not understand, stop.
If your lawyer or their staff writes a long statement about your life, read it. Ask for it in your language in writing. Make sure it’s all true. Your name is on that application, and your immigration case can be damaged if false information is filed on your behalf.
Point number four, warning signs.
Be careful if someone guarantees you a green card or work permit before they even understand your case. Be careful if almost every client who walks into the office of a particular notary public or a lawyer is offered the same VAWA or T visa plan.
Be careful if nobody can clearly explain why you qualify. And be especially careful if you’re asked to sign papers you have never read or the office will not give you a full copy of what they filed.
A good immigration lawyer should be able to explain: “This is the law. These are the facts of your case, and this is why I think you qualify.”
Point number five, fraud can hurt the immigrant much more than the lawyer who sold the case in the first place.
A bad lawyer can take your money and disappear, but you are the person whose name is on the application. A false immigration filing can ruin an otherwise good case.
And if a person knowingly takes part in immigration fraud, the consequences can be very, very serious.
If another lawyer filed something for you and you’re now worried it may not be true, get a second opinion from an independent immigration lawyer immediately and get a complete copy of everything that was filed in your name.
So, in conclusion, listen everyone, immigration law is complicated enough without people taking advantage of immigrants who are simply trying to find a legal way to stay in the United States with their families.
VAWA and T visas are important protections for real victims. They were passed into law by Congress for that reason. But filing fake cases hurts the immigrant filing the fake case. It hurts real victims, and it hurts the system itself.
So ask questions, read what you sign, and get copies of everything filed in your name. And if somebody promises you something that sounds too good to be true, it’s probably not true. Get a second opinion.
And that’s that. I’m Joshua Mikrut with New Liberty Law, helping you stay informed and in status. And as you all know, liberty is a work in progress. Our work.