Getting help with your immigration needs can be expensive. Lawyers usually charge fixed fees for their services, so at least you don’t have to worry about the open-ended checkbook, but still, that fixed fee can be quite high, depending on your particular situation and what you’re trying to accomplish. So why not just use a Notario (Notary) or an Immigration Consultant? Well, because it can cause untold problems and heartache that eventually make it so that you can never visit, work in, or live in the United States. The few bucks you save could cost you everything.

Ask any immigration attorney, and they can tell you about the horror stories of immigrants who worked with notaries or consultants who were not attorneys to do their immigration work. These immigrants paid a few hundred dollars to have the notaries or consultants fill out paperwork for them to submit to apply for visas and so forth. Much later, once it’s too late, they find out that the forms were filled out incorrectly, that fraudulent claims were made on the forms, that the notary or consultant lied to them about their responsibilities to the immigration officials or to the system (or a hundred other nightmare scenarios), and it’s too late to turn back the clock and fix the problems created - all problems caused by non-lawyers charging people to do their immigration paperwork for them, illegally.

Sometimes the people doing the paperwork aren’t even calling themselves notarios or consultants; sometimes they are just another immigrant in the community who makes money off of their friends and family, being paid to help with paperwork. Anytime one of these people, regardless of what they are or are not calling themselves, assists another person in filling out the immigration paperwork while offering advice on how to act with immigration and how to work with the immigration laws, they are likely committing the civil infraction of the unlicensed practice of law, which is a very dangerous thing to do when a person’s legal status in the U.S. is at stake.

The sad thing is, people who have been hurt by these notarios, consultants, or “helpful friends” usually have no recourse against them. First of all, if you worked with one of these people and they made a mistake (intentional or accidental), you’re usually sent back to your home country under removal (deportation) proceedings, which keeps you from coming back to the U.S.. Second, they disappear; and because they are not licensed, there’s no way to find them. Last, you don’t have the money or resources it will take to go after them, even if you can find them. It’s tough to take on a court case against someone when you’re stuck in another country.

Recently, in Florida, where this type of activity is very common, the Florida Bar has begun to go after these criminals for the Unlicensed Practice of Law, which is a civil crime here in Florida. It’s possible they may convince the State Attorney to take the case on a criminal basis as well. We are waiting to hear that news soon. We hope they make this prosecution of illegally operating notarios and consultants a high priority. Immigrants who desire to live and work here in the U.S. and who want to be contributing members of our communities deserve to have the opportunity to do that. They absolutely do not deserve to be lied to, cheated, and stolen from by people who put a dollar above the golden rule.

In the meantime, do yourself, your business, and your family a favor. Don’t take shortcuts with your immigration needs. You wouldn’t go to Wal-Mart to buy a pacemaker; don’t use a non-lawyer to do your legal work. Many people have, and have regretted it greatly.

We are passionate about what we do here at Cowden Law. If you’d like more information about the visas available to you, visit our sister-site, www.visa-me.com, contact us by email , or phone us at (561) 882-6500 [if outside of the U.S., use country code "001"]. We’d love to hear from you.