In today’s world, there is certainly a problem with Immigration Fraud. It happens when immigrants go to a person pretending to be a lawyer, or a notary/notario. These fraudsters fabricate or falsify documents in immigrant’s cases. If this has happened to you, you should report it immediately. Immigration Fraud in the U.S. is a serious crime.
If you suspect you are the victim of immigration fraud or a scam, you should report these tips to the Executive Office for Immigration Review’s Fraud and Abuse Prevention Program by calling by phone: 877-388-3840 or emailing eoir.fraud.program@usdoj.gov.
Depending on the state you live in, you should contact your State’s Attorney Bar Licensing Board. For example, Florida Bar, Tennessee Bar, Texas Bar. These Bars will be able to help assist you in filing a formal Complaint agains the person/company who has falsified your documents.
Oftentimes, you might not even speak the English language with proficiency to read it very well, and you might not even know that your documents have been falsified, so you might be surprised when you meet with an attorney who lets you know that your asylum application is nothing like your history or story. So you should try to get in contact with a trusted attorney as soon as possible to try to see if there is any way to help your case move along smoothly.
A critical way to spot a “fraudster” is if they make promises. For example, “I promise you a green card or you don’t pay,” or “I promise to win this Motion for Bond,” or “I promise/guarantee to win your asylum case,” or “I promise you will not get your application dismissed to a third country.” These promises are not possible to keep and real attorneys never can make promises like this. The truth is, each case is different, and there are never guarantees in life or in the Courts. Anyone making blanket guarantees is an automatic red flag, not to be trusted.
Never go to an “attorney’s” house, these are not attorneys. Never get so wrapped up in the end goal that you talk to someone who will promise you anything. You are not talking to an attorney, you are talking to someone who is a fraudster.
Courts in the U.S.A. are fair, just, and no attorney can ever pull strings like that or keep up promises. If you meet with a real attorney, they will never talk in absolutes. Attorneys are held to standards by their State’s Bar Administration, and are only allowed to give you advice to pursue your case legally and they cannot and never will make promises like that.
Report Immigration Fraud in Florida: you can also make a State Bar report regarding the person who wrote the fraudulent asylum claim. Here is the website for Florida: https://www.floridabar.org/
You can save a copy of your communications with your State Bar for your records, and to give to your attorney to supplement your file.
Reporting Fraud does more help than harm because it stops fraudsters from continuing their scheme to control people at their weakest points, and also helps proper law enforcement bring the fraudsters into court/jail/ and stop them from getting more victims.
Work with an attorney to go over what they can do to try to help you in your case, and see if there is any possibility to help. You may consider a Motion to Withdraw your Previous Asylum and Motion to Supplement the Record.
See these Links for More info:
https://www.uscis.gov/scams-fraud-and-misconduct/avoid-scams/report-immigration-scams
https://www.ice.gov/topics/immigration-fraud-prosecutions
https://www.uscis.gov/report-fraud/uscis-tip-form
https://www.aila.org/aila-files/8CE7DC82-A5C7-4524-8378-E9AB3B26E751/16051202.pdf?1697589959