Enforcing Immigration Scams

If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. This is one of the first English phrases which persons seeking to immigrate to the United States should be familiar with. Numerous immigrants, including many from the Korean community, have recently become the victim of a whole series of immigration scams and scandals which have resulted prosecution of attorneys, INS Officers and Brokers. Unfortunately, thousands of immigrants and their families who confidently believed that all they needed to do was to pay for these services are now in the process of having their green cards revoked and will be deported from the United States and permanently barred in most cases from re entering the United States.

Most recently in the news was prominent immigration attorney Samuel Kooritzky, who was one of the best known immigration attorneys in the Washington, D.C. area. His Capitol Law Centers told potential immigrants what they longed to hear. Don’t worry about finding an employer to sponsor you for permanent residency. For a fee of up to $25,000, Kooritzky’s firm would do the legal work for their clients and find employers as well. Best of all, there is no need for the employee to strain his limited English in the interview, provide references from previous employers, or even put together a resume. The only thing that was needed was for the potential employee to pay the employer.

As immigration enforcement activities increase and the immigration debate across the country continues, misinformation and fear have compelled many to hastily seek legal status. This has created opportunities for unscrupulous immigration service providers to take advantage of people’s hopes and fears, and exact exorbitant fees from immigrants for questionable naturalization and permanent residency schemes. The consequences are often dire and irreversible.

Unfortunately, people commit fraud in the immigration process all of the time. Some get caught, while others go undetected, calling into the question the integrity of the entire immigration process. To combat fraud in the immigration process, the United States government has stepped up both its fraud detection and enforcement efforts with the REAL ID act, E-Verify, various types of background checks, and the issuance of Notices to Appear (NTA’s) before an immigration judge when USCIS denies a case, amongst others. While the government’s efforts to combat immigration fraud are to be lauded, the up tick in enforcement has caused “real” immigration cases to be more closely scrutinized, sometimes without proper justification.

An attorney who has practiced only immigration law for the past 30 years, it seems as if the government assumes that every case is fraudulent because it is making it very difficult to get even the most well documented cases approved. There are severe consequences for people who commit fraud during the immigration process. For example, a United States citizen who marries a foreign national to help him or her get their immigration papers is committing marriage fraud because the marriage was entered into to evade immigration laws. The United States citizen faces up to five years imprisonment and a $250,000.00 fine, in addition to Federal charges of visa fraud, false statement, and conspiracy. The foreign national will be barred under INA section 204(c) from ever having a subsequent immigrant visa petition approved.

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Tags: English Phrases, Entering The United States, Exorbitant Fees, Green Cards, Hopes And Fears, Immigrants, Immigration Attorney, Immigration Attorneys, Immigration Debate, Immigration Enforcement, Immigration Service, Ins, Korean Community, Misinformation, Naturalization, Permanent Residency, Prosecution, Scams, Scandals, Service Providers