Suing for immigration FRAUD

[The_Other]

Hi everybody,

Recently, I found a person selling his services as an "immigration helper" (note: he is not a lawyer, but works with a lawyer). This person claimed to help people to immigrate to the U.S. by filing an employment-based petition through his contact at a U.S. government agency (i.e. an I-140 that says the agency wants to hire me). I am not going to mention his name or the agency for obvious reasons. For his services, the immigration helper required a payment of several thousand dollars. However, he signed a contract saying that in case the petition is denied, part of the money will be refunded.

After the payment has been made, the immigration helper indeed filed the immigration documents (I have the receipt notifications). However, there was a subsequent request for additional evidence (RFE), to which we responded, and the case was eventually denied. That person promised to gather more documents, address the issues in the denial, and re-file the case. However, I have no evidence that he has done something. A few weeks earlier, he stopped responding to phone calls and e-mail.

Now, my question is: since I have a written contract signed by him (although I don't know if it meets the legal definition of contract), as well as a copy of my payment check and the notices sent by USCIS, is it possible to sue that person to get the refund he promised? It'd be something like breach of contract or misrepresentation. If I can't sue, at least I'd like to report this "helper" to USCIS, FBI or whatever enforcement authority.

I am sure many people have been victims of immigration scams, so could somebody please let me know what my options are? Any input is appreciated.

Thanks

 

[thankful]

You can file a report for unauthorized practice of law to the appropriate state agency--could be the state bar or the state attorney general's office, depending on your state.

Yes you can sue that person for damages--at least in theory. But I am pretty sure that he is judgment-proof and you cannot collect. I would not waste my time.

I hate to rub this in, but the reality is that you are partially responsible for this. You should only hire licensed and reputable attorneys to solve your immigration issues.

 

[WorryForGC]

you are missing the point, you are a part of the fraud, prepare for deportation,jail

Hi everybody,

Recently, I found a person selling his services as an "immigration helper" (note: he is not a lawyer, but works with a lawyer). This person claimed to help people to immigrate to the U.S. by filing an employment-based petition through his contact at a U.S. government agency (i.e. an I-140 that says the agency wants to hire me). I am not going to mention his name or the agency for obvious reasons. For his services, the immigration helper required a payment of several thousand dollars. However, he signed a contract saying that in case the petition is denied, part of the money will be refunded.

After the payment has been made, the immigration helper indeed filed the immigration documents (I have the receipt notifications). However, there was a subsequent request for additional evidence (RFE), to which we responded, and the case was eventually denied. That person promised to gather more documents, address the issues in the denial, and re-file the case. However, I have no evidence that he has done something. A few weeks earlier, he stopped responding to phone calls and e-mail.

Now, my question is: since I have a written contract signed by him (although I don't know if it meets the legal definition of contract), as well as a copy of my payment check and the notices sent by USCIS, is it possible to sue that person to get the refund he promised? It'd be something like breach of contract or misrepresentation. If I can't sue, at least I'd like to report this "helper" to USCIS, FBI or whatever enforcement authority.

I am sure many people have been victims of immigration scams, so could somebody please let me know what my options are? Any input is appreciated.

Thanks

 

[Jim Mills]

What!?

Where was the fraud that he was a part of? There is no fraud that I can see since there was no mention of fraud in the petition itself. If there was, that is a different issue. However, what the "Immigration Helper" did was probably the unauthorized practice of law (a felony in some states). I don't know that what the immigration helper did was even fraudulent. It may have been but I'm not so sure at this point.

Fraud is a Crime Involving Moral Turpitude but does not turn into an aggravated felony until the amount in question exceeds $10,000.

I disagree with the conclusion that the person will be deported at this point. It is a possibility but I certainly can't reach that conclusion from the information provided in the post.

Be careful what you post, some people might think you actually know what you are writing about.