Clarification: New DACA Applications
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Questions? Need a lawyer? Call the New Americans Hotline at 1-800-566-7636
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FAQ’s about Immigrant Services Fraud
If you need to report fraud or find legal help for an individual immigration case, please call the New York State New Americans Hotline at 1-800-566-7636.
Resource Guide for Law Enforcement,
Government & Advocates to Address Immigration Services Fraud
Many dishonest individuals take advantage of immigrants and their desire to live in the United States legally by promising them citizenship, green cards, or work permits in exchange for a lot of money. Dishonest service providers, often referred to as “notarios”, charge high sums and either do not do any work, or file papers for cases that the client is not eligible for. Many times these notarios are not lawyers and are not allowed to provide legal services. In New York State, it is a crime to provide immigration legal services if you are not a lawyer or someone authorized by the US Department of Justice to help immigrants. The most common consequence of Immigrant Services Fraud is that the victim loses money, is no longer able to apply for immigration benefits, and sometimes can be deported from the United States.
Only lawyers who are members of a state bar association in the United States can provide legal help. For immigration issues, DOJ Accredited Representatives that are non-lawyers working at nonprofit organizations that have been granted permission to provide immigration help by the US Department of Justice can also provide legal assistance. However, DOJ representatives can help with immigration issues only.
If someone is not a lawyer and not a DOJ Accredited Representative, they can only help you translate documents, find documents, or get them fixed (if your child’s birth certificate has a mistake, for example), and help you go to the post office to mail them. They CANNOT choose a form for you or tell you which form to use, tell you what kind of case you should apply for, or if you are eligible for an immigration benefit, or explain to you how to fill out a form that someone else gave you. To obtain immigration forms for free, or find out about the status of your case, visit www.uscis.gov or call 1-800-375-5283.
In 2014, the NYIC worked closely with NYS Assembly member Marcos Crespo, Governor Andrew Cuomo, and a coalition of community groups to pass the Immigrant Assistance Services Enforcement Act (IASEA). This law, which went into effect in February, 2015, imposes a lot of restrictions on individuals who are not lawyers or DOJ representatives but offer services to immigrants. Some requirements include: a contract (translated into a language that the customer understands), a cancellation page in the contract, statements in the contract and on the walls stating that the person is not a lawyer, and listing the hotline number for anyone wanting a referral to a lawyer or to file a complaint.
In 2014, the NYIC created the Protecting Immigrant New Yorkers (PINY) Task Force, the first of its kind in the country to include community based organizations as well as law enforcement agencies and federal, state, and city government offices to tackle the problem of immigrant services fraud in an innovative, collaborative way. The PINY Task Force meets monthly and has made several significant changes to how Immigrant Services Fraud is handled in New York State.
Most importantly, through the collaborative work of the task force, the New York State New Americans Hotline is now empowered to receive complaints against unscrupulous providers. The task force developed a common complaint form that hotline operators fill out and forward to relevant law enforcement agencies as well as to the Federal Trade Commission to be uploaded into Consumer Sentinel. The hotline is operated by Catholic Charities Community Services, is answered by live operators, and has access to interpreters in close to 200 languages. The hotline is also able to make referrals to legitimate legal service providers.
The PINY Task Force has also developed common language for outreach and educational materials, as well as consumer alerts. The task force is currently working on creating a New York State toolkit to combat Immigrant Services Fraud to help encourage localities around the state to take on this work.
New York Immigration Coalition - Revision
Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals Renewals (DACA) Information
New York Immigration Coalition - Revision

Swept Up in the Sweep Report
Swept up in the Sweep: The Impact of Gang Allegations on Immigrant New Yorkers details the Trump administration’s using supposed-gang enforcement to ...
New York Immigration Coalition - Revision

Your Money, Your Future! A Basic Guide for Financial Education and Empowerment
Funded by the New York City Council through the NYIC's Key to the City Initiative, Your Money, Your Future: A Basic Guide for Financial Education and ...
New York Immigration Coalition - Revision

Safe Havens: Protecting and Supporting New York State’s Immigrant Students
As the families of more than 190,000 immigrant students across New York State wrestle with the current climate of fear and uncertainty, a new report finds ...
New York Immigration Coalition - Revision

"Welcome to Healthcare" Poster for Immigrants in NY State
We are excited to let you know about new health resources that are available through the New York Immigration Coalition and the Center for Urban Pedagogy ...
New York Immigration Coalition - Revision

For Educators
Below is a collection of information and resources for parents, educators, and students following the recent presidential election.
New York Immigration Coalition - Revision

A Budget for the City of Immigrants
New York City is globally renowned for embracing and integrating millions of immigrant residents, who are at the heart of the city’s tremendous cultural, ...
New York Immigration Coalition - Revision

Immigration advocates release budgetary wish list
A coalition of immigrant advocacy organizations will release a report on Tuesday calling on Mayor Bill de Blasio to increase funding in areas like legal ...
New York Immigration Coalition - Revision

Challenges Facing Nonprofits in City Contracting - NYIC Testimony at NYC City Council
My name is Sara Rakita, Managing Director of the New York Immigration Coalition. Thank you to Council Member Rosenthal and the Committee on Contracts ...
New York Immigration Coalition - Revision

City Legislative and Policy Priorities 2016
This investment in adult literacy education from community-based organizations, CUNY, and the public libraries addresses the crisis of 1.7 million New ...
New York Immigration Coalition - Revision

NYIC 2016 State Policy & Budget Priorities
For more information about each 2016 State Priority, please review the below one-pagers
New York Immigration Coalition - Revision

Herramientas para Ayudar con las Redadas
Desde la publicación del artículo del Washington Post detallando el plan del DHS de llevar a cabo redadas masivas a comienzos de enero de 2016, los ...
New York Immigration Coalition - Revision

Raids Response Toolkit
Since the publication of the Washington Post article detailing allegations of a plan by DHS to conduct massive raids starting in early January of 2016, ...
New York Immigration Coalition - Revision

New York City Council Hearing DOE’s Restructured School Support System Testimony by Max Ahmed, New York Immigration Coalition October 1st, 2015
Good afternoon, and thank you to the members of the Council for convening this hearing and to Chairman Dromm for his continued leadership for immigrant ...
New York Immigration Coalition - Revision

Testimony: NYC Council Hearing DOE’s Restructured School Support System
Good afternoon, and thank you to the members of the Council for convening this hearing and to Chairman Dromm for his continued leadership for immigrant ...
New York Immigration Coalition - Revision

The Great Parent Engagement Gap: Report on School Translation and Interpretation for NYC Parents
Nearly half of public school students speak a language other than English at home, and more than 180 languages are represented.
New York Immigration Coalition - Revision

Engaging Immigrant New York City
With nearly 40% of New York City’s residents being foreign-born and over 60% speaking a language other than English at home, we have the opportunity ...
New York Immigration Coalition - Revision

The New York Immigration Coalition Testimony on NYC FY 2016 Budget
Good Afternoon, my name is Claudia Calhoon, and I am the Health Advocacy Senior Specialist at the New York Immigration Coalition.
New York Immigration Coalition - Revision

NYIC City Council Testimony on English Language Learners 2-25-15
Good afternoon, and thank you to the members of the Council for convening this hearing and to Chairman Dromm for his continued leadership for immigrant ...
New York Immigration Coalition - Revision

Queens District Attorney Sign-On Letter
We, the undersigned, write to urge the creation of a bureau or division within the Queens County District Attorney’s office dedicated to protecting ...
New York Immigration Coalition - Revision

2015 New York State Immigrant Equality Agenda
1. Win Equal Access to Education: Provide undocumented immigrant students access to state tuition assistance (TAP).
New York Immigration Coalition - Revision

NYIC City Council Testimony on Unaccompanied Minors
Thank you for the opportunity to testify before you today. The New York Immigration Coalition is an umbrella advocacy organization that represents nearly ...
New York Immigration Coalition - Revision

Citizenship: A Wise Investment for Cities
The Cities for Citizenship Initiative (C4C) is a collaboration co-chaired by Mayor Rahm Emanuel of Chicago, Mayor Eric Garcetti of Los Angeles, and Mayor ...
New York Immigration Coalition - Revision

NYIC Testimony at NYS State Assembly on Unaccompanied Minors
Thank you for the opportunity to testify before you today. The New York Immigration Coalition is an umbrella advocacy organization that represents nearly ...
New York Immigration Coalition - Revision

Immigrants Vote! Informational Guide
All links to the guides below are in English and the secondary language indicated on the guide.
New York Immigration Coalition - Revision

NYIC Testimony, Hearing on the New York City FY2015 Executive Budget Friday, June 6, 2014, Jackie Vimo, Director of Health Advocacy
My name is Jackie Vimo, and I am Director of Advocacy at the New York Immigration Coalition (NYIC), an umbrella organization for over 150 groups across ...
New York Immigration Coalition - Revision

NYIC City Council Testimony on Municipal Identity Cards
Good Morning. My name is Steve Choi and I am the executive director of the New York
Immigration Coalition, an umbrella policy and advocacy organization ...
New York Immigration Coalition - Revision

Education Collaborative Releases 10 Actions for ELLs
At least one in four students in our schools was not proficient in English upon entering the New York City school system, and currently there are nearly ...