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Are you thinking of paying for assistance with an immigration matter?

What is an Immigration Assistant?

An Immigration Assistant is a person who offers services like:

• Writing responses on a government agency form

• Translating answers into English before writing them on the form

• Obtaining documents that already exist to supplement answers, like a birth or marriage certificate

• Referring someone to a lawyer for legal advice
  

An Immigration Assistant is not an attorney and may not give legal advice1.

Immigration Assistant Customers' Rights

You have the following rights:

1. to have the Assistant return to you all documents that you have provided and all original documents such as birth certificates, and every document that the Assistant has mailed to a government agency, when you ask for them;

2. to receive a written contract from the Assistant before any services are provided. You have the right to review, sign and receive a copy of the contract in both English and in your native language if English is not your native language. The contract must at the very least state:

   • that you have the right to revoke the contract within 72 hours after signing it;

   • specifically what services the Assistant will provide;

   • all costs and fees that you might have to pay;

   • that the Assistant is not an attorney and cannot give legal advice or provide legal services;

   • that the Assistant is prohibited from keeping any document that has been sent to INS in support of your application for any reason, including for unpaid charges or fees.
     

Requirements For Immigration Assistants

The law requires Immigration Assistants to register with the Secretary of State of Washington and to advise the Secretary of State of any change in home or business address within 30 days of moving.

• To find out if a person offering Immigration Assistant services has registered, call the Secretary of State at: (360) 753-7120.

• Registration with the Secretary of State is not a license and does not indicate anything about an Assistant's training or qualifications.
  

Prohibited Activities

Immigration Assistants are prohibited from:

• keeping payments for services not rendered;
  guaranteeing results;

• refusing to return documents that you prepared, provided, or paid for, even if you are disputing a charge;

• using any title, such as "notary" that could cause a customer to think that the Assistant has professional qualifications, in any advertisement about Immigration Assistant services;

  • although an Immigration Assistant may also be a notary, the law prohibits an Assistant from indicating that he or she is a notary in advertisements in connection with work as an Assistant in order to give the impression that being a notary qualifies one to be an Immigration Assistant;

  • being a notary has nothing to do with being an Immigration Assistant, nor does it qualify anyone to give legal advice. Although in Mexico a Notary is a lawyer, IN THE UNITED STATES, BEING A NOTARY DOES NOT MEAN THAT A PERSON IS ALSO AN ATTORNEY.
    
    

• indicating that he or she has a special relationship with Immigration and Naturalization Services (INS) or that he or she can obtain special favors;

• implying in any manner that being registered with the Secretary of State as an Immigration Assistant signifies that the Assistant has any qualifications to be an Immigration Assistant.

• giving legal advice to any person. The following are examples of legal advice an Assistant MAY NOT give:

  • An Assistant may not help you select which form to use;

  • An Assistant may not tell you what kind of application or petition you should make;

  • An Assistant may not advise you regarding your chances of winning a petition

  • An Assistant may not say whether an application or petition will harm you.

  Legal Recourse For Problems With Immigration Assistants

  An Immigration Assistant that does not comply with the requirements of the law may be ordered by a court to pay three times the amount of damages to the complainant up to $10,000.00, or the amount of actual damages that the complainant suffered if the damages are more than $10,000.00.

  For more information, you may call the CLEAR service for free legal advice: CLEAR at 1-888-201-1014, between 9:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m., Monday through Friday. Because the CLEAR service is heavily used, please be prepared to wait on the line.

  If you have had problems with an Immigration Assistant, you may also call any one of the following offices:

  COLUMBIA LEGAL SERVICES

  Wenatchee 300 Okanogan Avenue, Suite 3-B Wenatchee, WA 98801 (509) 662-9681 1-800-572-9615

  Yakima 600 Larson Bldg. 6 South 2nd Street Yakima, WA 98901 (509) 575-5593 1-800-572-8716

  Kennewick 418F N. Kellogg Kennewick, WA 99336 (509) 374-9855 1-800-201-9735

  NORTHWEST JUSTICE PROJECT

  Yakima Office 510 Larson Building 6 S. Second St. Yakima, WA 98901 (509) 574-4234 1-800-201-1018

  NORTHWEST IMMIGRANTS' RIGHTS PROJECT

  Seattle 909 8th Avenue, Room 100 Seattle, WA 98104 (206) 587-4009 1-800-445-5771

  Granger 121 Sunnyside Avenue P.O. Box 800 Granger, WA 98932 (509) 854-2100 1-888-756-3641

                                              
  1This brochure provides information about the Revised Code of Washington 19.154 (R.C.W. 19.154). Someone who does not charge for services or who is a licensed attorney is not a Legal Assistant under this statute and this brochure does not contain any information about services offered by these persons.

  This publication provides general information concerning your rights and responsibilities. It is not intended as a substitute for specific legal advice.
  This information is current as of the date of its printing, May 2001.

  © 2004 Northwest Justice Project.
  1-888-201-1014, TTY 1-888-201-9737
  (Permission for copying and distribution granted to the Washington State Access to Justice Network and individuals for non-commercial use only.)