December 2, 2013
The man who was doing Paula's taxes said that he also could help her with her immigration status.
And even though he was a notary and didn't have legal expertise, Paula (who didn't want her last name to be published in this story) was desperate for a solution.
So she paid him for advice that turned out to be misguided, and today she regrets it.
It's a situation the state hopes people can avoid in the future after Gov. Tom Corbett on Oct. 9 signed Act 73, which prohibits notaries from drafting legal records, giving legal advice or practicing law. The law would suspend or revoke a person's notary license if they were found doing so.
Paula, who is originally from Colombia, had grown up in the United States and was looking for a way to stay here after her visa had expired.
Her mother, who already had a green card and therefore is a legal resident, was petitioning for Paula to get her own green card.
According to the immigration process, for Paula to get a green card she would have to go back to Colombia and complete an interview at the U.S. consulate there.
She wondered: Should I even bother to apply for a green card?
"He told me to continue the process and keep doing what they're asking for," Paula said of the notary.
What Paula didn't know was that if she had gone back to Colombia she had just a 50/50 chance of returning to the U.S. with a green card. And there was the distinct possibility that she might never return at all.
"I have a whole life here," she said. "Imagine if I continued everything with him, I would've been stuck in Colombia."
It was Church World Service, a nonprofit that provides services to refugees and immigrants, that figured out the problem for Paula after she went to that organization for help.
Janet Tisinger, immigration legal services program coordinator at CWS, has seen cases like Paula's, where immigrants who are looking for a solution to their immigration status pay for bad advice from notaries and from people who aren't lawyers.
"I have seen countless clients in my office who show me paperwork badly done, on incorrect forms, on expired forms and signed by a notary public," Tisinger explained. "The client has paid for this service, but the notary, a), has no idea what they're doing; b), is charging for the service; and, c), is committing the unauthorized practice of law either knowingly or not."
According to Tisinger, instead of telling someone like Paula that she should wait to apply for a green card and not risk going back to her native country, notaries and others instead promise solutions in return for money.
The act signed by Corbett also forbids anyone from advertising themselves as "notarios." In many Latin-American countries, notarios/notaries also are lawyers.
That is not the case in the U.S., where notaries can administer oaths and affirmations, certify copies and take depositions, affidavits and verifications, but are not supposed to provide legal advice.
"We heard reports of this happening with folks who had notary licenses who were representing themselves as notarios and misleading people that they could act with them as lawyers," said Ron Ruman, press secretary at the Pennsylvania Department of State, which issues notary licenses and oversees issues with notaries.
According to Ruman, the Pennsylvania Bar Association as well as individuals were complaining about notaries doing immigration work. He said there was a clear need for a law such as Act 73.
"These people were taking advantage of folks," Ruman said.
Claudia Diaz is a notary at Brimmer, which is a notary service with its main office on Harrisburg Pike.
To her, notaries who flaunt the rules and offer legal advice to immigrants hurt the image of notaries who do the right thing. Their actions create false impressions and false expectations among immigrants looking for immigration advice.
"In any community of professionals you'll occasionally run into some who isn't following the rules as one would hope," Marc L. Aronson, president/CEO of the Pennsylvania Association of Notaries, said. "Some people acting as notaries might not even be a notary. The new citizen is desperately looking for help and looking to stay in the country."
The Pittsburgh-based Association of Notaries has 39,000 members. It helps notaries get appointed and reappointed, and provides them with education and supplies.
"We believe that (Act 73) is good for the notaries public and for the citizens of Pennsylvania," said Aronson, who helped draft what became Act 73.
Wendy Chan is an immigration attorney based in Lancaster city who also has dealt with clients who came to her after going to a notary.
"There were several occasions where I would see paperwork that was submitted that was inaccurate or incomplete and, by the time it gets to me, it's usually too late because it's been submitted to the government and a negative response has already been received," Chan said.
As recently as a month ago, Chan had a client who initially went to a notary and tried to get a waiver to remain in the U.S.
But, according to Chan, the waiver wouldn't have helped with the person's situation and the client already had paid the notary $3,000 for the immigration advice. The government eventually denied the waiver anyway, just as Chan had expected it would.
And clients, who sometimes are undocumented or worried about their immigration status, don't have the means or confidence to tell the authorities that someone had cheated them out of money.
"The sad fact is that people can't afford good attorneys," Tisinger explained.
Act 73 is expected to take effect early next year, once the specific regulations are set in place, according to Ruman.
Until then, Paula — who now has a Social Security number and a work permit because of President Barack Obama's Deferred Action program — is warning others about notaries and notarios.
"I tell them to be careful," she said.
source
And even though he was a notary and didn't have legal expertise, Paula (who didn't want her last name to be published in this story) was desperate for a solution.
So she paid him for advice that turned out to be misguided, and today she regrets it.
It's a situation the state hopes people can avoid in the future after Gov. Tom Corbett on Oct. 9 signed Act 73, which prohibits notaries from drafting legal records, giving legal advice or practicing law. The law would suspend or revoke a person's notary license if they were found doing so.
Paula, who is originally from Colombia, had grown up in the United States and was looking for a way to stay here after her visa had expired.
Her mother, who already had a green card and therefore is a legal resident, was petitioning for Paula to get her own green card.
According to the immigration process, for Paula to get a green card she would have to go back to Colombia and complete an interview at the U.S. consulate there.
She wondered: Should I even bother to apply for a green card?
"He told me to continue the process and keep doing what they're asking for," Paula said of the notary.
What Paula didn't know was that if she had gone back to Colombia she had just a 50/50 chance of returning to the U.S. with a green card. And there was the distinct possibility that she might never return at all.
"I have a whole life here," she said. "Imagine if I continued everything with him, I would've been stuck in Colombia."
It was Church World Service, a nonprofit that provides services to refugees and immigrants, that figured out the problem for Paula after she went to that organization for help.
Janet Tisinger, immigration legal services program coordinator at CWS, has seen cases like Paula's, where immigrants who are looking for a solution to their immigration status pay for bad advice from notaries and from people who aren't lawyers.
"I have seen countless clients in my office who show me paperwork badly done, on incorrect forms, on expired forms and signed by a notary public," Tisinger explained. "The client has paid for this service, but the notary, a), has no idea what they're doing; b), is charging for the service; and, c), is committing the unauthorized practice of law either knowingly or not."
According to Tisinger, instead of telling someone like Paula that she should wait to apply for a green card and not risk going back to her native country, notaries and others instead promise solutions in return for money.
The act signed by Corbett also forbids anyone from advertising themselves as "notarios." In many Latin-American countries, notarios/notaries also are lawyers.
That is not the case in the U.S., where notaries can administer oaths and affirmations, certify copies and take depositions, affidavits and verifications, but are not supposed to provide legal advice.
"We heard reports of this happening with folks who had notary licenses who were representing themselves as notarios and misleading people that they could act with them as lawyers," said Ron Ruman, press secretary at the Pennsylvania Department of State, which issues notary licenses and oversees issues with notaries.
According to Ruman, the Pennsylvania Bar Association as well as individuals were complaining about notaries doing immigration work. He said there was a clear need for a law such as Act 73.
"These people were taking advantage of folks," Ruman said.
Claudia Diaz is a notary at Brimmer, which is a notary service with its main office on Harrisburg Pike.
To her, notaries who flaunt the rules and offer legal advice to immigrants hurt the image of notaries who do the right thing. Their actions create false impressions and false expectations among immigrants looking for immigration advice.
"In any community of professionals you'll occasionally run into some who isn't following the rules as one would hope," Marc L. Aronson, president/CEO of the Pennsylvania Association of Notaries, said. "Some people acting as notaries might not even be a notary. The new citizen is desperately looking for help and looking to stay in the country."
The Pittsburgh-based Association of Notaries has 39,000 members. It helps notaries get appointed and reappointed, and provides them with education and supplies.
"We believe that (Act 73) is good for the notaries public and for the citizens of Pennsylvania," said Aronson, who helped draft what became Act 73.
Wendy Chan is an immigration attorney based in Lancaster city who also has dealt with clients who came to her after going to a notary.
"There were several occasions where I would see paperwork that was submitted that was inaccurate or incomplete and, by the time it gets to me, it's usually too late because it's been submitted to the government and a negative response has already been received," Chan said.
As recently as a month ago, Chan had a client who initially went to a notary and tried to get a waiver to remain in the U.S.
But, according to Chan, the waiver wouldn't have helped with the person's situation and the client already had paid the notary $3,000 for the immigration advice. The government eventually denied the waiver anyway, just as Chan had expected it would.
And clients, who sometimes are undocumented or worried about their immigration status, don't have the means or confidence to tell the authorities that someone had cheated them out of money.
"The sad fact is that people can't afford good attorneys," Tisinger explained.
Act 73 is expected to take effect early next year, once the specific regulations are set in place, according to Ruman.
Until then, Paula — who now has a Social Security number and a work permit because of President Barack Obama's Deferred Action program — is warning others about notaries and notarios.
"I tell them to be careful," she said.
source
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