Immigration raids, deportations, and other immigration issues have come under the spotlight recently under the new administration in California, causing uncertainty and fear amongst the immigrants, who often contact the immigration consultants for help. Read here in detail on Immigration Industry in California on the Verge of a Ban to Prevent the Immigration Frauds.
However, is it really important to ban the immigration consultants that are handling the immigration applicants in the state of California, so that immigration frauds can be reduced?
Immigration Industry in California on the Verge of a Ban to Prevent the Immigration Frauds
California government is making new rules to regulate the immigration frauds by a new bill in the year 2017 known as AB 638, Immigration Fraud Prevention Act. Through this law, the California Immigration Administrative Unit will ensure that the immigration consulting industry is made illegal and the practice in this industry is abolished.
Although most of these immigration consultants are not full lawyers, they help the immigrants with various legalities such as renewal of the legal status or getting several benefits, etc. However, they can only assist their clients in filling up the application forms and cannot offer them any legal advice.
Also, these agents need to be bonded and vetted by the state to provide their services to the immigrants. Many of these immigration consultants claim that they can provide numerous essential services to the immigrants that an immigration lawyer offers and charge a lesser amount of money as compared to an immigration attorney.
Many people are supporting this bill that is aiming to ban the immigration agents or consultants in CA. These supporters agree that this will stop some consultants to take full advantage of the hopeful immigrants who are ready to do everything to stay in the country.
On the other side, some people believe that shutting the entire immigration consulting industry is not the right way to prevent the frauds. This will lead to the chaos amongst people in the immigration industry as the majority of immigration agents who are sincere towards their work, and use the ethical approach will also lose their jobs.
Now the real question is whether this ban on immigration consultants operating in California will actually stop the immigration frauds or not. Let us wait and watch!