Mediaboss Marketing

SAN FRANCISCO Any time immigration reform is in the news, advocates warn, immigrant families are vulnerable to scam artists and unscrupulous individuals who promise to help them for a fee.

President Obamas executive action on immigration revises enforcement priorities to focus on recent arrivals and those who had committed serious crimes.

It would expand the existing Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) and create a new deferred action program for parents of U.S.-citizen or legal-permanent-resident children who have lived in the country for more than five years. I

t would also revise the legal immigration system, with a special focus on science, technology and entrepreneurs.

However, there is no new application available yet, and advocates are warning immigrants to stay tuned to trusted media sources and community groups to get accurate information.

Spike in scams

Earlier this year,NAM reportedthat the San Francisco District Attorneys office had seen a spike in immigration fraud cases in 2013, prompting it to launch a multilingual campaign to educate immigrant families about how to avoid scams.

NAM found that some people were seeking immigration advice from unqualified individuals, and that translation issues were contributing to the confusion.

For example, in most Latin American countries the term notario means lawyer. But in the United States, a notary just means someone who is licensed by the state to witness and sign documents.

Notaries cant represent a person in court, they cant assist them in a formal legal process; they can only fill out forms. But anyone can fill out a form, said Diana Otero, coordinator of the immigration program at Catholic Charities of San Mateo.

The rest is here:
In wake of Obama executive action, beware of immigration scams