Criminal and Fraud Immigration Lawyer in New York City and Queens

New York immigration attorney Marilyn Orbach Rosenberg has over ten years of experience in a wide range immigration matters, including helping individuals whose immigration status is impacted by criminal legal matters and helping those who have been the victims of immigration fraud.

Criminal Immigration Matters

A felony conviction can be used to deny you entry into the country, since your visa application requires you to demonstrate that you are of “good moral character.” Several criminal violations can be found among the many grounds for inadmissibility, including crimes involving moral turpitude, drug crimes, and prostitution, among others. If a criminal conviction exists in your background, talk to an experienced immigration lawyer to learn how a criminal record might affect your admissibility and for advice on how best to proceed.

Once you are in the country with lawful immigration status, a later arrest or conviction can lead to deportation, including mandatory ICE detention while your removal proceedings are pending. Deportable offenses include crimes involving moral turpitude as well as aggravated felonies as defined by federal law, which is an extremely long list of offenses that includes crimes of violence, drug crimes, weapons offenses, money laundering, burglary or theft, fraud, sex offenses and more. A criminal conviction could also be grounds for denial of citizenship.

Any contact with law enforcement can have negative consequences on your immigration status and should be taken seriously. However, it is important to understand that not every arrest or criminal conviction will have an adverse impact. Having an experienced immigration attorney on your side can improve your chances and help make sure you are not unfairly treated and that your case is presented in the best possible light.

Immigration Fraud

Notaries are not Notarios.

In Mexico and many latin american countries, a notario or notario publico is a highly-trained lawyer with specialized skills or credentials. In America, however, a notary public is not a lawyer at all and is not licensed to practice law. A notary can only perform services such as administering oaths for affidavits or witnessing the signing of documents and affixing a seal that demonstrates the document was properly signed. A notary cannot draft legal documents or perform other legal functions, such as providing legal advice or representing you in an immigration matter.

Unfortunately, many people take advantage of these similar-sounding terms to advertise notaries or “immigration consultants” to the immigrant community as “notarios” who can help with immigration legal matters. Often these people are only engaged in scams to take money and not perform any work in return. They may in fact be guilty of the unauthorized practice of law or immigration consulting fraud. Be very careful before hiring a notary, notario or immigration consultant for immigration help, because they may wind up damaging your case beyond repair. It is better to begin with a qualified, licensed attorney who is experienced in immigration law.

Also be wary of anything that sounds too good to be true. An individual or company selling visas, passports, or Social Security cards is very likely not legitimate. Unscrupulous people will try to take advantage of immigrants with scams like these, by not paying the correct wages to employees who are immigrants, or by trying to get money for fraudulent investment schemes.

Get Experienced Legal Representation for Your New York Immigration Matter

If you believe that you have been victimized by immigration fraud, contact Orbach Rosenberg Law and we will try to help you. Better yet, contact us first when you need help with an immigration legal matter, and get assistance from a qualified and experienced New York immigration lawyer.