There are many cases of victims who have lost thousands of dollars because they have gone to notaries or people who illegally offer legal services.
And it is feared that the number of scams will increase over the course of this year, due to the expansion of DACA and the creation of DAPA - a deferred action program for parents of citizens and permanent residents, announced by President Obama in November of last year.
Los Angeles District Attorney Mike Feuer announced in December a crackdown on immigration fraud and that notaries, immigration consultants and other unscrupulous individuals who practice law without authorization will be investigated and severely prosecuted.
A special report identified the Latin American Coalition International as an organization that has already defrauded several immigrants and faces several lawsuits.
Oswaldo R. Cabrera is the executive director of the Latin American Coalition International. The organization and Mr. Cabrera are not licensed or certified by the California or U.S. government to provide immigration legal advice.
In August 2014, I helped a lady recover her money and her immigration file, which Mr. Cabrera did not want to return to her.
If you are in Los Angeles, please do not go to the International Latin American Coalition, because not only are you in danger of being scammed, but worse, of hurting your immigration case.
Also, I remind you not to use the services of Hermandad Mexicana Nacional, Hermandad Mexicana Transnacional in Panorama City, California, and Vamos Unidos USA because these organizations are also not authorized to provide immigration legal advice. You can read more about these organizations by clicking here.
If you have limited resources, go to an organization that is federally accredited.
To check if they have the right to operate legally they can go to the U.S. Department of Justice website which has a list of accredited organizations and representatives by state.
This list is available by clicking click here.
Below, you can see that the California state government has suspended the International Latin American Coalition. Also, can be checked on the Internal Revenue Service website at (IRS) that the organization is not eligible to receive tax-exempt donations from the public.
