Immigration Law

Recent Posts

IRS: Phone Scam Targets Immigrants, Threatens Deportation
Posted on 1 Nov 2013 by Daniel M. Kowalski

"The Internal Revenue Service today warned consumers about a sophisticated phone scam targeting taxpayers, including recent immigrants, throughout the country. Victims are told they owe money to the IRS and it must be paid promptly through a pre... Read More

IRS Sounds Warning on Immigration Scammers
Posted on 16 Apr 2014 by Daniel M. Kowalski

"The Internal Revenue Service today sounded another warning for taxpayers to guard against sophisticated and aggressive phone scams targeting consumers, particularly recent immigrants. Potential victims are threatened with deportation, arrest, having... Read More

Tags: IRS , scam , warning

POEA Warns Against Visa Interview Scam
Posted on 8 Aug 2012 by Daniel M. Kowalski

"The Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) has issued a warning about a fraudulent visa interview coaching program that charges Php 3,888.00 for “visa interview coaching” and Php 5,000.00 for medical tests. The sender,... Read More

Tags: interview , poea , scam , visa

Lawyer and Wife Pay $1M Forfeiture in H-1B Scam
Posted on 1 Jul 2016 by Daniel M. Kowalski

DOJ, June 30, 2016 - "The Office of the United States Attorney for the District of Vermont announced today that Loreto Kudera, age 45, and Hazel Kudera, age 43, a married couple from New York, New York, who have pleaded guilty to an immigration fraud... Read More

Tags: scam , Vermont , H-1B , kudera

New York Announces $2.2 Million Restitution Fund For Victims Of Immigration Scam
Posted on 22 Jul 2014 by Daniel M. Kowalski

"Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman today announced that thousands of victims who were defrauded by two immigration services organizations, the International Immigrants Foundation, Inc. (IIF) and the International Professional Association, Inc... Read More

$15 Million Award in Oakland Immigration Scam
Posted on 22 Nov 2013 by Daniel M. Kowalski

"The city of Oakland won a record $15.1 million civil judgment against a bogus immigration consulting company that it accused of preying on vulnerable families as they sought legal residency in the United States, officials said Thursday. American... Read More

Oregon Immigration Scammers Exposed
Posted on 7 Jan 2014 by Daniel M. Kowalski

"Immigration lawyers say Snyder and Vega plied Interstate 5 from Portland to Los Angeles for four years, assuring undocumented immigrants they would help them earn work visas and citizenship quick—an appealing scenario for a process that usually... Read More

Rhode Island Woman Sentenced for Massive Immigration Scam
Posted on 30 Jun 2016 by Daniel M. Kowalski

DOJ, June 28, 2016 - "A Woonsocket, R.I. woman was sentenced yesterday in U.S. District Court in Worcester in connection with a scheme that defrauded dozens of Hispanic immigrants of over $700,000. “Sadly, undocumented immigrants frequently... Read More

Students Were Scammed, Says State Department
Posted on 14 Nov 2011 by Daniel M. Kowalski

"Former students of Pleasanton, Calif.-based Tri Valley University were duped in an elaborate visa scam, acknowledged the U.S. State Department at its Oct. 26 daily briefing in Washington, D.C. 'We had a pretty horrible visa scam, where a... Read More

Phony Lawyers Sell Hope, Steal Money From Immigrants
Posted on 10 Jul 2014 by Daniel M. Kowalski

"One of the biggest traps undocumented immigrants fall into is the advice of "faux" attorneys. They pretend to know the ins-and-outs of immigration law and often scam victims of thousands of dollars. For Veronica Avila Zavala, it seemed... Read More

Tags: diaz , scam , zavala , kut

FTC Wins Court Judgment Against Immigration Services Scam
Posted on 14 Apr 2014 by Daniel M. Kowalski

"A federal court has ordered the operators of a Baltimore-based immigration services scam to pay as much as $616,000 in refunds to Spanish-speaking immigrants, who were deceived into paying the defendants for immigration services that they were not... Read More

Scam Alert: ICE Impostors Target Immigrants
Posted on 9 Mar 2015 by Daniel M. Kowalski

"U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has received information indicating a possible scam targeting non-citizens, by individuals claiming to work for ICE's Detention Reporting and Information Line (DRIL). Information provided to ICE... Read More

Tags: dril , scam , money , ICE

Virginia woman sentenced to 6 years in prison for student visa scam
Posted on 13 Dec 2011 by Daniel M. Kowalski

"A Virginia woman was sentenced to 6 years in prison Friday after pleading guilty in June to two counts of mail and wire fraud following an investigation by special agents with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security... Read More

Fraud Alert: DHS OIG Hotline Telephone Number Has Been Used in Scam To Obtain Personally Identifiable Information
Posted on 19 Apr 2017 by Daniel M. Kowalski

DHS OIG, Apr. 19, 2017 - "The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Office of Inspector General (OIG) is issuing this fraud alert to warn citizens of reports that the DHS OIG Hotline telephone number has been used recently as part of a telephone... Read More

Tags: telephone , scam , hotline , Fraud , oig , DHS

Hundreds of Immigrants Fell for Adoption-for-Citizenship Scam
Posted on 15 May 2017 by Daniel M. Kowalski

Stephen Magagnini, Sacramento Bee, May 14, 2017 - "Many of Helaman Hansen’s hundreds of victims first heard about his citizenship-through-adoption scheme in their neighborhood churches. The 64-year-old Elk Grove businessman or his surrogates... Read More