Posts tagged “Notice to Appear”

In many cases, the promise of the shady visa consultant or agent is simple: pay a fee, follow the instructions, and the visa or the status will be approved. The problem is that the instructions often involve exaggerating qualifications, submitting fabricated evidence, or making outright false statements to U.S. immigration authorities. While the agent may collect a substantial fee and move on to the next client, it is the applicant who ultimately bears the consequences.

Over the years, immigration fraud has taken many forms. One example involved the AzTech/Wireclass/Findream OPT scheme, in which individuals were provided with fictitious employment or training arrangements designed to maintain immigration status and create the appearance of lawful employment or training. When these schemes were uncovered, USCIS, ICE, and the Department of State frequently focused not only on the organizers but also on the participants. The problem is that many of those individuals were misled and unwitting participants, particularly in the early years of 2015-2018 when such schemes were not well-known or understood to involve fraud. Yet many of those individuals now find themselves facing visa refusals, findings of fraud or misrepresentation under INA §212(a)(6)(C)(i), removal proceedings, or long-term immigration consequences.