§ 460-B — Immigrant assistance service contracts

§ 460-b. Immigrant assistance service contracts. 1. No immigrant\nassistance service shall be provided until the customer has executed a\nwritten contract with the immigrant assistant service provider. The\ncontract shall be in a language understood by the customer, either alone\nor with the assistance of an available interpreter, and, if that\nlanguage is not English, an English language version of the contract\nmust also be provided. A copy of the contract shall be provided to the\ncustomer upon the customer's execution of the contract. The interpreter\nshall provide an attestation affirming the accuracy of his or her\ntranslation, to be attached to the contract.\n 2. (a) The customer has the right to cancel the contract within three\nbusiness days after his or her execution of the contract, without fee or\npenalty. The right to cancel the contract within three days without\npayment of any fee may be waived when services must be provided\nimmediately to avoid a forfeiture of eligibility or other loss of rights\nor privileges, and the customer furnishes the provider with a separate\ndated and signed statement, by the customer or his or her\nrepresentative, describing the need for services to be provided within\nthree days and expressly acknowledging and waiving the right to cancel\nthe contract within three days.\n (b) The contract may be cancelled at any time after execution. If the\ncontract is cancelled more than three days after it was signed, or\nwithin three days after it was signed if the right to cancel without fee\nhas been waived, the provider may retain fees for services rendered, and\nany additional amounts actually expended on behalf of the customer. All\nother amounts must be returned to the customer within fifteen days after\ncancellation.\n 3. The written contract shall be in plain language, in at least twelve\npoint type and shall include the following:\n (a) The name, address and telephone number of the provider.\n (b) Itemization of all services to be provided to the customer, as\nwell as the fees and costs to be charged to the customer for each\nservice.\n (c) A statement that original documents required to be submitted in\nconnection with an application made to the United States citizenship and\nimmigration services or for other certifications, benefits or services\nprovided by government may not be retained by the immigrant assistance\nservice provider for any reason, including failure of the customer to\npay fees or costs or other fee dispute.\n (d) A statement that the provider shall give the customer a copy of\neach document prepared with the provider's assistance.\n (e) A statement that the customer is not required to obtain supporting\ndocuments through the immigrant assistance service provider, and may\nobtain such documents himself or herself, along with the statement: "The\nU.S. government provides information on required forms and documentation\nfor free online and by phone".\n (f) The statement: "You may cancel this contract at any time. You have\nthree (3) business days to cancel this contract without fee or penalty\nand get back any fees that you have already paid. Notice of cancellation\nmay be made by completing the cancellation form included in this\ncontract, or otherwise notifying the provider in writing and delivering\nsuch form or notification to the provider in person or by United States\nmail to (specify address). If you cancel this contract you will get back\nany documents you submitted to the provider".\n (g) Each contract shall contain a separate final page titled\n"Cancellation Form." The cancellation form shall contain the following\nstatement: "I hereby cancel the contract of (date of contract) between\n(name of provider, address of provider, and phone number of provider)\nand (name of customer)." Below the statement shall be a customer\nsignature and date line. Below the signature and date line, the form\nshall contain the statement required by paragraph (h) of this\nsubdivision, printed in twelve point or larger text.\n (h) A statement that the immigrant assistance service provider has\nfinancial surety in effect for the benefit of any customer in the event\nthat the customer is owed a refund, or is damaged by the actions of the\nprovider, together with the name, address and telephone number of the\nsurety.\n (i) The statement: "The individual providing assistance to you under\nthis contract is not an attorney licensed to practice law or accredited\nby the board of immigration appeals to provide representation to you\nbefore the United States citizenship and immigration services, the\ndepartment of homeland security, the executive office for immigration\nreview, the department of labor, the department of state or any\nimmigration authorities and may not give legal advice or accept fees for\nlegal advice. For a free legal referral call the office for new\nAmericans hotline at (phone number of the office for new Americans), the\nNew York state office of the attorney general at (phone number of the\noffice of the attorney general), or your local district attorney or\nprosecutor." The service provider shall be responsible for providing the\naccurate and up-to-date phone numbers required in such statement.\n (j) The statement: "The individual providing assistance to you under\nthis contract is prohibited from disclosing any information about you\nto, or filing any forms or documents on your behalf with, immigration or\nother authorities without your knowledge and consent except as required\nby law." A provider shall promptly notify the customer in writing when\nsuch provider has disclosed any information to or filed any form or\ndocument with immigration or other authorities when such disclosure or\nfiling was required by law and done without the knowledge and consent of\nthe customer.\n (k) The statement: "A copy of all forms completed and documents\naccompanying the forms shall be kept by the service provider for three\nyears. A copy of the customer's file shall be provided to the customer\non demand and without fee."\n (l) On the same page as the signature line, the statement: "The\nindividual providing assistance to you under the terms of this contract\nmust explain the contents of this contract to you and answer any\nquestions about it that you may have."\n