§ 460-D — Prohibited acts

§ 460-d. Prohibited acts. No provider shall:\n 1. Give legal advice, or otherwise engage in the practice of law.\n 2. Assume, use or advertise the title of lawyer or attorney at law, or\nequivalent terms in the English language or any other language, or\nrepresent or advertise other titles or credentials, including but not\nlimited to "notary public", "accredited representative of the board of\nimmigration appeals," "notario public", "notario", "immigration\nspecialist" or "immigration consultant," that could cause a customer to\nbelieve that the person possesses special professional skills or is\nauthorized to provide advice on an immigration matter; provided that a\nnotary public licensed by the secretary of state may use the term\n"notary public."\n 3. State or imply that the provider can or will obtain special favors\nfrom or has special influence with the United States citizenship and\nimmigration services, the United States department of Homeland Security,\nthe executive office for Immigration review or any other governmental\nentity.\n 4. Threaten to report the customer to immigration or other authorities\nor threaten to undermine in any way the customer's immigration status or\nattempt to secure lawful status.\n 5. Demand or retain any fees or compensation for services not\nperformed, services to be performed in the future, or costs that are not\nactually incurred.\n 6. Advise, direct or permit a customer to answer questions on a\ngovernment document, or in a discussion with a government official, in a\nspecific way where the provider knows or has reasonable cause to believe\nthat the answers are false or misleading.\n 7. Disclose any information to, or file any forms or documents with,\nimmigration or other authorities on behalf of a customer without the\nknowledge or consent of the customer except where required by law. A\nprovider shall promptly notify the customer in writing when such\nprovider has disclosed any information to or filed any form or document\nwith immigration or other authorities when such disclosure or filing was\nrequired by law and done without the knowledge and consent of the\ncustomer.\n 8. Fail to provide customers with copies of documents filed with a\ngovernmental entity or refuse to return original documents supplied by,\nprepared on behalf of, or paid for by the customer, upon the request of\nthe customer, or upon termination of the contract. Original documents\nmust be returned promptly upon request and upon cancellation of the\ncontract, even if there is a fee dispute between the immigration\nassistance service provider and the customer.\n 9. Make any misrepresentation or false statement, directly or\nindirectly.\n 10. Make any guarantee or promise to a customer, unless there is a\nbasis in fact for such representation, and the guarantee or promise is\nin writing.\n 11. Represent that a fee may be charged, or charge a fee for the\ndistribution, provision or submission of an official document or form\nissued or promulgated by a state or federal governmental entity, or for\na referral of the customer to another person or entity that is qualified\nto provide services or assistance which the immigrant assistance service\nprovider will not provide.\n 12. For a fee or other compensation refer a customer to an attorney or\nany other individual or entity that can provide services that the\nimmigrant assistance service provider cannot provide.\n 13. Give advice on the determination of a person's immigration status,\nincluding advising him or her as to answers on a government form\nregarding such determination.\n 14. Promise to expedite immigration or other immigration related\ngovernmental benefit processes, through claims to have special\nrelationships with or special access to government employees who will\nexpedite applications or issue favorable decisions for any reason other\nthan the merits of the application.\n 15. Knowingly provide misleading or false information to a noncitizen\nabout his or her individual or family's eligibility for immigration\nbenefits or status, or to noncitizens or citizens about their individual\nor family's eligibility for other government benefits, with the intent\nto induce an individual to employ the services of the service provider\nto obtain such immigration benefits or status, or such other government\nbenefits.\n