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HUNDREDS FIND THERE’S NO “SHORTCUT” TO A GREEN
CARD
by Michael J. Gurfinkel, Esq.
In people’s desperation
to obtain a green card fast, many put their trust in so-called
immigration consultants who guarantee
them a fast green card. Unknown to them, these consultants only
want the fast green buck.
Recently, newspapers have reported that hundreds
of aliens in California were caught up in a green card scam. Some
have already been deported. More are under deportation proceedings,
and many more are trembling in fear of being caught by the long
hands of the law and also deported. And all they did was they
trusted two unscrupulous immigration consultants with their money
and their future in this country.
For 12 years, the two immigration consultants –
identified by the Los Angeles Times in a recent article as John
Choe and Daniel Lee – charged their clients up to $30,000
each for green cards that they obtained by bribing a veteran US
immigration supervisor, Leland Sustaire, with 50% of the amount
charged the clients.
The clients filled out the required forms and submitted
the needed documents, and were told that for $30,000, the two
immigration consultants could expedite processing of their green
cards. The consultants told the clients most of the money would
go to pay for attorney’s fees to an immigration law firm
regarding their cases.
The clients did get their green cards fast, and
the reputation of the two immigration consultants, known as KOAM
Immigration Services grew, drawing more people to their consulting
firm, consisting of established professionals – scientists,
doctors, ministers, Silicon Valley software engineers and business
owners – who, according to INS officials, were otherwise
legally qualified to obtain green cards, and didn’t have
to offer bribes to get one.
The victims said that they didn’t know part
of the amount they gave to Choe and Lee were to be given as bribes,
and they had no idea the green cards were obtained illegally.
The INS Supervisor forged the signature of another INS examiner,
and authorized the green cards.
Everything was going well for the two consultants
and the INS official until one day, federal investigators visited
the INS official in his two-acre horse ranch and asked where his
sudden wealth, of over $500,000, came from. He said he got it
from his newly patented invention. Although no further investigation
was conducted, the INS man was worried that investigators would
catch up with him, or that Choe and Lee could be part of an organized
crime and the crimelords would go after him.
In 1998, the INS officer eventually turned himself
in, and confessed to accepting bribes. He cooperated with authorities
that led to the arrest and eventual prosecution of Choe and Lee.
The immigration consultants have done their time,
but their victims continue to suffer from the two predators’
misdeeds. The victims now have to pay thousands of dollars to
attorneys to defend them in immigration proceedings, and those
who have not been apprehended spend sleepless nights wondering
when they would be caught. Many of their green cards will “expire”
soon, and the holders know they can no longer renew them.
There is a lesson to be learned from all this:
People must accept the fact that there are no existing “shortcuts”
or quick fixes to legalizing their status in the U.S. “Fast”
green cards or “sure thing” processing are always
the first clues to disastrous and costly scams. Never trust such
an important matter as your immigration needs and your future
in America to con artists who guarantee fast results. It is safer
to go to a reputable attorney and go through the legal process
in obtaining immigration benefits. In this case, the victims forgot
to follow the traditional norm for safety – “When
it’s too good to be true, it probably isn’t true”.
The victims were promised and got extraordinarily
fast green cards, and nobody asked how and why. In the end, all
they got was wasted time, wasted money, and probably wasted lives.
Worse, they now have to spend more
to get themselves out of the mess the two unscrupulous consultants
put them in.
If you want a visa or a green card, the only
way is to get it the legitimate
way. Consult with a reputable immigration attorney. Not only will
the attorney analyze your situation and help you obtain the immigration
benefit in the most legal way, they keep themselves updated with
all changes in laws. Remember, the only way to legalize your status
is to do it legally.
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