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PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Marc Valinoti, Assistant Director of Immigrant and DV Services at Northern Manhattan Improvement Corporation
2:35:51
ยท
150 sec
Marc Valinoti from the Northern Manhattan Improvement Corporation testified about common practices of immigration services fraud, highlighting the prevalence of simplistic schemes that promise employment authorization and paths to green cards. He emphasized the need for increased legal funding and education to combat these fraudulent practices.
- Described fraudulent schemes involving false VAWA and asylum applications
- Explained how temporary work cards issued during application processing contribute to the propagation of fraud
- Stressed the importance of one-on-one conversations with clients to establish trust and prevent them from falling victim to fraudulent services
Marc Valinoti
2:35:51
Good afternoon.
2:35:52
My name is Mark Falonadi.
2:35:54
I'm the assistant director of immigrant and DV services at Nimiq.
2:36:00
So I don't want to be redundant with with my other peers and colleagues who have testified.
2:36:06
I do want to highlight a very common practice we see as an immigration service provider.
2:36:12
Instances of fraud range from the extravagant, which a gentleman just presented.
2:36:17
But all too often, they're very similar and simplistic schemes.
2:36:21
I know the the consumer protection department, you know, I I have faith that they're doing good work, but there should be many, many more complaints being filed in a city of this size.
2:36:32
To illustrate, a client is promised employment authorization and path to getting a green card.
2:36:38
For anyone who's been surviving or supporting a family without status for years or decades even, this is an invaluable proposition no matter the cost.
2:36:47
As we talked about, the attorney or notario prepares an application that they know will never be approved.
2:36:52
They rush the client through the process, don't ask any relevant questions, and have them sign without explaining.
2:36:58
As mentioned in this hearing, we frequently see or seeing now fraudulent Violence Against Women Act applications with bogus claims of domestic violence that the victim has not even been asked about.
2:37:10
There's also, of course, phony asylum claims for people who have been here for years or decades when a claim normally needs to be filed within one year.
2:37:20
The scam relies on the fact that victims become eligible for a temporary work card while the app is pending.
2:37:26
Therefore someone with a totally and facially baseless app will receive an employment card by default.
2:37:33
This is very powerful in inducing and propagating fraud because it's in their hands.
2:37:38
They can see progress on their case but they don't understand that the government issues these temporarily and that has nothing to do with the validity of the case.
2:37:48
It is very it's a very insidious problem to educate people on.
2:37:52
We are we are in favor of both measures but also increased legal funding because the best way to explain to someone that they should not seek out a bad act or that they shouldn't file anything is a one on one conversation where you establish trust with the client and tell them that unfortunately there's nothing for them.
2:38:10
But we find ourselves warning people more and more like, please do not waste money.
2:38:15
It will get you in trouble and it will just leave you thousands of dollars poorer.
2:38:19
Thank you very much for the opportunity.