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Are you familiar with the Seven Deadly Sins? Ever wonder what makes them so deadly?Death is an inevitable event that happens everywhere to everyone and everything. In the business world, two of the most common of the seven are,Greed and Envy. The remaining ones still very much exist in the business world but how they’re applied varies. Not greed or envy though, those two are always present and always played.
Now that the first seed is sown, let’s shift our minds to the situation at hand. Here at NNIS, we have had a target on our backs from other businesses and organizations for providing services they believe we are not adequate to do. NNIS has been far too occupied with work and our clients to worry about other businesses and what they’re doing with their work and clients. Based on the testimonies of clients who have come to our office from these other businesses and organizations, it does not sound like their focus is their clients. If an organization has limited resources, their solution should be to seek a positive way to retrieve those resources and do better by the organization, not come up with some master plan to denigrate other offices. When we started Northern Nevada Immigration Services, we did it to give our community another option to seek help with their immigration processes and forms at a much more affordable price and quicker workflow than those of our competitors. We have had many success stories and like any other business, a few not-so-successful. But we strive to do our best for our customers even if that means turning them away and recommending other entities that can help them in ways we cannot. You see, that’s when having good interpersonal skills comes in handy, because when you focus on the need of the clients, you’re not apprehensive about WHO can help them, you want them to be helped period. There are many types of interpersonal skills in the business world, such as empathy toward a colleague’s situation, presenting a willingness to get the job done, building relationships, and much more. This is seed number two.
In the State of Nevada, NO law states you must be a Licensed Lawyer or must be accredited by the Department of Justice (DOJ) to help people with their immigration forms. (Almost) Anyone can do it; the official website of the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has links to help people do it themselves. Though, as SPECIALIST, we usually do not recommend filling it out on your own unless you have a concise and clear understanding of the application and what it is asking for. We have combined experience of seventeen years, so to say we know these applications like the back of our hand is an understatement. Additionally, these same applications have a list of options the applicant can check at the end of the package that informs the USCIS office who it was that filled out the application. The options are listed as followed i.e. I-130:
“Preparer’s Statement
7. a. I am not an attorney or accredited representative but prepared this form on behalf of the spouse beneficiary and with the spouse beneficiary’s consent.
7. b. I am an attorney or accredited representative and my representation of the spouse beneficiary in this case extends does not extend beyond the preparation of this form.
NOTE: If you are an attorney or accredited representative whose representation extends beyond the preparation of this form, you may be obliged to submit a completed Form G-28, Notice of Entry of Appearance as Attorney or Accredited Representative, with this form.”
If only Lawyers and Accredited Representatives (a.rs) are allowed to fill out Immigration forms, why ever would there be an option for those who aren’t lawyers or A.Rs?
According to the website of Nevada’s Secretary of State, “A document preparation service is a person who, for compensation and under the direction of a client, provides assistance in certain legal matters and is required to be registered with the Nevada Secretary of State. The definition includes, without limitation:
• Preparing or completing any pleading, application, or other documents for the client.
• Submitting a completed document on behalf of the client to a court or administrative agency.
• A paralegal who performs one or more of the actions described unless the paralegal works under the direction and supervision of an attorney authorized to practice law in this State;
• Any person who holds himself or herself out as a person who provides such services.
Then, the website for the Department of Justice, states.“Federal regulations at 8 C.F.R. § 1292.1(a)(4) allow non-attorney “Accredited Representatives” to represent aliens before the Department of Homeland Security(DHS) and the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR), which includes the immigration courts and the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA)” and the“Accredited Representatives may only provide immigration legal services through Recognized Organizations. Only non-profit, federally tax-exempt entities may apply to be recognized.”
We detest to admit that doubt was indeed embedded in our heads, so we phoned both the USCIS and the DOJ to ask if we were doing anything wrong in the way we operated our office. We are not. We were told that there are only THREE states that don’t authorize anybody outside the bar licenses and accreditations to assist in immigration forms, and those states are Colorado, New Jersey, and Washington, and nine states that have registration programs. Nevada is one of the states at has a registration program which is called a Registered Document Preparer. Those who wish to be accredited must be an official non-profit which isn’t how NNIS initially started. We emailed every state’s Secretary of State and inquired about their laws and regulations on who is allowed to provide immigration form assistance. The responses we received from most of the states were to inquire with the USCIS as their office “does not handle immigration laws.” What is presently happening is the same entities that have harassed us and have submitted false claims about our office are also going around giving misinformation about who can prepare Immigration documents for the Northern Nevada community. These entities are leading clients to believe that only Lawyers and A.Rs can help people with immigration matters, when the rules clearly state, that they’re the only ones who can represent clients in Court. Here at NNIS, we have always been transparent with our work and licenses. Any clients who have needed court representation have been referred to Trevor Hartzell of Hartzell Law. An incredibly sophisticated attorney who is licensed with the Nevada Bar. Why would any professional/accredited office spread this false information? I’ll give you a notion, it was mentioned in the beginning.
Now, we are not going to feign there aren’t offices out there committing fraudulent services. The unfortunate truth of it all is that there are individuals who are licensed, accredited, and even slightly experienced in the countries they’re originally from., Now since we are still being harassed by the Secretary of State, we cannot translate and explain to you in OUR blogs why certain words are conflict of interest (See NRS. 240A.240 Section C.) We invite you to look up the Spanish term and what it means in Spanish countries as opposed to what it means in the U.S. NNIS knows the difference, and as mentioned before, we have the necessary licenses to help our clients with their immigration forms and matters.
We’d like to highlight that throughout this harassment and derision we have encountered from these Lawyers and A.Rs, not one of them has reached out to speak to us about their concerns. They have assumed NNIS to be unsuitable for giving immigration form assistance. They have private forums within each other disparaging the names of other offices, ours included, and formulating how to go about bringing these offices down while also protecting themselves and their image. Yes, we have proof. Is it a coincidence that these lawyers and a.rs have a meeting with the Secretary of State on a Thursday evening, and the VERY next morning the Secretary of State comes to our office hot and mighty from whatever ammunition was given to them the day before? Maybe. However, we are not persuaded that the Secretary of State came because of an anonymous complaint from a client claiming we didn’t want to give them back their original documents. All of our clients are given their original documents back after we make a copy. We have never denied anyone their original documents because we would never keep them in the first place. And we would hope that any sane person would ask the US for their documents if they believed we had them instead of going to the Secretary of State for them. We will not mention any names because it’s very clear these lawyers and a.rs want to remain anonymous to the public. Seeing as their baseless accusations and complaints would not be a good representation of their firms or organizations. Our marketing manager has done a phenomenal job with marketing, promotion, and bringing in double the clients we have had in the prior years. We feel this target on our back is the result of good promotion. We’re on the maps and we are seen. We’re confident we will come on top of the bullying and harassment we've received from the Secretary of State and our Competitors. As document preparers, we are working to attain other licenses and accreditations to get them to move on and do better with Tax payers' money. NNIS will remain the people’s choice for Immigration forms and more. Seed number three.
With all this in mind, as a client, it is important to know who you are hiring and what their true interests are. NNIS is not galvanized by envy of other offices, licensed or not. We are not consumed by the greed of obtaining all the money or even all the clients needing immigration assistance. We are here for the community. If we find that we cannot assist a client, we are downhearted to turn them down, but we are elated to refer them to other firms and organizations who CAN help them because that’s the goal. To help our community, even if that means they have a garden of options from whom to seek assistance. There is enough sunlight for everyone. And in a world that can be unprepossessing, learn to hail and accolade others instead of tearing them down.
Northern Nevada Immigration Services knows that Immigration matters are immensely sensitive. We do not overstep the boundaries set by law, and we are thankful for all our clients, referrals, and even our competitors, you all play an imperative role in our operation and daily motivation. We promise to continue serving the community the best way we know how and continue our education to better serve the community. We are, and will always be, the specialist you can trust.
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