Some Immigrants Duped by 'notarios'

[snopes]

When Salvadoran immigrant Irma Yolanda Membreno-Aleman wanted to apply for temporary asylum, she did what she would have done for any legal matter back home: She went to see a "notario publico."

It was a lost-in-translation mistake that cost her thousands of dollars, a rejection of her petition and loss of her work authorization and her job, a lawsuit claims.

In much of Latin America, most notary publics are also lawyers. In the United States, a notary public is not a lawyer and cannot give legal advice; he can administer oaths and witness signatures, and that's it.

The difference has allowed scam artists to prey on immigrants with limited English skills and little understanding of the American legal system by misrepresenting themselves as lawyers, immigration lawyers say.

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories...CAM?SITE=FLTAM

[RayPV]

In Mexico, where I am writing from, a "notario" has the same functions as in the U.S.. The difference is that many people in Mexico believe that a notary is a lawyer and is knowledgeable on all legal matters. A notarized documents is very important here, but that is basically all a notario does, gives faith that a document is copy of the original document. Many people are duped because some notarios will pass themselves off as lawyers, but they are NOT lawyers as the OP posting suggest. Here, after graduating from a profession you are given the title of "licensiado" which just means you are licensed to practice your profession, but it does not mean you are a lawyer.

jm2c
Rayinpv

[AnglRdr]

For some reason, snopes' link doesn't work. Here's another one. I did an internship with the local municipal agency whose job it is to investigate claims of discrimination a couple of years ago, and this was a huge issue locally in Nashville at the time with that agency. However, driving through my old neighborhood reveals that plenty are still left in business.