Sponsors (18)
Official title: To provide for punishments for immigration-related fraud, and for other purposes.
Introduced July 21, 2026 by Bill Foster · Last progress July 21, 2026
The bill strengthens federal tools, funding, and procedural fixes to reduce immigration‑service fraud and expand legal help for immigrants, but those enforcement powers, criminal penalties, compliance burdens, and new programs risk deterring informal assistance, imposing costs on small providers and taxpayers, and creating administrative burdens that could limit access in some communities.
Immigrants are better protected from immigration-related fraud through a new federal statute, clearer disclosure rules, and insured reimbursement for victims, which strengthens enforcement and deterrence against unscrupulous preparers.
Low-income noncitizens gain greater access to legal help because the bill funds grants for nonprofits and provides free or low-cost representation and application‑preparation assistance, increasing chances of approval and reducing some processing delays.
Noncitizens harmed by bad legal advice can withdraw and resubmit erroneous filings and may avoid automatic INA reentry bars if they prove they relied on erroneous advice, preserving eligibility for relief in many cases.
Immigrants who rely on informal, low‑cost help (family, friends, community volunteers) may lose access because stronger enforcement, disclosure requirements, and fear of penalties could deter those informal helpers, reducing assistance in underserved communities.
Nonlawyers and community helpers face new criminal exposure — including felony penalties and long sentences for falsely claiming to be an attorney or accredited representative — risking over‑criminalization of informal assistance.
Small paid preparers and non‑attorney service providers could face higher compliance costs, injunctions, or loss of livelihood from new disclosure, enforcement, and injunctive remedies.
Based on analysis of 6 sections of legislative text.
Makes fraudulent immigration services a federal crime, tightens preparer rules, allows victims to withdraw/resubmit filings, funds outreach and grants for legal help.
Creates a new federal crime for fraudulent immigration services and false claims of being an attorney or accredited representative, requires reimbursement to defrauded clients, and authorizes civil injunctions against fraudulent providers. It also directs DHS and DOJ to set rules for preparer identification and signatures, allows affected applicants to withdraw and resubmit filings without penalty in specified situations, funds community education about lawful providers, and creates competitive grant programs to fund nonprofit legal help for noncitizens.