Taking your parents to a "dịch vụ" office for immigration papers? California law says they owe you six things — and if one is missing, walk out

What's going on?

Along Bolsa, Brookhurst and Westminster, the "dịch vụ" office is a fixture. The word just means "service." These storefronts fill out forms, translate documents, do taxes, and many take on immigration cases: green cards, citizenship, family petitions. Plenty of them stay inside what the law allows. But the most common immigration scam in the country wears exactly the same storefront.

You can usually hear it coming. "Guaranteed approval." "I know someone at the immigration office." "Pay cash, it's faster, no receipt." "Leave your passport with me." "Just sign here, I'll fill in the rest." Then the application is filed wrong, filed late, or never filed. Sometimes the damage goes beyond money: a bad filing can cost someone their status or land them in immigration court.

The same pitch has moved online. In December 2024, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the federal consumer-protection agency, warned about "lawyers" on Facebook who guarantee work permits and green cards, and about people in "USCIS officer" uniforms who call on Zoom or WhatsApp to "schedule your appointment." Both ask for money through Western Union or Zelle. The U.S. Department of Justice describes a nastier version: the client is told to sign a "work permit application" that is really the signature page of an asylum application. Nobody explains what that means. When the asylum interview comes and nobody tells them, the client misses it and is placed in removal proceedings. That one is not foreign to Orange County. In 2004, the county district attorney charged an Anaheim office with having clients sign asylum applications without their knowledge.

For relatives back in Vietnam, the scam has a different name: "come to America on an EB-3 unskilled-worker visa, everything included." In May 2026, the newspaper Tuổi Trẻ reported that Ho Chi Minh City police were searching for the representative of an emigration-services company. It had signed EB-3 contracts with 20 people and collected 15.6 billion đồng, roughly $600,000. Nobody left the country.

Here is what few families know: California has a law written specifically for these offices. It says what they may do, what they may not claim, and what documents they must hand their clients. This story starts with who is allowed to do what, then walks through the six things you should be holding before you pay.

Who is allowed to touch your immigration case?

Before the paperwork, three kinds of people.

An attorney. Licensed to practice law, and searchable on the State Bar of California's website. An attorney may advise you, choose which forms to file, and represent you before U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and in immigration court.

A DOJ-accredited representative. Not a lawyer, but someone who works for a nonprofit that the U.S. Department of Justice has formally recognized. They may also advise and represent you. Both the organization and the person appear on a public DOJ roster. Some representatives are approved only for USCIS matters, not immigration court; the roster says which.

An immigration consultant. This is what most "dịch vụ" offices legally are. Under section 22441 of California's Business and Professions Code, a consultant may provide only non-legal help: filling in a government form with the answers you give, without suggesting answers; translating documents; gathering supporting records; submitting the completed forms; and referring you to a lawyer. The State Bar puts it plainly: a consultant may not choose your forms, may not tell you how to answer, and may not give legal advice.

In short, an immigration consultant is a licensed typist and courier. Not a decision-maker.

One word shows up in nearly every government warning about this: "notario." As California's Attorney General explains, in many Spanish-speaking countries a notario is a powerful attorney with special legal credentials. In the United States, a notary public is only authorized by the state to witness signatures, and may not provide immigration legal services. Scammers hang a "Notario Público" sign so immigrants think they are walking into a law office. Vietnamese has no "notario," but it has the same trap: in Vietnam, a công chứng viên (notary) must hold a law degree. A "công chứng" or "dịch vụ pháp lý" sign in the U.S. does not mean anyone inside knows the law.

The six things California law makes them give you

Now the part that matters most. California's Immigration Consultant Act, sections 22440 through 22449 of the Business and Professions Code, lists a consultant's duties in unusual detail. The first five items below come straight from the statute. The sixth is what USCIS and the FTC tell every applicant.

1. A written contract in Vietnamese and English

Section 22442: before any work begins, the office must give you a written contract in English and in your native language. It must itemize every service and the price of each. It must state, in bold type, that the consultant is not an attorney. It must tell you how to file a complaint with the State Bar and the Department of Justice. A contract that is not written in both languages is void. And you have the right to cancel within 72 hours of signing.

No contract, or an English-only contract, means item one is missing.

2. A signed receipt for every payment

Section 22442.1: every time you pay, the office must give you a signed receipt printed on its own letterhead. Every two months it must send a statement of account showing what it has collected and what it has done, with a translation in your language.

"Pay cash, no receipt" means item two is missing. The State Bar lists it as the number one warning sign.

3. Your original documents back, immediately

Section 22443(c): the office may photocopy your passport, birth certificate and other originals, then must return them at once. It may not hold any original that does not have to be filed as an original.

Whoever "holds onto" your passport is holding the leash. Among the 21 boxes of client files seized at the Artesia office was a client's passport.

4. A $100,000 bond number you can look up

Section 22443.1: before doing business, an immigration consultant must post a $100,000 surety bond with the California Secretary of State, submit fingerprints, and pass a background check. The bond exists to compensate clients when the consultant does them wrong.

The Secretary of State runs a public search page; you can look a consultant up by name, city or bond number. The bond number must also appear on the sign posted inside the office (section 22442.2). Ask for the number, then check. No match means item four is missing.

5. No "guarantee," ever

Sections 22442 and 22444: a consultant may not promise a result unless the promise is in writing and has some basis in fact. The FTC is blunter: anyone who guarantees you a work permit, green card or citizenship is running a scam. The law flatly bans claims of "special influence" or connections inside USCIS. Section 22442.3 bans translating "notary public" as "notario público," or using any translation that makes the office sound like a law firm. Signs and ads must say the consultant is not an attorney (section 22442.2).

When you hear "guaranteed approval" or "I know people at immigration," you are hearing a violation of state law.

6. The USCIS receipt notice

The sixth item is not in California's statute, but USCIS and the FTC both stress it. When an application is genuinely filed, USCIS mails a receipt notice, Form I-797C. It carries a 13-character receipt number you can enter on the USCIS website to check the case status yourself. The FTC's advice: pay filing fees directly to USCIS, never to the consultant. USCIS also says to keep copies of every form filed and every letter it sends you.

If your parents paid months ago and no I-797C has arrived, ask. No straight answer means item six is missing.

Where this has already happened

These six items are not theory. They are exactly where recent cases broke open.

In July 2026, the State Bar of California obtained a court order to seize the operation of "Immigration Law Services" in Artesia, in Los Angeles County. The man running it never held a California law license. He had worked under the roof of several licensed attorneys and kept going after they cut ties. Investigators hauled away 21 boxes of client files, a laptop and a client's passport. One client had paid $4,275 for a green card and work permit; the forms were never completed, or were rejected for errors. Another had paid $46,750 for a power of attorney, a trust and a will that were never finished.

In January 2026, a Houston man was sentenced to 60 months in federal prison. According to the Justice Department, from March 2022 through December 2024 he posed as an immigration attorney with a Houston law firm, recruited clients at churches, and charged $10,000 to $15,000 each. Some were told to travel to Houston for "USCIS appointments" that did not exist. More than 100 victims in Texas, Illinois, Louisiana and Florida lost more than $1.45 million.

In February 2026, five people were indicted in New York for running a fake law firm that found clients mainly on Facebook. They wore judicial robes and law-enforcement uniforms and staged fake court hearings and asylum interviews over video. At least one victim was ordered deported after missing her real hearing while believing the fake one had settled her case; the order was later reversed. Those are charges in an indictment, and the defendants are presumed innocent.

Closer to home: in late October 2025, Santa Ana police arrested a man who had presented himself as an attorney out of a "multiservices" office on 17th Street, according to ABC7 and NBC4. He allegedly demanded $14,000 for immigration paperwork. That is a police allegation. As of press time, the Orange County District Attorney had not announced charges.

Artesia, Houston, New York, Santa Ana. There is no reason to assume Little Saigon is the exception.

Already cheated? The law lets you sue for triple

Spotting the signs is prevention. But California also wrote in a remedy for people who already trusted the wrong office.

Section 22445: a consultant who breaks the law faces civil penalties of up to $100,000 per violation, and criminal prosecution carrying a fine of $2,000 to $10,000 per client, or up to a year in county jail. Restitution to the client comes before any fine.

Section 22446.5 lets you sue on your own. The court must award your actual losses plus an amount equal to three times those losses, or $1,000 per violation, whichever is greater, and your attorney's fees. You have four years from the day you discover the violation to file (section 22448). The $100,000 bond in item four is where that money comes from.

Need real help? Who to call nearby

Free and low-cost help exists in the neighborhood. These three organizations appear on the Justice Department's roster of recognized organizations, in the version updated September 13, 2026:

BPSOS Center for Community Advancement, 13950 Milton Ave., Suite 301, Westminster. The Department of Justice roster dated September 13, 2026 shows the organization's recognition expired May 29, 2026 and is pending renewal, with status still "Active." It has two accredited representatives: one accredited through November 2027, one pending renewal. Its representatives handle USCIS matters only, not immigration court:
(714) 897-⁠2214

World Relief Southern California, 13121 Brookhurst St., Suite H, Garden Grove:
(714) 210-⁠4730

Catholic Charities of Orange County, 1800 E. 17th St., Santa Ana. Consultations are free. Vietnamese line, call or text:
(714) 347-⁠9622
English and Spanish:
(714) 347-⁠9610

To find a licensed immigration attorney:

Orange County Bar Association Lawyer Referral Service, with a free brief consultation:
(949) 440-⁠6747

Check a lawyer's license: calbar.ca.gov, Attorney Search

Check whether a consultant is bonded: specialfilings.sos.ca.gov/icbs

USCIS "Avoid Scams" page, with a Vietnamese brochure: uscis.gov/avoid-scams

To report:

California Attorney General: oag.ca.gov/report
(916) 210-⁠6000

State Bar of California, multilingual complaint line:
(800) 843-⁠9053

USCIS tip form, anonymous if you choose: tips.uscis.gov

U.S. Department of Justice, EOIR Fraud and Abuse Prevention Program: EOIR.Fraud.Program@usdoj.gov

FTC: ReportFraud.ftc.gov, or by phone with an interpreter:
(877) 382-⁠4357

Bigger than one file

An immigration case is often the biggest thing a family will go through in years. People hand over money because they trust, and they trust because the person across the desk speaks their language.

None of the six items asks you to suspect anyone. They are simply what the law already requires of an honest office. An office that hands you all six has earned your confidence. An office that cannot has given you every right to stand up and leave, with the law behind you.

Translation assisted by AI and reviewed by an editor.