4169261FindLaw IM Template2025-08-18T14:41:31Zhttps://www.sblawyers.com/feed/atom/WordPress/wp-content/uploads/sites/1104404/2025/06/cropped-site-icon-1-32x32.jpgOn Behalf of Bikkal & Associates, P.C.<![CDATA[Robin Bikkal discusses how to avoid becoming a victim of immigration fraud]]>https://www.sblawyers.com/?p=473002025-06-13T18:55:47Z2021-03-02T06:00:00ZOutreach to young immigrants comes with a warning
State: Federal deferral program opens door to fraud over proper filing of paperwork
By ERNIE GARCIA
THE JOURNAL NEWS
(Original Publication: October 24, 2012)
A new federal immigration program has small businesses in Hispanic neighborhoods offering illegal immigrants help filling out forms – even as state officials warn against the potential for fraud.
New York Secretary of State Cesar Perales cautions immigrants to be wary of notaries, travel agencies and insurance agencies offering immigration services. Yet storefront business owners who offer such services argue that immigrants who need a little assistance filling out forms can come to them without incurring the expense of an attorney.
In September, New York adopted new regulations to combat immigration-advice fraud. Those regulations, which take effect Dec. 26, require notaries who publish advertisements in foreign languages to include a disclaimer stating that they are not attorneys and that they are not allowed to give legal advice about immigration.
“For a long time now, con artists have been hiding behind the veil of the notary public occupation to commit egregious acts of fraud and victimize thousands of people in our state,” Perales said.
The warnings and outreach to immigrants are being spurred by the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, a program that lets immigrant teens and young adults who were brought into the United States illegally as children seek a two-year deferral that will allow them to work legally in the country, among other benefits.
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service estimates that 40,000 to 80,000 young people in New York qualify for this program, though fewer than 6,700 New Yorkers have applied for the program so far.
The USCIS’s website says that nonattorney businesses can charge a “small fee” for “limited help,” such as helping someone write answers to questions on USCIS forms or translating documents into English.
That’s the kind of help Christian Chavez said he’s giving immigrants who come to his office at 128 N. Main St. in Port Chester, where his business, the Centro Hispano Tax Service, displays a large poster about the deferred action program.
“We’re dealing with simple cases,” said Chavez. “In the cases that are very complicated, where the person could be at risk of deportation, I tell them to go to a lawyer.”
But Robin Bikkal, a White Plains-based immigration attorney, said application forms aren’t as easy as they seem.
“There’s always a lot of law and regulations behind what seems to be very simple sentences and very simple things to comply with,” said Bikkal, who since deferred action was announced in June has obtained the new deferrals for five of her clients. “This is a one-time chance for these young people and (applications) have to be processed carefully.”
The USCIS website also states that only attorneys or accredited nonprofit organizations can give legal advice about which forms to submit, explain immigration options or communicate with the USCIS about a petitioner’s case.
“We try to not give any advice,” said Ramon Soto, who runs a multiservice business at 13 Broadway in Haverstraw, where the window has a poster for immigration attorney Gisela Chavez-Garcia.
Soto, who also publishes El Sol de New York, a Spanish-language newspaper, said many young people have come into his office to ask about deferred action.
“We simply tell them to speak to the lawyer,” Soto said.
Chavez-Garcia said she has processed between 10 and 20 deferred applications from Soto’s Haverstraw office. While she acknowledged that a nonattorney can prepare the applications, she advised against it.
“Although USCIS said they’re not going to share information with (Immigration and Customs Enforcement), at the end of the day they are sharing,” said Chavez-Garcia. “I think it is worth having a lawyer take a look at the case and making sure everything is done correctly and that it doesn’t contain any information that could be detrimental later on.”
Spring Valley attorney Vince Sykes said there could be a “huge repercussion” if an illegal immigrant fills out the application incorrectly.
“USCIS could potentially put you in a removal proceeding,” said Sykes, who is in the process of submitting applications for a few clients.
Moises Rosales of RH Smart Tax Services at 104 N. Main St. in Port Chester advertised deferred action preparation in a local, biweekly Spanish-language newspaper. Rosales said that attorneys – and the state officials they lobby – have a financial incentive to warn illegal immigrants against using a business like his, even though Rosales said he’s had no complaints from his clients.
John Gaccione, acting director of Westchester County’s consumer protection office, said that he has not received any consumer complaints about RH Smart Tax Services or Centro Hispano Tax Service this year or in 2011.
“We charge a reasonable fee. It’s more a service to the public,” said Rosales, whose charges range from $450 to $490 for filling out the application, translating any subsequent letters from the government and helping clients prepare responses to letters. “We won’t give them legal advice and we can’t represent them before an immigration court, but they can come here and ask about letters they’ve received.”
Rosales is registered as a notary in Connecticut, where he has offices in Stamford and Bridgeport, but not in New York. Even if Rosales were a registered notary in New York, state officials would discourage him from giving deferred-action assistance.
“Notaries public are not authorized to provide assistance to DACA eligible youth,” said New York Department of State spokesman Edison Alban. “Anyone looking for DACA assistant should make sure the person with whom they are engaging for services is authorized and-or licensed to practice law.”
]]>On Behalf of Bikkal & Associates, P.C.<![CDATA[Robin Bikkal’s Speaking Engagements]]>https://www.sblawyers.com/?p=473012025-06-13T18:56:05Z2021-03-02T06:00:00ZSunday, January 27, 2012, 5:00 p.m.
Updates in Immigration Law (Bilingual Speaking Engagement)
Unidos en Jesucristo Church
495 South Broadway, 2nd Floor
Yonkers, NY 10705
Please contact us for more details.
Previous Speaking Engagements
Wednesday, December 13, 2012, 9:30 a.m.
Updates in Immigration Law
Mamaroneck Community Action Program – Project Madres
Holy Rosary Church
22 Don Bosco Place
Port Chester, NY 10573
Tuesday, December 12, 2012, 9:30 a.m.
Updates in Immigration Law
Mamaroneck Community Action Program – Project Madres
134 Center Avenue
Mamaroneck, NY 10543
Click here for a recap of the event!
Tuesday, November 27, 2012
Immigration Issues Open Forum
White Plains High School, Auditorium
550 North Main Street, White Plains, NY 10605
Tuesday, November 27, 2012, 5:30 – 8:00 pm
Continuing Legal Education: Updates in Immigration Law: Deferred Action, Prosecutorial Discretion and Stateside Waivers
Westchester County Bar Association
445 Hamilton Avenue, 2nd Floor, White Plains, NY 10601
Sunday, July 29, 2012, 1:15 pm
Immigration Conference About President Obama’s Deferred Action Policy
El Centro Hispano, Inc., 346 South Lexington Avenue, White Plains, NY 10606
]]>On Behalf of Bikkal & Associates, P.C.<![CDATA[New Provisional Unlawful Presence Waiver Affecting Immigration Visa Applications]]>https://www.sblawyers.com/?p=473022025-05-26T07:14:24Z2021-03-02T06:00:00Z]]>On Behalf of Bikkal & Associates, P.C.<![CDATA[Robin Bikkal discusses new immigration policy for young immigrants]]>https://www.sblawyers.com/?p=473032025-06-13T18:56:29Z2021-03-02T06:00:00ZNew Federal Policy Leaves Immigrant Students Hopeful Yet Cautious
By LEAH RAE
THE JOURNAL NEWS
(Original Publication: July 27, 2012) The newest change in immigration policy is offering hope – and perhaps a dilemma – to students living in the country illegally: They may soon apply for temporary work permits, if they turn over their personal information to the government.The federal policy aims to help an estimated 800,000 immigrants who have long sought a means to become legal residents under the proposed DREAM Act. Generally speaking, they were brought to the United States illegally as children. Independent of Congress, the Obama administration announced June 15 that it would provide two-year work permits and protection from deportation for these young people – but no certainty in the long term.The response is a mix of euphoria and disappointment among New York’s “Dreamers,” young people who would qualify under the policy.
Marlen Fernandez, a White Plains High School graduate born in Mexico, isn’t sure whether to apply. When she rallies with other college students for the DREAM Act, she’s open about her status, even wearing a T-shirt labeling herself “undocumented, unafraid, unapologetic.” But when it comes to the legal process, she feels vulnerable.
“I absolutely think there’s a risk because once you give them all your information, it’s like saying, ‘I’m here,’ ” she said.
Fernandez, 19, was brought to the United States at age 3. She works as a cashier to put herself through Lehman College.
Like others, she has wrestled with doubts over whether her studies were a dead end, with no way to work legally.
Another Lehman student, Dulce, said the change has lifted her hopes for “a normal job.”
“Now,” said the Elmsford resident, who did not want her full name published because she is not a legal resident, “I feel a little bit of faith and hope for my future.”
Attorneys are sorting through the questions at informational seminars. There was one Thursday at Westchester Community College and two coming up: Sunday at El Centro Hispano in White Plains and Aug. 14 at the Salvation Army in Spring Valley.
Their most urgent message is to warn applicants not to fall prey to scam artists or unqualified businesspeople.
“They can ruin somebody’s application process. They can charge somebody thousands of dollars, with that person not even being able to qualify,” said Juan Pablo Ramirez, who helped organize the Spring Valley event as a member of the Rockland Immigration Coalition.
Immigrants need professional advice to learn whether they qualify for the new status or some other provision, said Vanessa Merton, supervisor of Pace Law School’s Immigration Justice Clinic.
Applicants must be 30 or younger. They will need to prove, among other things, that they came to the United States before age 16 and have no felony or “significant misdemeanor” convictions. There is no way to apply until mid-August. More information is due to be released Wednesday.
“If we couldn’t get the DREAM Act, this is probably the next best thing,” Ramirez said.
Like the immigration system as a whole, the so-called deferred action for childhood arrivals gives enormous discretion to the executive branch and no guarantees, Merton said.
“The great crime of our immigration system is its enormous complexity,” she said.
It’s a form of limbo, like “temporary protected status” offered to illegal immigrants of certain nationalities due to a crisis in the homeland. The status is temporary and does not lead to permanent residency or citizenship. It will enable permit holders to apply for a driver’s license, which would expire at the same time as the permit, attorney Robin Bikkal of White Plains said. Students living here illegally would remain ineligible for college financial aid.
Notably, the policy could be reversed by future administrations. There is widespread suspicion that President Barack Obama’s re-election campaign is scoring political points with the Latino population.
“My view is that it is a half-baked measure, that it was certainly launched for political purposes and is not addressing what I think is a major issue,” said Rafael Elias-Linero, chairman of the Westchester Hispanic Advisory Board and a member of Mitt Romney’s Hispanic Steering Committee.
“If I were one of those kids, I definitely would not come out and put my family at risk,” he said. “When I give the information, I’m basically leaving my family vulnerable … to what has been one of the most aggressive administrations in terms of deportation.”
Obama’s Republican challenger does not support the DREAM Act but favors some form of legalization as part of a larger immigration reform, Elias-Linero said.
Opponents in Congress say the act would create a magnet for illegal immigrants and reward unlawful entry. Fernandez argues that policies like free trade forced families like hers to leave Mexico and that U.S. immigration rules leave no legal recourse.
“There’s no line for me to get on, or for anyone I know who’s undocumented,” she said.
Fernandez said the policy change is both encouraging and disappointing. She hopes it could be one step toward the DREAM Act. But it offers her “second-class citizenship,” she said, and still limits her ability to travel as she pursues the field of medical anthropology.
Dulce plans to major in environmental science. She said she paid for her first college semester by working two restaurant jobs on weekends but couldn’t come up with the money for her second semester and worked full time instead. With a work permit, Dulce hopes to work at a school bookstore or maybe Target and use her weekends to study. She also wants to volunteer at a hospital. She said her mother wanted to be a nurse but never finished high school.
Dulce has not returned to Mexico since she was brought here at age 7, and she considers the United States her home.
“If I was born here, I don’t know how different I would be,” she said. “This journey has made me more independent. It’s given me motivation to actually be someone.”
]]>On Behalf of Bikkal & Associates, P.C.<![CDATA[What About Immigration?]]>https://www.sblawyers.com/?p=473042025-05-26T07:19:22Z2021-03-02T06:00:00ZWatch or read the interview (in Spanish).]]>On Behalf of Bikkal & Associates, P.C.<![CDATA[Bikkal & Associates, PC participates in Westchester County’s Annual Celebration of Hispanic Heritage Day in Valhalla, NY]]>https://www.sblawyers.com/?p=473052025-06-13T18:56:51Z2021-03-02T06:00:00ZSpirit Packs Hispanic Festival
By ELIZABETH GANGA
THE JOURNAL NEWS
(Original Publication: July 22, 2012)
VALHALLA– Jackie and Marcus Renna of North White Plains have been coming to the Hispanic Heritage Festival at Kensico Dam Plaza for perhaps 20 years, but the celebration and the music keep bringing them back.
As he waited for his wife to finish at one of the many booths spread out in front of the dam Sunday afternoon, Marcus Renna stood with his sons and enjoyed the singers on the main stage.
“It’s just a beautiful celebration of culture, a beautiful day,” said Renna. Both he and his wife are Puerto Rican and both are teachers.
“Since they started it, we’ve been here,” Jackie Renna said.
The festival, which benefited from a sunny but not scorching day, was expected to bring out as many as 15,000 people. It was organized by an alliance of five groups that serve the Latino community – El Centro Hispano, the Hispanic Resource Center, Neighbors Link, United Community Center and the Westchester Hispanic Coalition – and is one of a long series of ethnic festivals that have come to the plaza each year.
Westchester’s Hispanic community has grown dramatically in the last few decades and is increasingly diverse. The 2010 census found 22 percent of the county’s population is Hispanic, more than 207,000 people. The largest groups are Mexican and Puerto Rican but there are also large numbers of Dominicans, Guatemalans, Colombians, Ecuadorians and Peruvians.
Surrounding the stage, where dozens of people sat watching on folding chairs, were booths providing information on everything from insurance to the county’s parks and vendors selling everything from hot sauce to dance lessons to purses and dresses.
Children ran around with freshly painted faces and rode bikes on the paths around the plaza.
Families unpacked picnics or bought tacos and lemonade from the food trucks lined up to the side of the plaza.
Natalee Shale and Anthony Acoella of White Plains happened upon the festival as they rode their bikes and stopped to check it out.
The food, they said, was tempting them.
“It looks fun,” Shale said of the festival. “Brings people together.”
Maria Huanca, who came to the United States from Peru 13 years ago, said she was enjoying everything about the festival.
The booths, she said, gave her a chance both to buy something and learn something. But more than that the festival celebrates the many communities under the Hispanic umbrella.
“Here they celebrate the different communities,” Huanca said.
Bikkal & Associates Participates in the Festival
On Sunday, July 22, 2012, thousands flocked to Valhalla, NY for Westchester County’s annual Hispanic Heritage Day Festival. Bikkal & Associates took part in the celebrations.
]]>On Behalf of Bikkal & Associates, P.C.<![CDATA[Bikkal & Associates informs community about new immigration policy]]>https://www.sblawyers.com/?p=473072025-06-13T18:57:31Z2021-03-02T06:00:00ZYoung Immigrants See Hope In Obama Policy
By GARY STERN
THE JOURNAL NEWS
(Original Publication: July 30, 2012)
WHITE PLAINS- Jasmin Aguil of White Plains laughs when friends and others suggest that she move back to Mexico if she can’t find a way to stay in the United States legally.
Her parents brought her here when she was 8. Now’s she’s 29.
“I don’t identify myself as a Mexican,” she said. “I speak better French than Spanish because I took French in school. What would I do in Mexico? My country is here.”
Aguil’s greatest hope for something like a normal life is the Obama administration’s plan to offer a two-year work permit – and temporary legal residence – to undocumented immigrants 30 or younger who can prove they came to the U.S. before they were 16.
The controversial program, which Obama announced as an executive order on June 15, has created tremendous expectations and much anxiety for illegal immigrants who want to know if they will qualify. On Sunday, more than 300 people packed the El Centro Hispano community center in White Plains to learn about the program and consult with immigration lawyers.
After conferring with Larry Delgado, a former White Plains City Council member, Aguil said she didn’t know how she could prove that she’s been in the U.S. for two decades – not when undocumented immigrants try to live off the grid.
“As an immigrant, you’re trying to hide,” she said. “Now they’re saying ‘Show us your records.’ I don’t have records. But I’m still hopeful. I have to be hopeful.”
The application process is supposed to be announced by mid-August. White Plains immigration lawyer Robin Bikkal told the crowd that those who are lucky enough to get the work permit will have to avoid all legal troubles or they could lose it.
“This is the miracle parents have been waiting for,” she said in Spanish. “Children will have the opportunity to work. But it is a privilege, not a law.”
Several young adults interviewed Sunday described similar circumstances: growing up in Westchester and graduating from local high schools, but being unable to afford college because they are ineligible for financial aid and being unable to work because they don’t have papers.
Juan Diaz, 19, came to White Plains from Guatemala with his family at 5. He graduated high school and paid by himself for a semester at Herkimer Community College, where he played on a championship soccer team. But he can’t afford to go back to college, can’t get a job and can’t accept several invitations to play club soccer in Europe – because he wouldn’t be able to get back into the U.S.
“This could be life-changing,” he said of the work permit. “I’m an American at heart and in mind. But I’m not an American on paper. I’m confident and want to pursue success, but I can’t. I’m living in the shadows but want to move on with my life.”
It’s unclear what the long-term picture might be for those who earn the work permit.
Mitt Romney, the likely Republican presidential candidate, has said that he would repeal Obama’s order while proposing a new immigration reform plan.
Obama issued his executive order as an alternative to the Dream Act, a mostly Democratic plan that would create a six-year path to U.S. citizenship for illegal immigrants who arrived in the U.S. as minors, graduate from U.S. high schools, and finish college or two years in the U.S. military. The bill has languished in Congress since 2001.
Brenda Lopez, 18, who came to the U.S. illegally from Mexico when she was 9, plans to study at Westchester Community College this fall and would like to become a teacher. She sees the new program as the answer she’s been waiting for.
“When you have so many barriers, it brings you down,” she said. “It’s really depressing. When you see an option like this, you see a light. It’s a big thing for me. It’s a light.”
Bikkal & Associates Attorneys Informs Community About New Immigration Policy
On Sunday, July 29, 2012, Robin Bikkal and Cecilia Bikkal spoke to a large crowd at El Centro Hispano community center in White Plains about the Obama administration’s new “Deferred Action” policy. Afterward, Robin and Cecilia sat and spoke individually with many of the attendants about how this new policy can affect them and their family members.
Cecilia Bikkal speaks with community member about new immigration policy
Robin Bikkal talks with parents whose child may be eligible for immigration relief
A parent speaks with Robin Bikkal about whether his family can take advantage of the new program
Robin Bikkal and Cecilia Bikkal with the directors of El Centro Hispano community center of White Plains