Confidentiality and Non-Lawyers in Immigration

Non-lawyers providing “immigration services” lack the confidentiality and ethical rules and responsibility that attorneys have. They lack the training, knowledge, or legal restrictions on keeping client information confidential that licensed attorneys are required to follow. Moreover, many of these immigration services are based abroad with low-paid employees, and the client has little to no recourse should their personal, private information be shared or released to the dark web. If their services are so cheap and inexpensive, think of how much more money they would make re-selling your confidential, private information? How much more money could they make re-selling your business or company’s financial information, such as corporate income tax returns, etc.? ?Or sharing it with your business competitor?

Non-lawyer immigration service providers not only may be engaged in nefarious conduct, they may simply be ignorant of the importance of confidentiality and privacy.? Suppose you do not want any of your family members knowing about your immigration issues, as it would cause you embarrassment and loss of face.? Your Auntie calls the immigration agency and asks about her sweet nephew’s case, without your permission, and the agency just spills all the beans to your relative, because she is, well, your relative, and they have no concept of privacy or confidentiality.

There may be equally dire effects of an immigration agency sharing your company or business’s confidential information.? For example, perhaps the same agency is preparing applications for both you and your business competitor simultaneously, or after you, one of your competitors hires them.? One of the employees thoughtlessly shares your company’s financial and trade secret information to impress the new business client.

“Professional responsibility” means all the ethical rules and standards, including confidentiality, which lawyers must adhere to in their practice of law.? In order to be admitted to the bar, attorneys practicing in the United States must pass professional responsibility in law school and must take the Multistate Professional Responsibility Exam (MPRE).? To maintain their license to practice law, attorneys must re-register every couple of years, and as part of the re-registration process, show they have completed a certain number of CLE (Continuing Legal Education) classes, including ethics. Additionally, NYS and other states now require CLEs in cybersecurity as part of their re-registration requirements.

Think of all the copious, thorough amounts of personal information contained in immigration forms, and all the biographic documents required for almost any US immigration or visa application.? Now, think of the security questions that, for example a bank would ask: 1) What is your mother’s maiden name?? 2) What is your date of birth and social security number? 3) Are you married, do you have children? Etc.? In immigration we have a great risk of identity theft, those who want to steal your identity and victimize you in other ways. How convenient if they have color copies of your and your family’s passports, birth certificates, marriage certificate, and on and on.

Immigration is a treasure trove of Personal Identifying Information (PII), a goldmine for re-selling on the dark web and having your identity stolen.? What is Personal Identifying Information??? According to the NYS Shield Act:

(a) "Personal information" shall mean? any? information? concerning? a natural? person? which, because of name, number, personal mark, or other identifier, can be used to identify such natural person;

(b)? "Private information" shall mean EITHER: (I) personal information consisting of any information in combination with any one or more of the following data elements, when either the DATA ELEMENT OR THE COMBINATION OF personal information [or] PLUS the data element is not encrypted,? or IS? encrypted? with? an? encryption? key? that has also been ACCESSED OR acquired: Social security number; Driver’s license number or non-driver identification card number; Account number, credit, or debit card number in combination with other identifiable data; Biometric information such as a fingerprint, voice print, retina or iris image, or other unique physical representation or digital representation; User name or email address in combination with a password or security question

?See, NYS "Stop Hacks and Improve Electronic Data Security Act", NY General Business Law, Article 39-F.

One important note is that the NYS law talks about combinations of personal information. Since in immigration, practically every form of personal information is required for each application, think of the risk of a breach.?

Every State in the United States has similar rules for attorneys regarding confidentiality and privacy.? For example, according to the NYS Rules of Professional Responsibility, Rule 1.6:

RULE 1.6. Confidentiality of Information (a) A lawyer shall not knowingly reveal confidential information, as defined in this Rule, or use such information to the disadvantage of a client or for the advantage of the lawyer or a third person, unless: (1) the client gives informed consent, as defined in Rule 1.0(j); (2) the disclosure is impliedly authorized to advance the best interests of the client and is either reasonable under the circumstances or customary in the professional community; or (3) the disclosure is permitted by paragraph (b).

“Confidential information” consists of information gained during or relating to the representation of a client, whatever its source, that is (a) protected by the attorney-client privilege, (b) likely to be embarrassing or detrimental to the client if disclosed, or (c) information that the client has requested be kept confidential. “Confidential information” does not ordinarily include (i) a lawyer’s legal knowledge or legal research or (ii) information that is generally known in the local community or in the trade, field or profession to which the information relates.

See, https://www.nycourts.gov/legacypdfs/rules/jointappellate/NY-Rules-Prof-Conduct-1200.pdf.

?Unfortunately, in immigration we see a race to the bottom, with a myriad of non-attorneys providing immigration services, but who lack all the confidentiality and privacy requirements that attorneys must adhere to.? Think twice before you engage a non-attorney immigration agency.? Going for a cheap price may come back to bite you later.

This article is for general information only and does not constitute legal advice. Copyright 2023 ? Heidi J Meyers, all rights reserved.

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