(a) Definitions. As used in this section:
"Immigration matter" means any proceeding, filing or action affecting the non-immigrant, immigrant or citizenship status of any person which arises under immigration and naturalization law, executive order or presidential proclamation, or which arises under action of the United States Department of Homeland Security, the United States Department of Labor, the United States Department of State or its successor department(s).
"Compensation" means money, property, services, promise of payment, or anything else of value.
"Employed by" means that a person is on the payroll of the employer and the employer deducts from the employee's paycheck social security and withholding taxes, or receives compensation from the employer on a commission basis or as an independent contractor.
"Reasonable costs" means actual costs or, if actual costs cannot be calculated, reasonably estimated cost of such things as photocopying, telephone calls, document requests, and filing fees for immigration forms, and other services and overhead costs incidental to assistance in an immigration matter.
(b) Exemptions. The requirements of this section shall not apply to any of the following persons if such person can prove by a preponderance of the evidence that such person is eligible for an exemption under this section: (1) an attorney licensed to practice law in the State of Illinois, to the extent the attorney renders services in immigration matters in the course of his or her practice as an attorney; (2) a legal intern, as described by rules of the Illinois Supreme Court, employed by and under the direct supervision of a licensed attorney and rendering services in immigration matters in the course of such employment; and (3) a not- for-profit organization recognized by the Board of Immigration Appeals pursuant to 8 C.F.R. § 292.2(a), as amended, and employees of such organizations accredited pursuant to 8 C.F.R. § 292.2(d), as amended. Provided, however, that nothing in this section shall regulate any business to the extent that such regulation is prohibited by state or federal law.
(c) Scope of license. A license under this section authorizes the licensee to perform only the following services: (1) providing the customer with a government agency form appropriate to the customer's needs if only that form can reasonably be considered appropriate and if the selection of the form does not involve a legal judgment; (2) transcribing responses to a government agency form which is related to an immigration matter, but not advising a customer as to his or her answers on those forms; (3) translating information on forms to a customer and translating the customer's answers to questions posed on those forms; (4) securing for the customer supporting documents currently in existence, such as birth and marriage certificates, which may be needed to submit with government agency forms; (5) translating documents from a foreign language into English; (6) notarizing signatures on government agency forms, if the person performing the service is a notary public of the State of Illinois; (7) making referrals, without fee, to attorneys who could undertake legal representation for a person in an immigration matter; (8) preparing or arranging for the preparation of photographs and fingerprints; (9) arranging for the performance of medical testing (including X-rays and A.I.D.S. tests) and the obtaining of reports of such test results; (10) conducting English language and civics courses; and (11) such other services that the commissioner determines by rule may be appropriately performed by such persons to help immigrants reside and work in the United States, establish and maintain stable families and business relationships, promote honesty and fair dealing and preserve the public confidence.
(d) Departmental duties.
(1) The commissioner may promulgate regulations establishing maximum fees that may be charged for the services described in items (1) through (11), inclusive, of subsection (c) of this section. Provided, however, that such maximum fees shall be reasonable in light of the costs of providing such services and the degree of professional skill required to provide the services.
(2) If the commissioner determines that a person has engaged in, is engaging in or is about to engage in a practice prohibited by this section, the commissioner may: (i) order the person to discontinue the prohibited practice; (ii) order the person to pay restitution to persons aggrieved by the practice; (iii) take action to revoke or suspend the regulated business license of the person; and/or (iv) request the corporation counsel to bring an action in circuit court for injunctive or such other relief as may be appropriate.
(e) Legal duties. Each licensee engaged in the business of immigration assistance shall have a duty to:
(1) (A) at the time a customer indicates that he is contemplating retaining the licensee for assistance with an immigration matter, and prior to entering into a contract or charging any compensation or costs for assistance in the immigration matter, provide the customer with a written disclosure that includes the following: (i) an explanation of the services to be performed; (ii) a statement that prior to entering into any contract, the licensee shall provide the customer with a written estimate of the total compensation and costs to be charged based on the services selected by the customer; (iii) a statement that documents submitted in support of an application for non-immigrant, immigrant or naturalization status may not be retained by the licensee for any purpose, including payment of compensation or costs; (iv) a statement, which shall be on the face of the disclosure and shall be in print larger and more conspicuous than other print on the disclosure, that the licensee is not an attorney and may not perform legal services.
(B) prior to entering into any contract or charging any fee for assistance in an immigration matter, a licensee shall provide a written estimate of the total charge, including any fees or costs, a customer will incur based upon the services selected by the customer.
A licensee shall not enter into any contract with a customer, or charge the customer any fee, prior to the licensee reviewing the written estimated total charges with the customer.
No customer shall be liable to a licensee for any charge or cost for assistance in an immigration matter without a written contract; and
(C) prior to charging any compensation or cost, provide a customer with a written contract that includes the following conditions: (i) a list of the services to be performed; (ii) the total amount of compensation and cost to be charged based upon the services selected by the customer; (iii) a provision that the documents submitted in support of an application for non-immigrant, immigrant or naturalization status may not be retained by the licensee for any purpose, including the payment of compensation or costs; (iv) a provision that the customer may rescind the contract within 72 hours, which shall be conspicuously set forth in the contract in understandable language substantially similar to "You may cancel this contract within 3 days and get your money back for work not performed." The written contract required under this subsection shall be in both English and in the language of the customer. A copy of the contract shall be provided to the customer upon the customer's execution of the contract. The customer shall have the right to rescind such contract within 72 hours of signing of the contract;
(2) upon demand of the customer, return to the customer any documents submitted in support of an application for non-immigrant, immigrant or naturalization status;
(3) post signs at the licensee's place of business, setting forth in English and in every other language in which the person provides or offers to provide assistance in immigration matters. Each language shall be on a separate sign. Signs shall be posted in a location where the signs will be visible to customers. Each sign shall be at least 11 inches by 17 inches, and shall contain the following: (i) the statement "I am not an attorney"; (ii) if applicable, the statement that "I am not accredited to represent you before the United States Department of Homeland Security"; (iii) the fee schedule; (iv) the statement that "You may cancel any contract within three days and get your money back for services not performed"; (v) the statement that "If you have a complaint about this business, contact: City of Chicago, Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection (Insert the Department's current address). (Insert, within a box in bold-faced type, the Department's current telephone number and current web address to which complaints may be sent). Business name: (Insert legal name of business). Business address: (Insert address of business). Business phone: (Insert current business phone number); and (vi) such other additional information as the commissioner may require by rule;
(4) if the licensee or any other person is engaged in the business of fingerprinting or providing fingerprinting services at the licensed premises, conspicuously display in each location of business, in a clearly visible place, a sign stating the following: "This Office Is Not An Authorized Government Agency. This Office Is Not A Part Of And Is Not Associated With The United States Department of Homeland Security Or Any Government Agency. Fingerprints Taken At This Location Will Not Be Accepted By The United States Department of Homeland Security For Any Purpose." Such sign shall be (i) in black print on a white background, in letters no smaller than 48-point typeface; and (ii) posted in the following languages: English, Spanish, Polish, Korean, Arabic, Hindi and Mandarin.
(f) Advertising – Additional duties.
(1) Every licensee who advertises immigration assistance services by signs, pamphlets, newspapers or any other means shall post or otherwise include with the advertisement a notice in English and in the language in which the advertisement appears. The notice shall be of a conspicuous size and shall state the following: "The individual providing assistance to you is not at attorney licensed to practice law or accredited by the board of immigration appeals to provide representation to you before the bureau of citizenship and immigration services, the department of law, the department of state or any immigration authorities and may not give legal advice or accept fees for legal advice;
(2) No advertisement for immigration assistance services shall expressly or implicitly guarantee any particular government action, including, but not limited to, the granting of residency or citizenship status.
(g) Prohibited acts. It shall be unlawful for any licensee engaged in the business of immigration assistance to:
(1) in the course of dealing with customers or prospective customers, (i) make any statement that the person can or will obtain special favors from or has special influence with the United States Department of Homeland Security or any other government agency; (ii) retain any compensation for service not performed; (iii) refuse to return documents supplied by, prepared by, or paid for by the customer upon the request of the customer, even if there is a fee dispute between the immigration assistant and the customer; (iv) represent or to advertise, in connection with the provision of assistance in immigration matters, other titles or credentials, including, but not limited to, "notary public" or "immigration consultant," that could reasonably cause a customer to believe that the person possesses any form of license, accreditation, or official authorization to provide advice on an immigration matter. Provided, however, that a notary public appointed by the Illinois Secretary of State may use the term "notary public" if such use is accompanied by the statement that the person is not an attorney; and (v) to give any legal advice concerning an immigration matter;
(2) state, imply, offer or otherwise represent that a person, business, agency, office or organization is authorized to provide fingerprinting services which will be accepted by the United States Department of Homeland Security for the process of DHS applications or for any other purpose;
(3) charge fees, directly or indirectly, for referring an individual to an attorney or for any immigration matter not authorized under subsection (c) of this section. Provided, however, that a person may charge a fee for notarizing documents as permitted by the Illinois Notary Public Act;
(4) make any guarantee or promise to a customer, unless there is a basis in fact for such guarantee or promise, and the guarantee or promise is in writing;
(5) represent that a fee may be charged, or to charge a fee, for the distribution, provision or submission of any official document or form issued or promulgated by a state or federal governmental entity, for the referral of the customer to another person or entity that is qualified to provide services or assistance which the licensee will not provide;
(6) disclose any information to, or file any forms or documents with, immigration or other authorities without the knowledge or consent of the customer.
(h) Penalty. In addition to any other penalty provided by law, any person who violates any provision of this section or any rule or regulation promulgated thereunder shall be subject to a fine of not less than $250.00 nor more than $2,500.00 for the first offense and not less than $500.00 nor more than $5,000.00 for a second or any subsequent offense, or imprisonment for a period not to exceed six months, or both, for each offense. Each day that a violation continues shall constitute a separate and distinct offense.
(i) Private right of action. Any person aggrieved by any violation of this section or any rule or regulation promulgated thereunder may bring an action in an appropriate court against any person subject to this section, for injunction against the violation or for such other or additional relief as may be appropriate to deter, prevent or compensate for the violation. It is the express intention of the city council that remedies for violation of this ordinance shall be cumulative.
(Added Coun. J. 5-9-12, p. 27485, § 16; Amend Coun. J. 11-8-12, p. 38872, § 70; Amend Coun. J. 12-9-15, p. 15481, § 3)