Lawyers Are Only Sure Winners in Immigrant Lottery

People entering a State Department lottery for coveted permanent U.S. visas face 100-to-1 odds, but their immigration lawyers are hitting the jackpot.

Some Los Angeles immigration lawyers are charging up to $1,000 to enter clients in the government drawing--even though the State Department insists that no lawyer is needed.

Community workers in Los Angeles are critical of the fees some lawyers are charging illegal aliens, many of whom willingly pay almost any price for a chance to live in the United States legally.

“It appears that some people are making a lot of money, and their clients may never get a green card,” said Linda Mitchell, director of Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles.

Lawyers contend that they are performing a service and say that they deserve their fees.

“I’m not bending anyone’s arm,” said Los Angeles lawyer Ronald J. Tasoff, who charges clients $250 to enter them in the lottery--and he takes credit cards. “It comes down to what a green card is worth to someone. Let’s face it--$250 hardly buys you dinner in Tokyo.”

The State Department lottery will award visas to 40,000 people from 34 countries, including Ireland, Japan and most of Eastern Europe. Mexico is not included. According to the Immigration Act of 1990, a bill co-sponsored by Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.), at least 16,000 of the people who win visas must be Irish.

The lottery rules mean that 24,000 visas will be split among people from the remaining 33 countries, giving citizens of Eastern Europe and Japan a reduced chance of winning. A State Department spokeswoman said 3.2 million entered a similar lottery last year. She said it isn’t known how many will enter this time, although the number could match last year’s.

Although it’s being called a lottery, it isn’t a truly random process. State Department officials say they select qualifying applications on a first-come, first-served basis so there is an advantage to getting an application in quickly. The system was set up to give an opportunity to citizens from countries that do not get preferential treatment under U.S. immigration laws. It will be repeated next year and in 1993.

With a permanent resident visa in hand, foreign citizens can apply for and receive a Social Security card and an alien registration card--known as a green card--giving them the right to work here.

The State Department spokeswoman said rules for the lottery--to be held sometime this summer--have not yet been written. The spokeswoman said, however, that the rules will be simple.

“Last time we needed the name, address, country of birth, date of birth, any dependents, and that’s it. Three or four different questions. You do not need a lawyer,” the spokeswoman said. “Having a lawyer does not guarantee a thing.”

The spokeswoman said she was surprised by the lawyers’ actions. “I think it’s crazy the lawyers are soliciting business before we even announce the rules,” she said.

Assistant Los Angeles Dist. Atty. Louis Ito said his office was aware of the visa lottery solicitations. He said that although it was “outrageous to charge someone an exorbitant fee just to write and mail a letter,” no law was broken.

A growing number of community leaders, however, are concerned. Bill Watanabe, director of the Little Tokyo Service Center, said one woman who frequents the center paid a lawyer $800 to enter the lottery, with another $1,700 due if she wins.

“These people feel pressured to do whatever they can” to get a permanent visa “and don’t take time to think,” said Watanabe. He said an $800 fee seemed “a lot of money to plunk down for a slim chance of getting a green card.”

Recently, some immigration lawyers intensified their search for clients through advertisements in foreign-language newspapers. Tasoff placed ads in a Hungarian newspaper. Another Los Angeles immigration lawyer, Mark A. Ivener, took out an ad in the Japanese newspaper Rafu Shimpo.

In his mailing, Ivener said he charges “a flat fee of $3,000 (plus $500 for each dependent) for the entire ‘green card’ program,” with $1,000 as a down payment and the rest payable only if the client is accepted for a visa.

Ivener, in an interview, acknowledged that the lottery applications are easy but said he does some legwork: He flies to Washington and mails the applications from a secret mailbox that will get them to the State Department quickly. In addition, he said, he will enter losing clients in the next two lotteries “for no additional fee.”

Ivener resisted suggestions that his fee appeared steep. “Other attorneys are doing the same thing,” he said.

Tasoff said he “felt funny” taking on the lottery business. “I felt funny charging money for mailing a letter. It’s a service, but people can probably do it themselves.”

Tasoff said the competitive nature of the immigration law business forced his hand. “There is a recession going on. Lawyers are hungrier. We have to do more things--offer new products and services.”

“Hey,” he said. “I know someone charging $800.”