Bar Probing Lawyers’ Fees for Entries in Visa Lottery

The State Bar of California is investigating whether some Los Angeles immigration lawyers are charging excessive fees to enter clients in a hard-to-win State Department lottery for all-important U.S. visas.

Charles S. Vogel, State Bar president, asked for the review Wednesday in response to a Times account that said lawyers are charging up to $1,000 to enter clients in the lottery--even though the State Department says no lawyer is needed. “I am very disappointed by the comments of lawyers in the story,” Vogel said.

The Times reported Tuesday that people who enter the government lottery face 100-to-1 odds, but lawyers can’t lose. Community workers in Los Angeles have said they are concerned that some lawyers are getting rich collecting big fees from illegal aliens who will pay almost any price for a chance to live in the United States legally.

The immigration lawyers contend that their fees are fair. One lawyer said he “felt funny” charging clients for so simple a task but added that a recession forced him to “offer new products and services.”

Vogel, a partner at Sidley & Austin in Los Angeles, said it was unclear immediately whether lawyers violated State Bar rules against “unconscionable fees.” He said the Bar needed to check on how much work a lottery entry requires.

The Bar is also looking at advertisements placed by immigration lawyers in foreign language newspapers to see if they are misleading. Vogel said any ads that promise a visa or state that a lawyer is needed would probably violate State Bar rules. Lawyers who break the rules are subject to disciplinary actions that range from private reproval to disbarment.

Vogel said the State Bar partially funds organizations, such as Public Counsel and the Asian Pacific Legal Center, where immigrants can get legal help cheaply. “It disturbs me that people don’t know they can go to these organizations and get help. They don’t have to pay an arm and a leg.”

Later this year, the State Department will award 40,000 permanent resident U.S. visas to citizens of 34 countries, including Japan, Indonesia and most of Eastern Europe. Under lottery rules, about 16,000 of those visas will go to Irish citizens.

Although it is called a lottery, visas aren’t assigned randomly. The State Department is distributing the visas on a first-come, first-served basis, so it helps to get an application in quickly.

The State Department said that although lottery rules have not been established, it will be easy to enter. A previous lottery required applicants to give little more than name, address, place of birth and number of dependents.

Immigration lawyers interviewed by The Times acknowledged that lottery applications involved little effort, although one lawyer said he will fly to Washington to mail applications from a special mailbox that gets letters to the government quickly.

The visa qualifies people for Social Security cards and for so-called “green cards,” allowing them to work legally in the United States.