What if I worked with false papers?

Greetings Jorge Rivera, immigration attorney.

What happens if you have worked with false papers? This is a question I get asked by many people. There are more than 11 million undocumented people without papers in the U.S., but they have to live. These people must pay the bills, shop for food, buy a car, a house, provide for their family. A large percentage of the 11 million people are working.

How do they work? Many of them do so with false documents, social security numbers that are not theirs, but are provided by their employer.

Apply for residency

Having worked with a forged document can prevent us from applying for the residence? The answer is not so general, it depends on the facts. For example, if you have an arrest for identity theft, i.e., someone ratted you out, you were arrested by the police, you were charged for occupying a document or a social security number of a U.S. citizen, there is already a record.

There is a record of that, which appears when the immigration authorities check your fingerprints. In these cases, you are punished for life, and you can never become a resident.
This, it is worth clarifying, applies to you if you committed it after April 1, 1997. 

Now, what if you were never arrested, what if they never noticed and the only one who knew about these crimes was your employer? Finding these cases is like finding, as the saying goes, a needle in a haystack. Immigration does not know everything, nor does it investigate everything; they do not have the resources to do so. Immigration authorities go by the documents you present. They can investigate, but it's not the norm.

Therefore, many people who took false social security numbers from other people were overlooked by Immigration. They will never find out unless you provide that information yourself on the forms, in the written interview, or verbally.

This is where the fifth amendment comes in: You have the right not to incriminate yourself with Immigration, that is, not to speak out. No you have to tell, and if you do, you will be disqualified for life.

Immigration Lawyer

It is very important to have good advice from a lawyer who can tell you "these are your rights, you have rights not to incriminate yourself under the fifth amendment of the Constitution, only you know what you did" If you reserve yourself under your fifth amendment right, they probably won't find out.

You have that right not to disclose that information. The lawyer has to stand back and advise you so that you can protect yourself with the Fifth Amendment.

For immigration assistance and the best advice under these types of circumstances that will not affect you, please call 888 578 2276.

Remember also that attorney Jorge Rivera offers all types of legal advice to immigrants throughout the United States.
If you are looking for an immigration lawyer in Miami, you can find us at 5820 Blue Lagoon Dr, Miami, FL.
It also provides counseling for immigrants in Las Vegas.