SAN FRANCISCO – In the wake of President Obama’s recent executive actions on immigration, the State Bar of California advises consumers to be aware of scam artists who promise help related to immigration reform.

The executive actions protect certain groups from deportation, and are summarized online by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, http://www.uscis.gov/immigrationaction .

The government Web site warns that these initiatives have not yet been implemented, and USCIS is not accepting any requests or applications at this time.

“Beware of anyone who offers to help you submit an application or a request for any of these actions before they are available. You could become a victim of an immigration scam,” it warns.

Consistent with that warning – and still in effect – is California statute AB 1159, authored by Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez, D-San Diego, and approved last year by the California Legislature.

This state legislation:

– Increases the amount of bond that immigration consultants must carry from $50,000 to $100,000 as of July 1, 2014.
– Prohibits the use of the term “notario,” which has been misconstrued as someone who is qualified to give legal advice.
– Provides that a person who violates the ban on the use of the term “notario” is subject to a civil penalty of up to $1,000 per day for each violation.

State Bar President Craig Holden said the legislation “continues to aid in the State Bar's effort to protect immigrants from those who would seek to take advantage of their dreams of citizenship.”

For information about filing a complaint against a lawyer licensed in California, go to the State Bar’s Web site, www.calbar.ca.gov , or call 800-879-4532.

The Executive Office for Immigration Review for the U.S. Department of Justice also handles complaints against immigration attorneys who are licensed in any state.

Call 703-305-0470 or find the complaint form online, http://www.justice.gov/eoir/SubmitAComplaint.htm .

California Attorney General Kamala Harris also has issued a warning against scams targeting immigrants at http://oag.ca.gov/news/press-releases/attorney-general-kamala-d-harris-issues-consumer-alert-scams-targeting .