WA immigration lawyer Alexandra Lozano, facing possible discipline, resigns
Alexandra Lozano, who ran an international, Tukwila-based immigration law business serving thousands of people, gave up her law license Tuesday rather than face a disciplinary hearing for alleged misconduct by the Washington State Bar Association.
The resignation is permanent and means that she cannot practice law in any state nor be affiliated with the law firm she founded, according to bar spokesperson Sara Niegowski. The firm, once named after Lozano, a self-proclaimed lawyer of miracles," recently changed its name to Luz Legal.
A fraud division of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has also been investigating Lozano, according to five people who have been in contact with one of its officers and an email from that division reviewed by The Seattle Times. And the state attorney general's office was, as of last July, conducting a "pre-litigation investigation" of Lozano's firm into whether it engaged in deceptive and unfair business practices, according to a record obtained from that office through public disclosure.
Nine former clients sued Lozano this month, alleging that her firm harmed them through services that were "illusory, negligent, and even fraudulent." The claims include legal malpractice, breach of contract and fiduciary duty, and violation of the Consumer Protection Act. The lawsuit also accuses Lozano and other entities with violating civil racketeering and conspiracy laws.
Like the lawsuit, the bar's 11-page statement of alleged misconduct accuses Lozano of a variety of wrongful practices. The statement says she relied upon staff who weren't lawyers to consult with clients and deliver "scripted sales pitches to prospective clients" making false promises of "100% protection" from immigration authorities. The statement says a computer program determined case strategies without Lozano, or any other lawyer, reviewing them.
In her written resignation, Lozano denied misconduct but said she was choosing not to defend herself against the bar's allegation. She agreed to pay restitution that may be ordered by a committee reviewing the matter.
She did not immediately reply Tuesday to a request for comment.
The bar's statement also alleges Lozano filed green card applications for clients regardless of whether they were eligible, charged "unreasonable fees" of $10,000 to $15,000, and referred clients to a firm she owns for "immigration impact assessments" performed by people with no professional qualifications.
Lozano's firm additionally affixed client signatures to immigration forms even when the clients did not review the documents, the statement says. In at least one case it cites, her firm allegedly filed an immigration document with false information. The government rejected the application.
As in many of the cases Lozano handled, the case applied for immigration benefits under the 1994 Violence Against Women Act, or VAWA.
Congress passed the act to allow domestic violence victims married to U.S. citizens or green card holders to receive immigration benefits without having to rely on their abusers to petition for them. Parents abused by a U.S. citizen child 21 or older also qualify under the act, which does not require someone seeking legal status to leave the country.
The bar's statement does not go into what the allegedly false information was. But several local immigration lawyers who have consulted on cases handled by Lozano's firm said clients have told them declarations submitted to the government on their behalf contained exaggerated or made up abuse allegations about spouses or children. Des Moines attorney Susan Pai, for instance, said she's seen allegations of marital rape and use of firearms in declarations that clients said they never told Lozano's staffers.
In an interview, a plaintiff in the lawsuit elaborated upon allegations in the suit, saying that when she questioned exaggerated statements in a declaration prepared by Lozano's office, staffers told her to go along with the document anyway in an interview with an immigration officer.
The plaintiff's application for a green card was denied. While Lozano's website said it has helped thousands of people obtain green cards and work permits, other clients, according to the lawsuit and the bar's statement, have been placed in deportation proceedings.
Seattle immigration attorney Chelan Crutcher-Herrejon said she met with one former Lozano client last week who received a notice from the government that it intends to revoke the client's green card. The former client was ineligible due to multiple illegal entries into the U.S., according to a notice from the government shared with The Seattle Times. Crutcher-Herrejon said she believes the notice is an indication that the government is reviewing cases handled by Lozano and may issue more such notices of possible revocations.
Told of Lozano's resignation, Crutcher-Herrejon said she was glad. Nonetheless, she said, "it's not going to undo all the damage she's caused."
Crutcher-Herrejon is one of more than two dozen attorneys and law firms, listed on a website devoted to the lawsuit, agreeing to consult with former clients of Lozano and discuss possible options.
Pai said Lozano's resignation "stands as a direct result of the bravery of her victims and colleagues who refused to stay silent, exposing her fraud and her exploitation of some of the most vulnerable people in the country."
In a previous statement to The Seattle Times, Lozano said over almost 20 years as a lawyer she has "consistently centered on advocating for immigrants and supporting the communities they are part of. Despite shifting immigration policies, she said she remained "client-centered and results-oriented."
Her impact was huge. Lozano's firm maintained five primary U.S. locations and back offices in Colombia, Mexico and Argentina. It currently has over 35,000 clients and her signature is on nearly 54,000 petitions pending before U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, according to the bar's statement.
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