Because of widespread fraud committed by con artists who prey on immigrants using foreign language titles such as “notario publico,” California has strict restrictions regarding Notaries who wish to offer consulting services to immigrants, including the following:
A California Notary cannot advertise as both an immigration consultant and a Notary Public.
An immigration consultant may not offer legal advice about a client’s immigration situation.
An immigration consultant may not represent someone before USCIS in an immigration proceeding. Only a qualified immigration attorney or an accredited representative of an organization recognized by the federal government may represent someone before USCIS.
Notaries and immigration consultants in California are prohibited from advertising using the Spanish language title “notario” or “notario publico” or other literal translations of “Notary Public” in other languages.
Notaries who are not attorneys in California and who advertise in a language other than English must post a notice in English and any other language advertised that the Notary is not an attorney and may not give legal advice about immigration or other legal matters. The Notary must also post the statutory Notary fee schedule on the notice.
Source:
nationalnotary.org