Immigration Attorney Accused of Fraud in Lawsuit Alleging Thousands of Victims, Hundreds in Fresno

Nearly 6,000 former clients have joined a lawsuit against former immigration attorney Alexandra Lozano, alleging she filed fraudulent immigration documents and misled vulnerable immigrants while charging them thousands of dollars for services that may now leave them facing deportation.

According to the complaint filed by attorney Vicente Omar Barraza, Lozano — who marketed herself as the “Miracle Lawyer” or “Abogada de los Milagros” — used religious imagery including La Virgen de Guadalupe in her marketing while allegedly filing immigration petitions clients did not qualify for or did not understand. Barraza estimates hundreds of victims in the Fresno area alone.

The lawsuit alleges Lozano focused on Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) petitions and T visas because she could charge higher fees, with clients reportedly paying between $5,000 and $15,000 for services. “She focused on VAWA and T Visa cases because she could charge more and then most of the work appears to have been done in Columbia in Mexico,” Barraza said.

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The complaint further alleges Lozano’s firm used unauthorized electronic signatures, with employees copying clients’ signatures from blank sheets of paper onto documents the clients never reviewed or approved. “She utilized a system where people signed blank pieces of paper, and she cut and pasted those signatures onto the forms,” Barraza stated.

Lozano operated a Fresno office that now sits vacant with “for lease” signs in the windows. Her Seattle-based law firm handled more than 35,000 cases before she voluntarily surrendered her Washington law license in May rather than face disciplinary proceedings. She is also under investigation by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Fraud Detection and National Security Directorate.

Fresno immigration attorney Gregory Olson said several of Lozano’s former clients have sought assistance from his office. “They’ve all been trusting this attorney to take care of them and now they’re finding out this attorney was lying or creating lies with their name signed at the bottom,” Olson said.

In a statement, Lozano’s attorney said: “Alexandra denies the allegations that have been raised by a small number of the thousands of individuals she has represented. She will address those allegations fully in court.”

Lozano reportedly maintained a multimillion-dollar real estate portfolio and traveled in a pink private jet valued at approximately $25 million. The lawsuit alleges clients invested “sometimes their life savings in finding a path towards legalization, but now their situation may be worse off.”

Barraza said the alleged practices have damaged the credibility of immigration petitions filed through Lozano’s firm. “We are going to see thousands and thousands of people denied because they did business with her. The government no longer places much credibility in the applications she filed.”

Some former clients who left the United States for consular processing have been unable to return, Barraza said, while others now face deportation proceedings because of how their cases were filed.

The Breakdown

• The lawsuit alleges Lozano filed fraudulent immigration applications, including VAWA (Violence Against Women Act) and T visa petitions, for clients who did not qualify or did not understand what was being filed in their names. VAWA petitions allow certain victims of domestic violence to self-petition for immigration status; T visas are for victims of human trafficking.
• Former clients allege the firm used unauthorized electronic signatures by copying clients’ signatures from blank paper onto immigration documents they never reviewed.
• Lozano voluntarily surrendered her Washington law license in May rather than face disciplinary proceedings after the state bar accused her of fraud. She denies wrongdoing.
• The firm had more than 35,000 clients when Lozano resigned. Barraza estimates hundreds of potential victims in Fresno alone.
• Clients reportedly paid between $5,000 and $15,000 for legal services.

What This Means for You

The scale of alleged harm — thousands of immigrants potentially facing damaged immigration cases or deportation — raises the question of whether state and federal agencies tasked with regulating attorneys and protecting consumers responded effectively. The State Bar of California lacks jurisdiction over attorneys licensed in other states. Federal immigration authorities are investigating, but thousands of former clients now face uncertain legal status.

What You Can Do

Former clients who believe their immigration cases were mishandled can join the ongoing lawsuit by contacting attorney Vicente Omar Barraza. Immigration scams can be reported to local District Attorneys.

What to Watch

The lawsuit’s scale — nearly 6,000 former clients and counting — raises the immediate question of what happens to 35,000 immigration cases when the attorney who filed them has surrendered her license and the applications themselves may be fraudulent. Barraza stated plainly: “I’m not sure that the market of immigration attorneys can absorb 35,000 cases filed by this firm.” That means a large number of people may find themselves without representation and facing deportation, not because of their own legal status but because the attorney they paid mishandled their case.

The Washington State Bar Association has returned most client files but approximately 200 require manual processing. The credibility problem Barraza describes — immigration authorities no longer trusting applications filed by Lozano’s firm — means even clients with legitimate claims may now be denied.