# 119-hr-9803: Protecting Immigrants From Legal Exploitation Act of 2026

119-hr-9803, Protecting Immigrants From Legal Exploitation Act of 2026, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Rep. Foster, Bill [D-IL-11] (D-IL); status introduced; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-08-12).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-9803
- As of: 2026-08-12
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-hr-9803
- Congress: 119
- Title: Protecting Immigrants From Legal Exploitation Act of 2026
- Status: introduced
- Introduced: 2026-07-21
- Sponsor: Rep. Foster, Bill [D-IL-11] (D-IL)
- Cosponsors: 18
- Policy area: Immigration
- Touches household money: yes
- Last recorded action: 2026-08-12

## Summary

**Criminalize and curb immigration-related fraud.** This bill would create new federal crimes for schemes and for falsely posing as an attorney or accredited representative, expand civil enforcement tools, and fund outreach and legal assistance for people harmed by unauthorized practitioners. - Families and immigrant victims: Victims could withdraw or correct applications submitted because of practitioner fraud and would be eligible for reimbursement for fees paid to fraudulent providers. The bill would also allow certain departures based on erroneous advice to be considered when overcoming bars to reentry. - Fraudulent providers and preparers: The measure would make running schemes to defraud in immigration matters a federal crime with penalties up to 10 years and would impose penalties up to 15 years for falsely presenting as an attorney or accredited representative. It would also authorize civil injunctions and contempt sanctions against bad actors. - Agencies and applicants: DHS and the Attorney General would be required to write rules that force paid preparers to identify themselves and require applicants to disclose non-family helpers. The bill would also fund public outreach and multilingual information about who can legally provide immigration help. - Legal services and nonprofits: The bill would create competitive grant programs at U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and the Executive Office for Immigration Review to fund direct legal services for people in removal proceedings and those pursuing immigration applications.

## Cosponsors (18)

- Rep. Carbajal, Salud O. [D-CA-24] (D-CA), 2026-07-21T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Chu, Judy [D-CA-28] (D-CA), 2026-07-21T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Cisneros, Gilbert Ray [D-CA-31] (D-CA), 2026-07-21T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Clarke, Yvette D. [D-NY-9] (D-NY), 2026-07-21T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. García, Jesús G. "Chuy" [D-IL-4] (D-IL), 2026-07-21T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Johnson, Henry C. "Hank" [D-GA-4] (D-GA), 2026-07-21T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Lofgren, Zoe [D-CA-18] (D-CA), 2026-07-21T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. McGovern, James P. [D-MA-2] (D-MA), 2026-07-21T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Moulton, Seth [D-MA-6] (D-MA), 2026-07-21T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Nadler, Jerrold [D-NY-12] (D-NY), 2026-07-21T00:00:00.000Z
- Del. Norton, Eleanor Holmes [D-DC-At Large] (D-DC), 2026-07-21T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Panetta, Jimmy [D-CA-19] (D-CA), 2026-07-21T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Quigley, Mike [D-IL-5] (D-IL), 2026-07-21T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Schakowsky, Janice D. [D-IL-9] (D-IL), 2026-07-21T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Tonko, Paul [D-NY-20] (D-NY), 2026-07-21T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Vargas, Juan [D-CA-52] (D-CA), 2026-07-21T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Wasserman Schultz, Debbie [D-FL-25] (D-FL), 2026-07-21T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Menendez, Robert [D-NJ-8] (D-NJ), 2026-08-10T00:00:00.000Z

## Provisions PRIA read

- Relief for immigrants harmed by fraud: benefit, high. If enacted, people who used an unauthorized preparer and did not know about the fraud would be able to withdraw their immigration filings without prejudice. Agencies would create procedures so corrected filings can be resubmitted even if time or number limits would normally block them. The bill wou…
- Grants for immigrant legal help: benefit, medium. If enacted, USCIS and the immigration courts would run competitive grant programs to fund nonprofit legal groups. Grants would pay for direct legal help to people in removal proceedings and for people completing immigration forms, including help getting documents and evidence. The bill would author…
- More protection from immigration fraud: benefit, medium. If enacted, the bill would make it a federal crime to falsely claim to be an attorney or accredited representative, punishable by up to 15 years in prison. It would also criminalize schemes to defraud immigrants in immigration matters, punishable by up to 10 years, and require convicted preparers t…
- Help and outreach on immigration fraud: benefit, low. If enacted, DHS and the Attorney General would run an education program to tell immigrants who can legally give immigration help. Information about fraud would be posted at service offices and on Attorney General websites. Materials would be available in appropriate languages, including English and…

## Related bills

- 119-hr-7973: Momnibus Act
- 119-hr-7977: Energy Bills Relief Act
- 119-hr-7853: PrEP Access and Coverage Act of 2026
- 119-hr-51: Washington, D.C. Admission Act
- 119-hr-20: Richard L. Trumka Protecting the Right to Organize Act of 2025
- 119-hr-5390: FAMILY Act

## Sources
- [119-hr-9803 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/9803)

## Related
- [119-hr-7973: Momnibus Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-7973)
- [119-hr-7977: Energy Bills Relief Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-7977)
- [119-hr-7853: PrEP Access and Coverage Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-7853)
- [119-hr-51: Washington, D.C. Admission Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-51)
- [119-hr-20: Richard L. Trumka Protecting the Right to Organize Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-20)
- [119-hr-5390: FAMILY Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-5390)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-9803 (as of 2026-08-12).