Apparently the title "notary public" translates as "notario publico", but means very different things in the US and in Mexico. Leading to this problem:
CBS News: "The Colombia-born wife of a Georgia state senator emerged from hiding and turned herself in Tuesday to face a deportation order, … [which] stemmed from Herrera's repeated failure to appear before a judge on an asylum application, which she did not know had been filed. … she was duped by a man handling her immigration requests and that she never received the immigration notices. … She applied for an extension to the visa through a "notario" – a man who claimed he was qualified to handle legal immigration matters – " but that gent screwed it up.
Numerous complaints have been received about persons of Hispanic descent who have been harmed after mistakenly seeking legal assistance from notaries who offer such services in immigration matters. Notary publics cannot use their title … to imply that they are authorized to practice law. … they should not be relied on for legal advice.
[But] In Latin American countries the notary public must be a lawyer. … Many people of Hispanic descent are unfamiliar with the kinds of services that can be performed by a notary public in Florida and mistakenly assume that notaries can help them resolve all their legal problems, especially in the immigration area.
The problem has become so bad in Florida that legal steps have been taken to clear up the language:
The law now prevents a literal translation of "notary public" into a language other than English in advertisements. If the advertisement is not in English, it must contain a disclaimer that states "I am not an attorney licensed to practice law in the State of Florida, and I may not give legal advice or accept fees for legal advice."
In healthcare, we have all kinds of regional courses, such as "Spanish for healthcare workers" or whatever the languages being used in those areas are. Yet, someone who is fluent in Spanish told me that this is ridiculous. It is situations like this, where the mere translation of the words could mean something very different than intended, that shows me she was right.
