Sarai Verges, 42, arrived in New York from Mexico 20 years ago. When she applied for a marriage license with her fiancé, a U.S. citizen, it was denied on the grounds that his divorce in the Dominican Republic wasn’t valid. At the recommendation of her church in Queens, Verges and her fiancé went to an immigration service provider to legalize the divorce.

For years, she inquired about the status of their case and was repeatedly told it was pending. It wasn’t until 2011, after the New York attorney general filed a lawsuit for fraud against the company she used, that she learned the case had been abandoned and closed 10 years earlier.

“The problem was in all this time I could not get a permit to work,” Verges said. “The only one working is my spouse.”

Immigration assistance fraud is a nationwide problem that hits New York City especially hard: More than 37 percent of city residents are foreign-born, according to the city planning department. Fraudulent immigration service providers prey on hopeful new arrivals ready to hand over cash for promises of citizenship or work permits.

Last month Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed legislation making immigration assistance fraud a felony when clients are defrauded of more than $1,000. The Immigrant Assistance Service Enforcement Act also creates stronger consumer protections for clients and establishes the right to sue shoddy service providers.

Official figures illustrating the extent of the problem are scant. The Manhattan district attorney established an Immigrant Affairs Program in late 2007, with a hotline that has received more than 2,500 complaints since its inception, most related to immigration fraud. Since the Immigration Fraud Unit in the Brooklyn district attorney’s office was established in March, it has gotten 80 to 100 cases referred to it, with 25 cases currently under investigation.

But those familiar with immigration fraud say many victims are fearful to report being defrauded because they are in the country illegally.

“This is a hugely underreported crime,” said Matthew Blaisdell, an immigration lawyer based in Brooklyn who helped craft the legislation. “Part of the goal of this legislation is to bring more light to the number of victims.”

In Hispanic communities, the problem is often known as notario fraud. Hot spots of notario activity in New York City include stretches of Jackson Heights, Washington Heights and Sunset Park. A 2012 report by New Immigrant Community Empowerment that used people posing as potential clients found that nearly 1 in 3 immigrant service providers approached made false promises. Misleading signage was also common.

Notarios operate openly, and many profit from the confusion around the translation of their name. While in the U.S. a notary is a person who witnesses signatures to legal documents, in many Latin American countries, a notario publico is similar to a lawyer.

Aleimi Castillo is an immigration service provider and licensed notary who assists immigrants with their forms in the Bronx. She frequently sees the confusion among her clients who may expect help choosing which forms to fill out. But this is considered legal advice, which she is not allowed to give.

“Most of my customers are Hispanic, so I do have to explain to them that I’m not a lawyer and that I can’t answer certain questions,” said Castillo.

While the confusion around the term “notario” disproportionately affects Hispanic immigrants, it is only one type of immigration fraud, which concerns all immigrant communities.

“Almost every group comes from a country where immigration is done differently,” said Blaisdell.

These differences can become a point of vulnerability. In many Asian countries, for example, immigration services are routinely offered in travel agencies. In Chinatown, fraud is more likely to happen out of a travel business than a notary, he explained.