An attorney in Somerset County was charged Wednesday with preparing false visa applications on behalf of his clients, claiming on at least one application that a client was seeking asylum because he feared for his life if he returned to Mexico, authorities said. Steven G. Thomas, 52, of New Hope, Pennsylvania, who operates a law firm in Montgomery Township, “encouraged clients to apply for asylum under fraudulent pretenses,” U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger said in a statement. “(Thomas) advised clients regarding the manner in which they were most likely to obtain asylum, knowing that these c…