By Emily Wu, Attorney, Federal Trade Commission
You might have seen that the President recently sent a new immigration bill to Congress. What does that mean for you if you’re a non-citizen in the United States? Right now, the truthful answer is likely nothing — at least not yet. But scammers won’t tell you that.
Instead, we’ve already heard about scammers trying to profit off this news by offering so-called immigration services in response to this immigration bill. Someone might say that they can help you with a new pathway to citizenship, or that they can help you can skip the line if you’re a farmworker or a Dreamer. In either case, for a fee.
But none of this is true. First, there is no new immigration law yet — at this point, it is just a proposal. Second, only notarios and dishonest attorneys will tell you they can help you get immigration status based on a bill. They are eager to charge you now for immigration help even though they know the bill may never become law.
Listen to “US. Citizenship Act of 2021 & Beware of Immigration Scammers” Podcast below:
This is what we know right now:
- If anyone tells you that there’s already a new path to citizenship because of the bill, it’s a scam.
- You can get information on any changes to immigration law directly from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services at USCIS.gov. To get this news directly by email, subscribe to USCIS news releases and alerts.
- You can seek legal help from immigration lawyers or U.S Department of Justice (DOJ) accredited representatives, not notarios. For tips on how to avoid scams against immigrants, go to ftc.gov/immigration.
- Never pay for USCIS forms. You can get free USCIS forms directly from their website or by calling them at 1-800-870-3676.
If you spot an immigration scam, report it to the Federal Trade Commission at ReportFraud.ftc.gov. You can report the scam anonymously or ask your attorney to report the scam with their contact information instead. Each report helps protect your community against immigration scams.
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