HelloStampedOfficialUSCIS — Common Scams · Last verified
Is this really USCIS? What they never ask for
The quickest way to recognise an immigration scam is to know the short list of things USCIS never does. It never asks you to pay a person, never takes gift cards, and never messages you on your personal social media.
The things USCIS never does
USCIS states it will never ask you to transfer money to an individual. It does not accept Western Union, MoneyGram, PayPal, Venmo or gift cards as payment for immigration fees. It will never ask you to pay a fee to a person on the phone or by email. Some fees can be paid online, but only through your USCIS online account and Pay.gov. And it will not contact you through your personal social media accounts. Any one of those on its own is enough to end the conversation.
Source: USCIS — Common Scams · in effect from 2023-01-01
What has not changed
Nothing about how you deal with USCIS has become harder or riskier. You may still file forms yourself and represent yourself — USCIS says plainly that you do not need a representative. Your online account still works the way it did, case status is still free to check, and the agency still writes to you by post. Being cautious about a phone call does not mean being cautious about the process.
Source: USCIS — Common Scams · in effect from 2023-01-01
If you already paid
Report it. USCIS directs people who suspect they have been the victim of immigration fraud to the Federal Trade Commission or their state consumer protection office. Reporting is not an admission of anything and it does not affect your case. If your Social Security card or employment authorization document was sent to an old address, USCIS has a non-delivery inquiry for the card and the Social Security Administration has its own fraud reporting route.
Source: USCIS — Common Scams · in effect from 2023-01-01
How to check an email or a website
- U.S. government email addresses always end in .gov. Check the sender's full address, not the display name.\n- Every official USCIS website carries a message and a U.S. flag at the top saying it is an official government site, and its address ends in .gov.\n- USCIS says it does not routinely email to say it has approved a visa or other benefit. It may email from a uscis.gov address to prompt you to update your physical address.\n- Watch for typos and odd formatting in a letter claiming to be a decision. USCIS names these as a sign of correspondence that is not genuine.
Source: USCIS — Common Scams · in effect from 2023-01-01
Where people get caught
The pressure is the tell, not the accent or the phone number — caller ID is trivially faked, and a caller who says your status will be cancelled unless you pay today is describing something USCIS does not do. Gift cards are the clearest signal of all: no government agency has ever taken one. And a message arriving on WhatsApp, Instagram or Facebook from somebody claiming to be an officer is outside every channel USCIS uses, whatever the profile picture shows. Hang up, then call or check your case yourself using a number or address you found on uscis.gov.
Source: USCIS — Common Scams · in effect from 2023-01-01
Official
Frequently asked questions
- Can USCIS phone me and ask for a payment?
- No. USCIS states it will never ask you to pay fees to a person on the phone or by email, and never to transfer money to an individual. Fees that can be paid online are paid through your USCIS online account and Pay.gov.
- Does USCIS use WhatsApp or Facebook to contact people?
- No. USCIS says it will only contact you through official government channels and will not contact you through your personal social media accounts.
- How do I know a USCIS website is real?
- The address ends in .gov, and every official USCIS site carries a message and a U.S. flag at the top identifying it as an official government website.