{"id":513,"date":"2022-10-13T09:30:36","date_gmt":"2022-10-13T16:30:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.elawrencelaw.com\/blog\/?p=513"},"modified":"2022-11-08T08:04:24","modified_gmt":"2022-11-08T16:04:24","slug":"tips-to-avoid-immigration-scams","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.elawrencelaw.com\/blog\/tips-to-avoid-immigration-scams\/","title":{"rendered":"Tips to Avoid Immigration Scams"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"alignleft is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.elawrencelaw.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/shutterstock_2131472689-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-514\" width=\"254\" height=\"169\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.elawrencelaw.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/shutterstock_2131472689-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.elawrencelaw.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/shutterstock_2131472689-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.elawrencelaw.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/shutterstock_2131472689.jpg 1000w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 254px) 100vw, 254px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>The immigration process can be stressful, lengthy, and confusing. As a result, some opportunistic criminals attempt immigration scams to take advantage of honest people like you. Here are some of our tips for avoiding these scams and protecting yourself and your family. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<!--more-->\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Notary or Notario Scams <\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>In some other countries, a notario p\u00fablico, or notary\npublic, is somebody who has been through training and has legal power. However,\nthat is not the case in the United States. In the US, a notary public is\nsomeone who has gone through training to professionally witness individuals who\nneed to sign official documents, like a lease or job contract. They are not\nqualified to offer legal advice. If you are going to a notary public who tries\nto have you sign blank immigration forms or who charges you for legal help, you\nare falling for one of the most common immigration scams. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Fake Immigration Websites<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>One of the most common immigration scams on the internet is\nphony immigration websites. These websites look like they\u2019re the real thing, but\nthey are run by criminals who are looking to steal your information, sell you\nfake products, or do other types of harm. Never click on unfamiliar links. When\nyou\u2019re on an immigration website, check to ensure that the URL ends in \u201c.gov\u201d\ninstead of \u201c.com\u201d or another extension. Additionally, USCIS forms are free, and\nyou should never be charged to download them. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Diversity Lottery Immigration Scams<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>The Diversity Visa Immigrant Program is officially organized\nby the US Department of State, but some immigration scams attempt to collect\npayment and information for entry. The real visa lottery is totally free to\nenter at <a href=\"https:\/\/dvprogram.state.gov\/\">https:\/\/dvprogram.state.gov\/<\/a>,\nand it happens once a year. You never need to pay to enter. You will never be\nable to pay extra or buy an extra entry for the program. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Know the Red Flags <\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Immigration scams prey upon people wanting to do the right\nthing and an unfamiliarity with the system. Some of the red flags that you\nshould look for include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Asking for personal information or payment on a\nphone call or through email <\/li><li>Asking you to sign blank forms or blank pieces\nof paper<\/li><li>Charging fees for services that you don\u2019t fully\nunderstand <\/li><li>Applications or documents that are sent from\nunofficial websites or email addresses<\/li><li>Phone calls from people who are pretending to be\ngovernment officials <\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Additionally, if anything sounds illogical or like it might\nbe too good to be true\u2014there\u2019s a good chance that it <em>is<\/em> too good to be\ntrue. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Protect Yourself with The Law Office of Elizabeth Anu Lawrence <\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>If you or a loved one is uncertain how to proceed when you\nare looking for immigration law assistance, choose an experienced firm like the\nLaw Office of Elizabeth Anu Lawrence to give you the help you need.&nbsp; Please give us a call at 443.352.3201. Skype\nand telephone consultation are both available to clients.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The immigration process can be stressful, lengthy, and confusing. As a result, some opportunistic criminals attempt immigration scams to take advantage of honest people like you. Here are some of our tips for avoiding these scams and protecting yourself and your family.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-513","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-us-immigration"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Tips to Avoid Immigration Scams -<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.elawrencelaw.com\/blog\/tips-to-avoid-immigration-scams\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Tips to Avoid Immigration Scams -\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The immigration process can be stressful, lengthy, and confusing. As a result, some opportunistic criminals attempt immigration scams to take advantage of honest people like you. 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