FosterQuan, an immigration law firm with offices in Austin, published a recent article about immigration scams that target H-1B employees in particular, as well as other foreign nationals. We thought it was important information to share with our international population at UT.
The article mentions the following tactics used by scammers:
- Accumulating realistic-sounding information from government websites to make claims seem more authentic.
- Suggesting that there is a problem with the victim’s immigration status which requires payment.
- Threatening deportation or to send authorities to a person’s home.
- Claiming to be from the Internal Revenue Service who state that the victim owes back taxes.
- Stating that the victim is a Diversity Visa Lottery winner and must send in a fee.
The article further cautions that U.S. Government agencies do not conduct business by calling to ask for a payment, so you should not give a payment over the phone. Federal agencies including the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Citizenship & Immigration Services, Immigration & Customs Enforcement send official correspondence to foreign nationals via U.S. mail.
For more information, read the full article from FosterQuan or review the USCIS website on Common Immigration Scams.
