Resources Safety and your rights
Scams and fake immigration helpers
Who has the right to help with immigration matters, how to spot a scam and where to complain.
This is general information, not legal advice: QARAVAN has no lawyers. QARAVAN does not help anyone enter the US and cannot arrange visas, invitations, sponsorship or evacuation. For your own case, talk to a licensed immigration attorney or a representative accredited by the U.S. Department of Justice.
MOIA, the City's immigrant affairs office, defines immigration fraud as deception around immigration legal services that targets vulnerable immigrants. Scammers include lawyers, non-lawyers, and people who call or write with threats of immigration consequences.
This is general information, not legal advice; QARAVAN has no lawyers.
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- Only a licensed attorney or an accredited representative may legally give advice on your immigration case or represent you. Notaries, translators, “consultants,” document preparation offices, travel agents and “helpers” advertising in Russian have no such right, so check anyone before you pay.
- Forms are free at uscis.gov/forms. Don't pay for them, don't hand over originals, and don't sign blank or unclear papers.
- If you were scammed, file a complaint on the website of the State Attorney General or the City's DCWP (nyc.gov/dca); you don't have to give your name or status.
Who has the right to help with immigration papers and how to check
| What they may do | How to check | |
|---|---|---|
| Attorney | Give legal advice and represent you, including in immigration court, if they are a member of a bar in good standing and have not been suspended or disbarred | Check the license in the New York State courts’ Attorney Directory or with the body that issued it; EOIR publishes lists of lawyers who are barred from practicing |
| Accredited representative | Give legal advice and represent you only on behalf of their own organization, which EOIR has recognized; a fully accredited representative can also appear in immigration court, a partially accredited one only before USCIS | Look for the name in the list of accredited representatives and the organization in the list of recognized organizations on the EOIR website |
| Notary public | Witness signatures and administer oaths; may not provide legal services in immigration matters | In the U.S. a notary is not a lawyer and may not advise on immigration |
| “Consultants,” “brokers,” translators, document preparation offices and other paid helpers with immigration forms (immigration assistance service providers) | May not give legal advice, say whether you qualify for a status, suggest answers on forms, or hint at influence over agencies; may not charge for the forms themselves or for a referral to a lawyer | Demand a contract in a language you understand, look for the sign about the limits of their services, and sign nothing until you have read it |
Find out who you are dealing with
Ask for proof that the person is a licensed attorney or accredited representative, and check the lists yourself. Check even if family or friends recommended them.
Choose a provider with an address
Go only to people with a real office, and get a second opinion.
Do not pay for forms
Government forms are free at uscis.gov/forms.
Hand over copies, not originals
Keep your originals: copies are enough for the preparer.
Do not sign what you do not understand
Don't sign blank or incomplete forms, contracts or papers you don't fully understand, or forms with false information.
Insist on a written contract
The contract describes the services and is signed by the preparer. New York State law requires it in a language the client understands. Read it before signing and keep your copy. By law you can cancel, demand your money back and get your originals and file back, even in a payment dispute.
Get receipts and copies
A written receipt with the preparer's name and address, copies of everything they prepared for you, and copies of USCIS letters and notices. Keep them somewhere safe.
Ask where to find a free lawyer
The City's MOIA line (800-354-0365, Russian available) tells you where to get free City-funded legal help but doesn't book appointments itself. New Yorkers with household income below 200% of the federal poverty level qualify.
Your story must be your own
If someone offers you a ready-made story, someone else's story or invented details to make it convincing, walk away. If a judge finds that your asylum application was knowingly false, you lose any right to immigration benefits in the US forever, and you answer for it, not the person who wrote it.
Sign only what you understand
Before you sign, ask for the whole I-589 to be read to you in Russian and correct anything that is wrong. Anyone who prepared the form must sign it in the preparer section; if they refuse, that is a warning sign.
Don't trust ads
Russian-language ads promising an easy path, “no risk” or “connections” at immigration agencies prove nothing. Check the lawyer's license or the representative's accreditation, and ask in QARAVAN's chats whom other members worked with and how their cases ended.
Keep access to your case
Keep the login and password of your USCIS account yourself, and ask for a copy of everything filed in your name.
“An easy way to get a green card”
A promise of an easy green card is a warning sign.
“A work permit or visa right away”
MOIA calls promises of an instant work permit or visa false.
“No risks or consequences”
MOIA also counts assurances of no consequences as false promises.
“Special connections” and speeding things up for money
Only USCIS decides whether to expedite a case. Current times are under Check Case Processing Times on uscis.gov.
A job in the U.S. by email or social media for a fee
A US job offer by email before you arrive, especially one asking for payment, may be a scam. Check a job from social media: make sure the company is real before giving personal details.
A message that you won the visa lottery
The State Department holds the Diversity Immigrant Visa (DV) lottery. Entry is free, and the State Department never emails winners.
USCIS does not ask for money by phone or email
USCIS doesn't ask you to send money to people and doesn't take Western Union, MoneyGram, PayPal, Venmo or gift cards. Some fees can be paid online, but only through your USCIS account and Pay.gov.
Check that the address ends in .gov
Social media pages, emails and websites claiming to be USCIS can be fake: a real website or email address ends in .gov.
USCIS does not write to personal social media
USCIS contacts you only through official government channels and does not message you on Facebook, LinkedIn or other networks.
Forward a suspicious email to USCIS
Forward it to USCIS.Webmaster@uscis.dhs.gov. Don't reply or click its links.
Collect your papers
The contract, receipts, messages, ads and copies of any documents you still have.
Show everything to a lawyer
The MOIA line (800-354-0365, Russian available) can tell you where to find a free lawyer. Tell the lawyer what you signed and what was filed in your name.
Complain about a helper who is not a lawyer
File a complaint with DCWP online at nyc.gov/dca: no account needed, and you can attach contracts, receipts and screenshots. You don't have to give your name or status. A paper form in Russian can be mailed with copies of documents, not originals.
Complain about an attorney
Complain through the court website for the borough where you met the lawyer (MOIA's page links to the Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens and Staten Island).
Report to the State and to federal agencies
The State Attorney General takes complaints through its website form (ag.ny.gov/file-complaint), and the New Americans Hotline (1-800-566-7636, say “Russian”) takes reports of fraud against immigrants statewide. For phone, mail and online scams, USCIS suggests reporting to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) or your state consumer protection agency.
MOIA Immigration Legal Support Hotline
NYC residentsFree
The City line: immigration information and referrals to free City-funded legal help; it doesn't book appointments itself. Russian available. New Yorkers with household income below 200% of the federal poverty level qualify.
NYC Department of Consumer and Worker Protection (DCWP)
NYC residents
Takes complaints about immigration service fraud and other scams; file online at nyc.gov/dca, no account needed. The department tries to resolve complaints through mediation. A paper form is available in Russian.
Immigration Services Fraud Hotline, New York State Attorney General
Any status
The State Attorney General enforces the state law on immigrant assistance services and takes complaints about people posing as lawyers or breaking that law. File through the complaint form linked from the Attorney General's immigration services fraud page. Complainants' information is protected by state law.
New Americans Hotline (New York State)
Any status
The State's line for new Americans: reports of immigration fraud and schemes against immigrants anywhere in the state; over 200 languages: say “Russian”.
Federal Trade Commission (FTC), ReportFraud
Any status
The Federal Trade Commission takes fraud reports; USCIS suggests reporting immigration scams there or to your state consumer protection agency.
Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3, the center for internet crime complaints of the Federal Bureau of Investigation)
Any status
The FBI takes reports of internet crime, fraud included, here. IC3 never contacts people to ask for information or money and does not work with law firms or crypto services to “recover” money; report anyone posing as IC3. If someone is in danger right now, call 911.
EOIR: checking representatives and complaints
Any status
Who has the right to represent you in immigration courts; lists of accredited representatives, recognized organizations and disciplined lawyers; complaint forms for unauthorized practice of law and against accredited representatives. Notaries, document preparers, immigration consultants and travel agents have no right to practice law.
USCIS, Common Scams
Any status
Common schemes: fake officials, payments by phone and mail, fake websites, people posing as lawyers, money for “connections”, paid job offers and visa lottery letters.
Attorney Directory of the New York State courts
Any status
A free database to check whether a lawyer is licensed in New York State. The courts ask not to link to it directly: find it by name on the state courts' website.
- Notary public
- A person authorized by the state to witness signatures and administer oaths; in the US a notary has no right to provide immigration legal services.
- Accredited representative
- A staff member of an EOIR-recognized organization authorized by EOIR to represent clients; they have no right to work outside that organization.
- Recognized organization
- A nonprofit organization that EOIR has recognized as allowed to provide immigration legal services through accredited representatives.
- Immigration assistance service provider
- A person or business that charges a fee for any immigration help and is not necessarily a lawyer; they are also called immigration “brokers,” “consultants” or “accountants.”
- Unauthorized practice of law
- Legal advice and representation by someone who has no legal right to give it.
- Visa lottery (Diversity Immigrant Visa, DV)
- A program of the U.S. Department of State; entering it is free.
All pages: Safety and your rights
Sources, checked November 2026
- dos.ny.gov/office-new-americans
- nyc.gov/site/immigrants/legal-resources/avoid-immigration-serv…
- nyc.gov/site/dca/consumers/file-complaint.page
- ag.ny.gov/resources/individuals/consumer-issues/immigration-se…
- reportfraud.ftc.gov
- ic3.gov
- justice.gov/eoir/can-someone-represent-you-eoir
- uscis.gov/scams-fraud-and-misconduct/avoid-scams/common-scams
- justice.gov/eoir/recognition-accreditation-roster-reports
- ag.ny.gov/file-complaint