Finance
Green Card: Don't Pay to Get One!
It's amazing. The very first spam ever sent was from a couple of lawyers who offered to help people get a Green Card if they paid the law firm a small fee. A Green Card, for those of you that don't know, is a proof of permanent resident alien status from the feared Immigration and Naturalization Service and.. it's free, if you qualify. So you don't need to pay anyone for anything. Even better, the document required is pretty simple to fill out.
If it's free and easy to fill out, why are there still lawyers selling their service to aid in receiving a Green Card? Here's what the Federal Trade Commission has to say about Green Card scams:
If you or someone you know is trying to get a green card - the right to live in the United States permanently - be on the lookout for unscrupulous businesses and attorneys. They'll claim that, for a fee, they can make it easier to enter the U. S. State Department's annual Diversity Visa (DV) lottery (also known as the "green card lottery") or increase your chances of winning the DV lottery.
Each year, the State Department conducts a lottery through its DV program to distribute applications for 50,000 immigrant visas. Winners of the lottery have a chance to apply for an immigrant visa, which can be used to enter the U. S. Winners are selected randomly, and there is no fee to enter the lottery."
If you're interested in applying for a Green Card, you should just go straight to the U.S. Department of State's dvlottery.state.gov site and apply!
The FTC continues with this warning:
Green Card Lottery Scams
According to lawyers at the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the nation's consumer protection agency, some businesses and attorneys misrepresent their services by saying that:
- they are affiliated with the U.S. government;
- they have special expertise or a special entry form that is required to enter the lottery;
- their company has never had a lottery entry rejected;
- their company can increase an entrant's chances of "winning" the lottery;
- people from ineligible countries still are "qualified" to enter the lottery.
In addition, some companies jeopardize an entrant's opportunity to participate in the lottery by filing several entries. These companies also may charge lottery- winning applicants substantial fees to complete the application process."
So be smart. Go to the State Department directly and sidestep all these snake oil salesmen.
Dave Taylor has been involved with the Internet since 1980 and has written sixteen books. He has a great interest in personal finances and has built two Web sites to share important information with consumers about how to manage their finances: Real Life Debt and its sister site College Finances. |
Dave Taylor
Tags: green card, immigration, ins, naturalization, resident alien, lottery, green card lotterySimilar articles
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