Fake immigration lawyer or "notario" charges thousands and destroys your case
Unauthorized consultants posing as immigration lawyers charge $3,000–$30,000 for filings. Scammers also impersonate USCIS/ICE officers threatening deportation unless you pay immediately. Both destroy your case and drain your savings.
Also known as: notario fraud, fake immigration consultant, immigration consultant scam, USCIS impersonation call, ICE deportation threat scam
Already happened to you? Do this in the next few minutes
- 1 Call your bank or card's fraud line right now. Use the number on the back of your card — not any number from the message or caller. Ask them to stop or reverse the payment and freeze the account.
- 2 If you paid by gift card, wire, or an app (Zelle, Venmo, Cash App): contact that company immediately and report it as fraud. Acting fast sometimes recovers the money.
- 3 Report to the FBI at ic3.gov and the FTC at reportfraud.ftc.gov. The sooner, the better.
What to do right now
- 1 For any immigration legal help, only use an attorney listed at justice.gov/eoir or verifiable through your state bar association
- 2 Real USCIS never calls you to demand payment or threaten arrest — hang up immediately on any such call
- 3 USCIS fees are always paid by check or money order made out to 'U.S. Department of Homeland Security,' or by credit card at uscis.gov — never to an individual, never by wire or gift card
- 4 Before paying any immigration consultant, ask for their bar license number and verify it at your state bar's website
- 5 If you already paid a fraudulent consultant, report to your state attorney general and stopnotariofraud.org
- 6 Report to the FTC at https://reportfraud.ftc.gov and the FBI's IC3 at https://www.ic3.gov.
Red flags
- ⚠ The person calls themselves a 'notario,' 'tramitador,' or 'immigration consultant' — not a licensed attorney
- ⚠ They guarantee visa or green card approval — no legitimate attorney can guarantee outcomes
- ⚠ Payment is requested via cash, wire transfer, Zelle, Venmo, gift cards, or Western Union — not a check to USCIS
- ⚠ A phone caller claims to be from USCIS, ICE, or Homeland Security and says you will be deported unless you pay now
- ⚠ They use social media (Facebook, WhatsApp) as their only contact channel and have no verifiable office address
- ⚠ You cannot verify their bar license on your state bar's website