Immigration and US Citizenship News

By Kieran C. O’Sullivan, Immigration Counselor

Email me your immigration query or a topic you would like us to cover today:  Kieran@ipcboston.org

 Scams widespread

There are an alarming number of scams we want to remind readers about this week.  A lot of scams originate on the internet, but not all do.  A service user, Jim, recently contacted me about a phone call he received.  He thought at the beginning that the call was legitimate.  The caller told him she represented an investor who was buying up stock in a particular company. Somehow she had knowledge that Jim owned stock and they offered him a very attracted share price.  They gave him a couple of days to think about it.

By the time they called him back, Jim had made his mind up to sell them the shares.  They asked him to fax him a copy of his passport as identification which he duly did.   Some hours later, they called him and suggested they needed his bank account number and advised he needed to have at least four thousand dollars in his account for the transaction to be completed in a timely fashion.   At this point that Jim became suspicious, and he terminated the call.  We urge readers to use extreme caution when approached with offers from unknown entities and not to give out social security, passport, and bank account numbers unless you know for sure who you are dealing with.

Visa scams

The US Department of State has issued warnings on a number of websites regarding its Diversity Visa program.  They state there have been instances of fraudulent websites offering help at a fee to the public to apply to the Diversity Visa Program.  There have been instances of fraudulent websites posing as official US Government sites.  Some companies posing as the US Government have sought money in order to “complete” applications.

Readers are advised that applicants selected in the Diversity Visa random drawing are notified by the Department of State, Kentucky Consular Center, to proceed to the next steps in visa processing.  No other organization or office is authorized by the Department of State to notify Diversity Visa program applicants.

Last year a number of Irish immigrants were the subject of a scam here in Boston when offered green cards in return for payments of large amounts of money.   Readers are free to consult with us on these and general legal issues.  We have a number of attorneys who provide counsel on a wide variety of legal matters.

Next Legal Clinic

Our next legal clinic will be on August 7^th at 630 pm in The Banshee, 934 Dorchester Ave. Dorchester.  Meantime call or email me with any questions.

Disclaimer: Please note that the information contained in it is provided to inform generally, and is not intended as a substitute for individual advice.  Immigration law is subject to frequent changes and individual circumstances can affect the application of certain legal provisions.  For individual legal advice, please contact the Irish Pastoral Centre directly regarding upcoming legal clinics or consultation with an immigration attorney.

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