Imagine, one day, your phone rings and the caller says they are calling from the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). They say something is wrong with your Temporary Protective Status application, and that you are at risk of deportation.
To fix it, they give you an ultimatum: Send them thousands of dollars or the filing errors remain on your record. You deplete your savings out of desperation. Yet as the weeks go by, you don’t hear anything.
This telemarketing scam is all too common in immigrant communities. It is just one of nearly a dozen different fraudulent schemes USCIS and immigrant advocates have warned about since the renewed designation of Haiti for TPS was announced earlier this year. Lawyers have said reports of TPS scams are rare, but many experts said this is likely due to such scams being underreported.
To view the full story, please subscribe to The Haitian Times. You can choose a $60 Annual Subscription or a $5 Weekly Pass.
When you join The Haitian Times family, you’ll get unlimited digital access to high-quality journalism about Haiti and Haitians you won’t get anywhere else. We’ve been at this for 20 years and pride ourselves on representing you, our diaspora experience and a holistic view of Haiti that larger media doesn’t show you.
Join now or renew to get:
— Instant access to one-of-kind stories and special reports
— Local news from our communities (especially New York and Florida)
— Profiles of Haitians at the top of their fields
— Downloadable lists and resources about Haitian culture
— Membership merch, perks and special invitations
First-time subscribers also receive a special welcome gift handmade in Haiti by expert artisans! Do it for the culture and support Black-owned businesses.
If you’re seeing this message but you’re already a subscriber, you can log in for immediate access to this story.
Related
[ad_2]
Source link
