The Department of State’s Office of Visa Services in Washington, D.C. advises the public that only internet sites including the “.gov” indicator are official U.S. government Websites, for Federal agency offices located in the United States. We are proud to have more than 200 Embassies and Consulates worldwide. While many of these Embassy Consular Section Websites have the “.gov” indicator in their internet address, a number do not. The Department of State, Visa Services website at www.travel.state.gov links directly to all U.S. Embassy Consular Section Websites abroad. This is a useful way for the public to access Consular Section Websites. Visa applicants are advised to be cautious in all dealings with companies that claim to offer any assistance in obtaining U.S. visas. Please note the following suspect Websites:
Immigration Related Websites. Many non-governmental Websites (e.g., using the suffixes “.com,” “.org” or “.net”) provide legitimate and useful immigration and visa related information and services. Regardless of the content of other Websites, the Department of State does not endorse, recommend or sponsor any information or material shown on these other Websites and the information provided may not always be correct or up-to-date.
Impostor or Fraudulent Websites and E-mail. Some Websites may try to mislead customers and members of the public into thinking they are official Websites. These Websites may attempt to require you to pay for services such as forms and information about immigration procedures, which are otherwise free on the Department of State’s Visa Services Website, or available overseas through the Embassy Consular Section Websites. Additionally, these other Websites may require you to pay for services you will not receive. Sometimes, these web sites may contact or solicit you by e-mail to lure you to take advantage of their offer. Additionally, be wary of sending any personal information about yourself to these Websites that might in turn be used for identity fraud/theft.
Diversity Visa (DV) Lottery Program Scams. There have been many instances of fraudulent websites posing as official U.S. Government sites. Some companies pretending to be the U.S. Government have sought money in order to “complete” DV lottery entry forms. Applicants must apply for the DV lottery in order to be randomly selected. Those who enter the DV lottery and are chosen in the drawing are notified by the Department of State’s Kentucky Consular Center by letter, NOT by e-mail and are provided instructions on how to proceed to the next step in the process. No other private organization or company is authorized by the Department of State to notify DV lottery applicants of their winning entry and the next steps for processing their immigrant visa.
How Do I Report Internet Fraud or Unsolicited Email? If you wish to file a complaint about Internet fraud, please see the www.econsumer.gov Website, hosted by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission, which is a joint effort of consumer protection agencies from 17 nations at http://www.econsumer. gov/english/ or go to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3). To file a complaint about unsolicited e-mail, contact the “Department of Justice contact us page”.
“Ask the Consul” is a fortnightly column from the U.S. Embassy answering questions about U.S. immigration law and visa issues. If you have a general question about visa policy please email it to us at AskGeorge@state.gov. We select questions every other week and publish the answers in Stabroek News and on our website at http://georgetown.usembassy.gov/guyana/ask_con.html. For more information about visas please see http://www.unitedstatesvisas.gov or http://georgetown.usembassy.gov/.
Other than the questions we select, we DO NOT respond to questions sent to Ask the Consul. Please contact the visa inquiries unit (email visageorge@state.gov or call 225-7965 between 8 am and 4 pm Monday through Friday) if you have questions about a specific case.
