US authorities warn of attempted scams related to Parole in Place

US authorities announced possible attempts at fraud in relation to the Parole in Place process approved by the Biden administration on June 18 to benefit thousands of families with mixed immigration status. They added that although applications will be received starting August 19, there is already evidence of scammers contacting potential beneficiaries with the promise of speeding up the process.

Gema de Las Heras, a consumer education specialist at the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), explained to Telemundo how criminals usually act in these cases to capture the attention of their victims and get them to make a payment, thus making the scam a reality.

“They will call people and send them perhaps an email or a text and assure them that there is special access or that they have some program that can help them submit applications right now, but of course they will have to make some kind of payment and that is where the scam is,” Gema explained.

He stressed that scammers are now starting to look for people with certain characteristics who are desperate to regularize their status and insist on adding them to a supposed special list. “If someone is promising you that you can apply now or that you can put yourself on a special list, it is a lie and you should know that you are dealing with a scammer,” added De las Heras.

FTC officials said people should be patient and aware that applications are not yet being received and there is no way to speed up processing of cases, and they pointed out that immigration forms are completely free.

This Parole in Place already existed, but with the new regulations it will benefit people who have married US citizens and their children in the sense that they will be able to apply for permanent residence without having to leave the country and will not have to worry about deportation, as well as having the possibility of applying for a work permit.

This means that approximately half a million undocumented immigrants married to US citizens would receive green cards and pave the way to citizenship, and around 50.000 undocumented children from these unions would also be protected. Those who are approved will have a period of three years to complete the process of obtaining permanent residency.

One of the ways to stay informed about these processes is to know the correct information from official sites. Authorities recommend visiting the website of the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS), which is uscis.gov/es and provides a set of information that is of great importance for people who intend to use this process.

They also warn that if they receive any notification from another page that is not official, it may be a possible scam, so citizens should not get their hopes up as it must be a deceptive page. It is advised that people can report any attempt at deception regarding this process through reportefraude.ftc.gov or by calling 877-382-4357 and selecting the number 3 so that specialists can assist you in Spanish.