U.S. law provides you with specific rights whenever you are confronted by a federal, state or local law enforcement official. Please review those rights here so that you are prepared for any encounter you may have with a government or law enforcement official.
If you are contacted by someone claiming to be a Department of Homeland Security (or other government agency) agent/officer, ask for the person’s full name, government agency, reporting office, and government telephone number. Then, contact Elizabeth Gill, Director of International Employment and Immigration, for assistance in identifying the actual government office to which the person claims to belong. Once you have the actual government office’s contact information, you will be able to contact that office to find out whether the inquiry you received is a valid one or a scam. The Department of Homeland Security will never demand immediate payment from you or threaten to deport you if you do not pay a fee, so if someone tries to intimidate you with statements to that effect, it should immediately put you on alert. In addition, please refrain from providing personally identifying information (like your Social Security number) to someone whose identity you have not been able to verify.