tom95
28.05.03, 23:28
Rev. March 7, 2003
BCIS Warns of Impostor Websites
The BCIS reminds the public that only Websites ending with the ".gov" suffix
are official government Websites. The Web address of the official BCIS
Website is www.immigration.gov, www.bcis.gov.
Many other non-governmental Websites (e.g., using the suffixes ".com," ".org"
or ".net") provide legitimate and useful immigration-related information and
services. Regardless of the content of other Websites, BCIS does not endorse,
recommend or sponsor any information or material posted at any other Website
besides this one.
Furthermore, a few other Websites may try to mislead customers and members of
the public into thinking they are official BCIS Websites. These Websites may
attempt to charge you for services (such as for BCIS forms and information on
immigration procedures) that are otherwise free on the BCIS or another
government Website or for services that you do not receive. They also do not
have access to official online immigration job application information or to
official immigration job listings on USAJOBS.GOV, so be wary of sending any
personal or biographical information that might be used for identity
fraud/theft to these websites.
If you have doubts or concerns about a Website with immigration-related
information or material, please let us know immediately via Feedback.
If you wish to report unsolicited commercial e-mail (spam), or Internet
fraud, please see the Department of Justice contact page, or go to the
Internet Fraud Complaint Center, to file a complaint.
A Word About BCIS Forms Online
We are happy to offer the most up-to-date versions of all official public use
forms for free on our Website. Some of these forms are even fillable online
(you must use the freely-available Adobe Acrobat Reader 5 or better for
these). Please note that many non-BCIS Websites also offer Immigration forms.
Some will allow you to download them for free, and others charge a fee.
Regardless, as stated above, none of these Websites is in any way affiliated
with nor endorsed by the BCIS. Indeed, some of these sites may not have the
latest official versions of our forms. In some circumstances, they provide
access only to older editions of our forms. You should note that use of older
(and possibly withdrawn) editions of our forms may result in your application
or petition being denied or delayed. Please further note that some non-BCIS
immigration Websites link directly to immigration forms, without going
through the Forms Entry Page (FEP). This may seem like a convenience, but it
may lead you to miss important information on the FEP that could lead to the
return of your form or delay in your processing.
Forms Entry Pages Contain Important Information
When the BCIS benefits and their related requirements change, our forms must
be revised to reflect those changes. These revisions take time. While these
changes are underway (but not yet reflected on the form or form's
instructions) the Forms Entry Page (FEP) for that form provides up-to-date
correct information. So, to ensure that you complete your application
correctly, you should carefully read any notices, warnings, or explanations
on the FEP (especially under the section entitled "Special Instructions")
before you print (or download) the form, fill it out and send it to the BCIS.
Changes and Updates to Our Forms Are Reported on What's New
Changes made to immigration forms are always noted under What's New in Forms.
Special instructions and important clarifying information are reflected on
the Forms Entry Page (FEP) for that form.
Last Modified 04/09/2003
