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Long story short:

I live in Washington DC (South American country citizen, Green Card now).

I started the process to get H1b Visa (March-2016, I know, long ago) with a company in Houston, TX. In order to start the process, I made one payment to them $1500 (March-2016, and later $2500 in May-2016, after I was "accepted", to follow the process) and fill out many forms (a contract included) with some important information about me (SSN, DOB, address, etc.).

They gave me an "EAC" case number with USCIS, everything looked good. It supposed I was accepted in the draw process (USCIS never gave me any information, they said only can do it to the company) in April-2016.

One of the many problems here is, the person whom I transferred the money is not anymore in the company (I do have the two bank receipts, though). Last time I talked to him, he told me that I should talk to company, not him, and after Harvey, the company had lot of problems, he was not sure if the company had disappeared (likely he was lying).

I have sent hundreds of email and made hundreds of phone calls for months, NEVER answered.

I know, VERY likely it IS a scam, but... What do/can I do?

  • Forget about it? (Maybe for fear of reprisals/revenge, they got my information. I now live pretty well, but $4k are $4k)
  • Talk to a lawyer? (Obvious, but expensive... and after time, worth it?)
  • Go to USCIS and talk? (I did this, no much information without the authorization of the company)
  • Where I can get more information of this "company"?

Thanks a lot, any advice (besides talk to a lawyer) will be really really appreciate it.

Thank you again.

PS1: If more information is needed, please let me know.

PS1: Apologies for any misspelling or error, I am not native English speaker.

PS3: If this is not the right place, please let me know and I take care of this

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  • Was this visa for you, or are you applying for s.o. else?
    – user6726
    Nov 6, 2019 at 20:04
  • Could you make this question hypothetical please? We don't want to be on the hook for "providing legal advice".
    – isakbob
    Nov 6, 2019 at 20:08
  • @user6726 It was for me. Thanks
    – need__inf__pls
    Nov 6, 2019 at 20:11
  • @isakbob How can I do that? Thanks.
    – need__inf__pls
    Nov 6, 2019 at 20:16
  • Use words like: if, should, could, possibly, potentially. Use vocabulary that implies the situation is not reality.
    – isakbob
    Nov 6, 2019 at 20:21

1 Answer 1

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You got scammed. An H1B visa is what a company applies for so they can hire a non-citizen to legally work in the US. Any requirement by you to pay for one is a clear scam especially since it doesn't sound like you were applying to work for this "company". And as a Green Card holder, you are eligible to work in the US and don't need a H1B visa in the first place.

Consider your money lost and you'll want to be on the lookout for identity theft (monitor/freeze your credit reports).

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  • Thank you for your reply. Yes, the visa is no longer an issue. The biggest problem here is my personal information. The $4k is the last one (but I do hope seeing them again) :)
    – need__inf__pls
    Nov 6, 2019 at 20:15

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