The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has issued a scam alert involving email requests for Form I-9 information. The USCIS does not request Forms I-9 via email; however, some employers have received such emails. They look official and appear to be coming from the USCIS. The emails may contain USCIS and Office of the Inspector General labels, your address, and links/download buttons. But the emails are sent from a fraudulent email address: news@uscis.gov. Links provided in the emails connect to a non-government address. Do not send any information! The scam is phishing for names, social security numbers, and other personal information.

What to do

While employers must complete a Form I-9 for every employee required to complete it and keep those forms on file for a certain period of time, they are not required to submit them to the USCIS. If you receive a scam email, do not respond or click any links in it. Report it to the Federal Trade Commission. If you are unsure if the email is a scam, forward it to the USCIS webmaster where it will be reviewed and shared with law enforcement agencies if appropriate.

More information

For information on avoiding immigration scams, visit Avoid Scams Initiative. It includes links to information on common scams, educational resources, and more. For information about Form I-9 and what is required of employers, visit I-9 Central.