Think Immigration: Immigration Scam Surge Threatens Clients and Legal Providers
Across the country, immigration lawyers, Department of Justice-accredited representatives, and nonprofit legal service providers are seeing a sharp rise in impersonation scams targeting immigrant communities. Although unauthorized practitioners have long exploited vulnerable individuals, mid-2025 brought a wave of more coordinated and sophisticated schemes. These scams primarily operate on Facebook and WhatsApp, where bad actors use paid ads, thousands of followers, and convincing branding to pose as legitimate attorneys or nonprofit legal organizations. Colleagues from Catholic Charities USA have shared that roughly one-third of Catholic Charities agencies across the country have reported encountering fraudulent activity involving scammers misusing their names or logos. Similar impersonation has affected private practitioners and other well-known nonprofits, some of whom discover the fraud only after victims contact them to inquire about the status of their cases. Meta’s platforms remain the most common locations for these scams, and attempts to have fraudulent accounts or ads removed have had mixed results.
The schemes typically involve scammers presenting themselves as lawyers or accredited representatives—sometimes claiming affiliation with a nonprofit or reputable private firm. They offer guaranteed results or fast approvals and instruct clients to send payments of $5,000 to as much as $30,000. In some cases, scammers file fraudulent applications that jeopardize immigration eligibility; in others, they file nothing at all or merely pretend to file. Some even stage fake virtual “court hearings,” impersonating judges or government officials, giving fake rulings, and demanding more funds. Once money is collected, the scammer usually disappears.
These scams cause significant harm not only to clients but also to legitimate immigration practitioners. Lawyers and accredited representatives are seeing more cases in which individuals believed they had hired a professional, only to learn that nothing was done or that filings were fraudulent. This results in emergency case triage, increased pro bono demand, and complex corrective work.
A further consequence for lawyers could be a rise in misdirected bar complaints. When a scammer impersonates a real attorney or uses a nonprofit’s branding, the victim may file a complaint against the person whose identity was misused. Discipline counsel should be on alert for such complaints, and bar ethics counsel and practice management advisers should be prepared to support impersonated lawyers and help them navigate the reporting process.
Practitioners and organizations who discover they are being impersonated should treat the situation much like identity theft. All evidence of impersonation should be gathered and saved. Reports can be submitted to several agencies: the EOIR Fraud and Abuse Prevention Program, the Federal Trade Commission’s reporting portal, USCIS’s online immigration scam form, the local Attorney General’s office, the state association, and local law enforcement. Attorneys may also consider reputable online reputation management assistance to remove fake profiles or fraudulent reviews, though they should be aware that many companies in this space are simply marketing firms rather than specialists in fraud removal.
To protect their clients and immigrants, practitioners should encourage community members to verify both the person and the organization providing services with independent sources. It is not enough to confirm that someone with the same name is a licensed lawyer or accredited representative. Immigrants should independently check that the individual actually works where they claim to work, the organization itself is legitimate, and that they are aware of the ad or communication the potential client followed up on. Directories from AILA’s Find an Immigration Lawyer, CLINIC, and the Immigrant Advocates Network provide reliable sources to locate legitimate legal services providers. Clients should be warned to be cautious with immigration services promoted on Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, where most impersonation activity occurs.
Educational resources continue to emerge, including recent reporting from the American Bar Association, investigative journalism on impersonation schemes, state attorney general warnings, and public facing videos explaining common scam tactics. As the issue grows, the immigration bar and nonprofit organizations can help mitigate harm by raising awareness, developing internal protocols for responding to impersonation, educating communities, and supporting victims who come forward.
The more attention this problem receives, the better we can protect immigrant communities from financial exploitation and prevent the long-term legal consequences that these scams often create.
