IRS (and USCIS) Imposter scams

uscitizenpod: IRS (and USCIS) Imposter Scams 

I got a threatening phone message from someone pretending to be an IRS agent.  My student have rec'd similar calls from someone pretending to be a USCIS agent. 

We did not call them back nor paid them any money.

We filed a complaint with ftccomplaintassistant.gov

ENGLISH:

• National Do Not Call Registry 
• https://www.donotcall.gov/
• FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION: FTC in English
• https://www.ftc.gov/
• Get Scam Alerts
• https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/scam-alerts
• Voicemail from an IRS imposter?
• https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/blog/voicemail-irs-imposter
• IRS imposter scams infographic
• https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0519-irs-imposter-scams-infographic
• pdf: https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0519-irs-imposter-scams-infographic.pdf
• FTC Complaint Assistant
• https://www.ftccomplaintassistant.gov/
• TIGTA.gov: IRS Impersonation Scam Reporting
• https://www.treasury.gov/tigta/contact_report_scam.shtml

SPANISH

• Registro Nacional No Llame
• https://www.donotcall.gov/
• COMISIÓN FEDERAL DE COMERCIO: FTC en español
• https://www.ftc.gov/es
• Alertas de Fraude
• https://www.consumidor.ftc.gov/destacado/alertas-de-fraude
• ¿Un mensaje de voz de un impostor del IRS?
• https://www.consumidor.ftc.gov/blog/un-mensaje-de-voz-de-un-impostor-del-irs
• Infográfica de estafas de impostores del IRS
• https://www.consumidor.ftc.gov/articulos/s0519-infografica-de-estafas-de-impostores-del-irs
• pdf: https://www.consumidor.ftc.gov/sites/default/files/articles/pdf/s0519-irs-imposter-scams-infographic.pdf
• FTC Complaint Assistant (Spanish)
• https://www.ftccomplaintassistant.gov/

USCIS Info Session at the Gilroy Library

 

USCIS Naturalization Information Session

For Legal Permanent Residents and Interested Naturalization Applicants

Date: Tuesday, January 12, 2016

Time: 7:00 P.M.-8:30 P.M.

Address: Gilroy Library

350 W. Sixth Street

Gilroy, CA 95020

408-842-8207

Topics covered at this FREE session will include:

• The Naturalization Process

• The Naturalization Test

• Rights and Responsibilities of U.S. Citizenship

Program Highlights

* Step-by-step description of the naturalization process

* Mock naturalization interview featuring USCIS officers

* Limited seating available

* FREE DVD with all the current naturalization test preparation materials

Also, we will give you a preview of the Gilroy Library Citizenship Classes

Saturday mornings, 10:30 am - 12 noon, January 23 to March 12

Our Citizenship classes will help you prepare by discussing civics and government questions, reading and writing English, and practicing your 

interview skills. The classes are free, but space is limited. Register now at the Information Desk.

* For more information about Citizenship Classes, visit www.sccl.org/Services/Citizenship-Resources

USCIS 96:61-70

Wang Ye sewed together her class handouts

to make a Citizenship study booket.

USCIS 61-70x.mp3

For the next ten days, we will present 10 of the 96 questions plus two dictation sentences and handout. Today's questions are 96:61-70. Direct download: 61-70x.mp3

USCIS 96:51-60

USCIS 51-60x.mp3

For the next ten days, we will present 10 of the 96 questions plus two dictation sentences and handout. Today's questions are 96:51-60. Direct download: 51-60x.mp3

The Citizenship Alphabet: Mai Anh holds up N for National Anthem.

USCIS 96:31-40

The capital of our state is Sacramento.
The Governor of California is Arnold Schwarzenegger.

USCIS 31-40x.mp3

For the next ten days, we will present 10 of the 96 questions plus two dictation sentences and handout. Today's questions are 96:31-40. Direct download: 31-40x.mp3

NYTimes: Citizenship Seekers Told Not to Fear a New Test

Citizenship Seekers Told Not to Fear a New Test By KIRK SEMPLE, NYTimes.com
Published: September 23, 2008
A week before the American government plans to start a redesigned civics test as part of the naturalization process, a senior immigration official sought on Tuesday to calm nervous immigrants and critics who say the new exam will be more challenging than the current one...

Are You Ready to Be a Citizen?
Five questions from the new test.

USCIS 96:11-20

A student displays her personal copy of the Constitution

that she received after signing the Constitution.

USCIS 11-20x.mp3

For the next ten days, we will present 10 of the 96 questions plus two dictation sentences and handout. Today's questions are 96:11-20.
Direct download: 11-20x.mp3

New USCIS 100 Flashcards!

The new USCIS 100 flashcards have been posted. You can download the pdf.

A reverse color version of the flashcards (white background) is also available.

The actual size of the cards is 7 inch by 4 inch; the online versions are slightly smaller so that they will fit onto letter-size paper.

You can also buy the new flash cards:

Civics Flash Cards for the New Naturalization Test, 2008 (1 box of flash cards) $13.00

Civics Flash Cards for the New Naturalization Test, 2008 (Package of 10 Boxes of Flash Cards) Price: $91.00

New 100 Questions--Spanish! Preguntas de cívismo (historia y sistema de gobierno) para el Examen de Naturalización rediseñado

• Preguntas de cívismo (historia y sistema de gobierno) para el Examen de Naturalización rediseñado
• Redesigned (New) Naturalization Test: Civics (History and Government) Questions
• Redesigned (New) Naturalization Test: Which Test Do I Take?

New 100 Questions--Chinese! 公民（歷史與政府）歸化新試題

• 公民（歷史與政府）歸化新試題
• Redesigned (New) Naturalization Test: Civics (History and Government) Questions (Chinese Version)
• Redesigned (New) Naturalization Test: Civics (History and Government) Questions (English)
• Redesigned (New) Naturalization Test: Which Test Do I Take?

The Oath Ceremony Part 5: I'm Proud to Be an American!

After the Oath of Allegiance, Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren, who represents south San Jose and Santa Clara County, spoke to the the new cititzens about her grandfather. She said that she was very proud of her immigrant grandfather and one of her most important possession is her grandfather's citizenship papers.

Her grandfather's pride in his new country inspired Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren to work hard on behalf of immigrants' rights. She is very sympathetic to all immigrant communities, particularly the San Jose Vietnamese-American community and worked towards a just resolution of the Little Saigon controversy. Here she is at the SJ 2008 Tet Parade:

After Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren spoke, we watched a video-taped greeting from President George W. Bush on a stadium screen. (Unfortunately, my photo of the President speaking on the video screen turned out very poorly. Here is a video of a similar speech that President George w. Bush gave on July 4, 2008 at an Oath Ceremony.) People loved the video's song, "I'm Proud to be an American" and I heard several groups of children singing the refrain over and over as we left the building.

After a short wait, the new citizens came out. Presenting Mr & Mrs Champaklal and Savita Nakrani, Citizens of the United States of America!

After this photo, the Nakranis immediately turned in their voter registration cards. Outside of the fairgrounds, they bought display folders for the citizenship papers and immediately slipped them in.

After years living in the shadows, the new citizens walked out into the noonday sun as Americans.

The End, but the story continues!

The Oath Ceremony Part 4: The Oath!

After the Roll Call of Nations, the citizens-to-be raised their right hand and said:

The Oath of Allegiance

I hereby declare, on oath,
that I absolutely and entirely renounce and abjure
all allegiance and fidelity
to any foreign prince, potentate, state, or sovereignty
of whom or which I have heretofore been a subject or citizen;

that I will support and defend the Constitution
and laws of the United States of America
against all enemies, foreign and domestic;

that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same;

that I will bear arms on behalf of the United States
when required by the law;

that I will perform noncombatant service
in the Armed Forces of the United States
when required by the law;

that I will perform work of national importance
under civilian direction
when required by the law;

and that I take this obligation freely
without any mental reservation
or purpose of evasion;

so help me God.

The Oath Ceremony Part 3: Voter Registration

In March 2008, the USCIS changed their policy about giving voter registration forms to citizens-to-be before the Oath Ceremony.

The USCIS said that the county voting officials must wait until the very end of the Oath Ceremony to give voter registration forms to new citizens.

Why? Before the Oath Ceremony, the citizens-to-be are not legally citizens yet and only US citizens can register to vote.

After the change in March 2008, voter registration dropped by about 80 percent. After the Oath Ceremony, many new citizens didn't take the time to register to vote because they were in a hurry to return to work or to celebrate with friends and families.

The San Jose Mercury News (07/19/08) reported the huge drop in voter registration. The USCIS decided to change its policy to allow county voting officials to give voter registration forms to citizens-to-be. They can now fill-out the voter registration cards while waiting for the Oath Ceremony to begin.

Why? Because voting is the most important right and responsibility of a US citizen. The USCIS wants to help new citizens to vote in the upcoming presidential election and all following elections.

So, at the Thursday August 14 Oath Ceremony, citizens-to-be found voter registration cards in their seats. Some citizen-to-be filled the cards out immediately.


Before the actual Oath Ceremony began, officials from the Santa Clara County of Voters spoke in English, Spanish, Chinese, Vietnamese, and Tagalog--the official "ballot languages" of Santa Clara County. The speakers gave brief instructions about how to fill out the registration card.

Polling places in Santa Clara county are identified in five languages: English, Spanish, Chinese, Vietnamese, and Tagalog.

A voter can fill-out a Preferred Language Survey at the polling place to receive voting info in his or her chosen language.

After the ceremony, the new citizens mobbed the voting officials to hand in their voter registration forms--it was so inspiring!


Kudos to the SJ Mercury News for reporting this story and to the USCIS and Santa Clara County Registar of Voters for immediately addressing and fixing this problem.

To be continued!

The Oath Ceremony Part 2: Countdown!

FINALLY, the doors opened and the citizens-to-be came in.

The first person that the citizens-to-be met was the SF Bay Area USCIS Community Relations Officer, Lucee Rosemarie Fan. She was happily directing people to their seats.


I would expect that such an important government official would assign such a humble task to someone else. I looked around and saw other USCIS officers, supervisors, and directors helping the citizens-to-be with the same pride, respect, and efficiency. The USCIS employees "walked" with the citizens-to-be to the very last "step" of the naturalization process.


When the citizens-to-be came to their seats, they found important US Citizenship "tools": an American flag, a booklet of the Declaration of Independence & the US Constitution, a Voter's Registration packet, and the Citizen's Almanac.


While they waited for the cermony to begin, the citizens-to-be chatted with their neighbors, listened to patriotic music, and read their Almanacs. I was happy to see another student from Milpitas, Shu-Wen Chang.


There were many small children in the visitor's gallery. Parents used the long wait to tell their children stories about the flag, George Washington, and coming to America.


More people came and the hall started to fill up. Finally the hall was filled--we were read to begin the Oath Ceremony!


To be continued!

The Oath Ceremony Part 1: Today's the Day!

The USCIS San Jose office usually interviews one thousand people per month. The Novemeber 2008 Presidential election, combined with the July 2007 USCIS price rise, inspired thousand of permanent residents to apply for citizenship. During Spring and Summer 2008, the San Jose office was interviewing close to 3500 people per month!

By mid-August 2008, so many people have passed their Citizenship interviews, that the USCIS arranged to hold the Oath Ceremony at the Santa Clara County Fairgrounds (a very large and convient location), instead of the smaller Campbell Heritage Theater.

Today's goal: US Citizenship for over 5000 people in morning and afternoon ceremony---WELCOME!

The ceremony was scheduled to begin at 10:30am. Because there was such a HUGE traffic jam before the previous ceremony, I decided to arrive at 8am. I easily found the "Citizen-to-be" line and followed to the beginning. who was in front of the line? Mr and Mrs Nakrani--they got there at 6:30am!


I followed the "Citizen-to-be" line to the end and found two more students, Xaiken and Thai, with their son.


As we waited, Hoanh and her husband came. She passed her interview over 30 months ago and FINALLY got her letter for the Oath Ceremony.


No sooner than saying "Hello!" a USCIS representative came by and checked the Citizens-to-be Oath Ceremony letter and paperwork.


The USCIS representative directed us "guests" to another line. Good-bye Citizens-to-be, Hello New Citizens!

To be continued...

Q48-49: USCIS 96 Questions 48-49: Supreme Court, Justices

USCIS 96 Questions 48-49

Today we will listen to Questions 48-49 plus M-638 comments. You can download the Class Handout 48-49 to deepen your knowledge of US History and Politics and broaden your English language skills. Look for new vocabulary, grammar structures, and idioms.

Note the key words--these words will help you remember the questions and answers. The key words for 46-47:

Supreme Court
Justices
Dictation Sentences

Dictation

The Constitution is the supreme law of our land.
He wanted to find a job.

Q46-47: USCIS 96 Questions 46-47: President, Elgibility, Requirements, Senator

USCIS 96 Questions 46-47

Today we will listen to Questions 46-47 plus M-638 comments. You can download the Class Handout 46-47 to deepen your knowledge of US History and Politics and broaden your English language skills. Look for new vocabulary, grammar structures, and idioms.

Note the key words--these words will help you remember the questions and answers. The key words for 46-47:

President
Eligibility
Requirements
Senator

Dictation Sentences

He was 72 years old.
Each state elects 2 senators.

Q44-45: USCIS 96 Questions 44-45: President, Term, Martin Luther King Jr., Civil Rights

USCIS 96 Questions 44-45

Today we will listen to Questions 44-45 plus M-638 comments. You can download the Class Handout 44-45 to deepen your knowledge of US History and Politics and broaden your English language skills. Look for new vocabulary, grammar structures, and idioms.

Note the key words--these words will help you remember the questions and answers. The key words for 44-45:

President
Term
Martin Luther King Jr.
Civil Rights

Dictation Sentences

All people want to be free.
Today is a sunny day.

Interview 11: Simple Citizenship Interview: Jong-Yi Wang

Interview-11
Today we will listen to our eleventh practice interview from Jong-Yi Wang (Country of Birth: Korea; Country of Nationality: Taiwan). These are simple questions are based on the N-400. You can get a pdf. of the Simple Citizenship Interview here.

Q42-43: USCIS 96 Questions 42-43: Germany, Italy, Japan, Alaska

USCIS 96 Questions 42-43

Today we will listen to Questions 42-43 plus M-638 comments. You can download the Class Handout 42-43 to deepen your knowledge of US History and Politics and broaden your English language skills. Look for new vocabulary, grammar structures, and idioms.

Note the key words--these words will help you remember the questions and answers. The key words for 42-43:

1. Germany
2. Italy
3. Japan
4. Alaska

Dictation Sentences

1. Only Congress can declare war.
2. There are 50 states in the Union.