Strange Letter

[JAPrincess 27]

I don't know if anyone here has any input, but it seems like this the best place to ask, so here goes:

My co-worker has a roommate who is out of the country right now. She is not 100% sure of the roommates status, only that she is from China and was married to a USC who died...

Anyway, my co-worker's neighbor brought over a piece of mail saying that he accidentally opened it... he had put it in another envelope and did not include the original envelope in what he handed my co-worker

The letter looks like a color photo copy. The USCIS logo on the top looks fake, like it was copied from the website... there is no A number, or case number. No date at the top... and the whole thing seems kinda fishy to me...

The letter requests that her roommate report to the local USCIS office within 20 days??? It tells her to bring whatever documents, identification and personal or valued possessions she has??? WTH?? No appointment time, no number to set up an infopass appointment...

I am including a scan of this letter...

Anyone have any input on what this could be for, or if it's even legit??

The roommate is in China now, and my co-worker has no way of contacting her. She is not due back until June 28th, well beyond the 20 day window this crazy letter is giving...

*weird*

[Mrs. Palmer 5]

I don't know if anyone here has any input, but it seems like this the best place to ask, so here goes:

My co-worker has a roommate who is out of the country right now. She is not 100% sure of the roommates status, only that she is from China and was married to a USC who died...

Anyway, my co-worker's neighbor brought over a piece of mail saying that he accidentally opened it... he had put it in another envelope and did not include the original envelope in what he handed my co-worker

The letter looks like a color photo copy. The USCIS logo on the top looks fake, like it was copied from the website... there is no A number, or case number. No date at the top... and the whole thing seems kinda fishy to me...

The letter requests that her roommate report to the local USCIS office within 20 days??? It tells her to bring whatever documents, identification and personal or valued possessions she has??? WTH?? No appointment time, no number to set up an infopass appointment...

I am including a scan of this letter...

Anyone have any input on what this could be for, or if it's even legit??

The roommate is in China now, and my co-worker has no way of contacting her. She is not due back until June 28th, well beyond the 20 day window this crazy letter is giving...

*weird*

Hey JaP..it does look awfully fishy. A few things that stuck out for me: 1) They spelled Washington wrong, 2) they left a digit off the zip code, 3) they left the "S" off USCIS, and 4) they spelled country wrong.. While they may seem insignificant, it is rare that you will find so many typos on an official immigration letter. Does your co-worker have any access to her at all? Maybe e-mail? If so, she/he could figure out if there is a way to obtain her basic identifying info so that she could call the field office to determine the authenticity of the letter (or at least what the alleged meeting is in regards to). And the whole thing about facial recognition scans to determine who you are--really? I doubt they do that for anyone (or most) people who immigrate to the country. Had they said fingerscans, I might have gone with that. Who knows, maybe it's somebody trying to scare her. I hope not though, because that's mean. BTW, how are YOU and that cutie patootie baby doing?

Edited May 17, 2010 by Mrs. Palmer

[MRStee 19]

Hey JaP..it does look awfully fishy. A few things that stuck out for me: 1) They spelled Washington wrong, 2) they left a digit off the zip code, 3) they left the "S" off USCIS, and 4) they spelled country wrong.. While they may seem insignificant, it is rare that you will find so many typos on an official immigration letter. Does your co-worker have any access to her at all? Maybe e-mail? If so, she/he could figure out if there is a way to obtain her basic identifying info so that she could call the field office to determine the authenticity of the letter (or at least what the alleged meeting is in regards to). And the whole thing about facial recognition scans to determine who you are--really? I doubt they do that for anyone (or most) people who immigrate to the country. Had they said fingerscans, I might have gone with that. Who knows, maybe it's somebody trying to scare her. I hope not though, because that's mean. BTW, how are YOU and that cutie patootie baby doing?

The wording seems a bit different from how USCIS would normally word things....

Edited May 17, 2010 by MRStee

[JAPrincess 27]

Wow Mrs. Palmer, I did not even notice the typos...

Unfortunately my co-worker has no way of contacting the person while she is away.

I guess she will just leave it alone for now, and show the roommate when she returns.

Mi an di baby doing good, thank you

I would still like more feedback from people if you have it...

what a strange letter

The wording seems a bit different from how USCIS would normally word things....

you see it!! How many letters from the USCIS start out with "Ma'am"???

[milimelo 4,486]

The wording seems a bit different from how USCIS would normally word things....

Must be a scam and attempt to lure someone in and rob them - USCIS doesn't ma'am anyone let alone put the wrong zip code (missing a number) and they definitely have better grammar skills than what was presented in this letter.

And why would anyone bring valuable possessions to a USCIS appointment??

I'd say forget about the letter or maybe even report it to USCIS - too bad the original envelope is gone, they could've done some forensics on it to find out who sent it, when and from what zip code...

Edited to add: I just googled this address and interesting how it's not a USCIS office. Definitely report the letter and check with roommate when she comes back if she knows of any person who wants to harm her.

Edited May 17, 2010 by milimelo

[Penguin_ie 5,994]

Fake. They would not address her as "mam" to start off with, and there would be contact details for the office (address, phone no). They would also not ask her for her valued posessions. Plus thre are spelling mistakes.

[Penguin_ie 5,994]

I'd say forget about the letter or maybe even report it to USCIS - too bad the original envelope is gone, they could've done some forensics on it to find out who sent it, when and from what zip code...

Reporting it may be a good idea. I kinda suspect the neighbour... opening a letter not for you, then throwing away the envelope???

[JAPrincess 27]

Edited to add: I just googled this address and interesting how it's not a USCIS office. Definitely report the letter and check with roommate when she comes back if she knows of any person who wants to harm her.

It is the correct address for our local field office IF Washington was spelled right

https://egov.uscis.gov/crisgwi/go?action=offices.detail&office=SFR&OfficeLocator.office_type=LO&OfficeLocator.statecode=CA

Thanks for all the feedback! I am forwarding this link to my co-worker now

[Sasha_Cool 0]

I would tell the roommate to look up the address to see if it corresponds with a USCIS office and was the letter on official government paper as well. The only office that doesn't send letters on official letter head is NVC, but it came in a NVC envelope. I think the neighbor should be questioned because if you "accidentally open someone else's mail you include the envelope it came in with a note. The second fishy thing is why would USCIS need value possessions? Wouldn't that be along the lines of bribery if that is brought to an interview?

[NigeriaorBust 4,087]

Definitely a fake, since when would USCIS make statements about their offices having high tech facial recognition systems ? And the statement about "no recourse" The real agency would be quoting immigration sections if anything. I would copy the letter and contact USCIS and USPS. I would also remind the neighbor that opening mail that isn't yours is a federal crime. I would suspect someone wants to catch this woman in the garage with all her valuables.

[JimVaPhuong 4,863]

There is no way that letter is genuine. No government agency would send an official correspondence to someone and not bother to mention which person or department it was from, who exactly it was addressed to, and what date it was sent. They also wouldn't make vague threats, or leave so many spelling mistakes in the letter.

This doesn't sound like an attempt at theft. It would be sheer stupidity for someone to set up their neighbor in such an obvious way, and it doesn't provide any clear way to actually take her property short of catching her as she's leaving the house. What it does sound like is an a-hole neighbor trying to make his immigrant neighbor believe she's being threatened with deportation.

First, don't handle the letter anymore without wearing gloves. It may be important that you don't obliterate any of the neighbor's fingerprints.

Report this to USCIS, along with a copy of the letter. I think it would teach the neighbor a valuable lesson to be grilled by ICE agents for a few hours.

[Nartaki 7]

This is a fraudulent letter and the person who wrote it might face criminal charges of mail fraud.

USCIS Letters are very specific:

(1) They contain no spelling or grammar mistakes

(2) They have reference numbers or A-numbers in the letter

(3) They never ask you to bring "personal or valued possessions" to the USCIS office

(4) The USCIS Chief of Legal Counsel never provides legal advice to the public, their function is solely to advise the USCIS in the interpretation of the law

I would submit this document to ICE. They can check for latent prints, hair and fiber, type of paper used, postoffice stamps and ink type.

Edited May 18, 2010 by Nartaki

[Brother Hesekiel 2,236]

Fake as Pamela Anderson's boobs. Bad punctuation, bad spelling, bad syntax. A joke.

[acrow 0]

Fake! Definitely report it...

[belinda63 3,038]

Report it, although the neighbor, by accidentally opening it, has an excuse for their fingerprints and such being on it. It is most likely someone who doesn't like "foreigners" playing a sick joke.