Some private websites that charge to prepare immigration forms mimic the look and feel of official government sites, leading users to mistakenly believe they are dealing directly with the government and paying USCIS fees.

Many copycat sites add to the confusion by charging applicants the same amount for preparing an immigration form that USCIS charges for filing that same form.

As a result, some applicants have sent forms to USCIS without submitting the filing fees. These applicants mistakenly believed they had paid the USCIS filing fee when they paid the private firm for preparing the forms.

To learn more, visit: http://blog.uscis.gov/2011/09/dont-be-fooled-by-copycat-immigration.html