Unfortunately, there are plenty of fraudsters looking to take advantage of people desperate to get to the U.S. Here are some red flags to watch for when choosing a visa agency or immigration lawyer:

1. They guarantee positive results. NOBODY can guarantee positive results. It's up to the visa officer or judge.

2. They claim to have an inside contact. This is just malarky. FSOs are highly respected and honored. It's not easy to become an American foreign service officer. You need a college degree, examinations, interviews etc. It's a point of pride for an American family if their child is an FSO. Do you really think someone would throw that all away for a $500 bribe? On top of the FSOs are rotated routinely so even if an agency managed to flip one he'd be reassigned to another embassy in 2-3 years.

3. They're extremely cheap. Immigration is complex and requires years of study and training. There's no way someone who went through all that would then turn around and give away their services cheaply --Unless they're working for an NGO. Be wary of anyone offering to have hour-long consultations for free.

4. They lack basic knowledge: A client once told me her previous agency said her U.S. citizen husband couldn’t accompany her to the U.S. Embassy for her interview—completely false. Many people giving advice have never set foot inside an embassy.

5. They confuse key terms: Ask them if they know the difference between a co-sponsor and a joint sponsor. This is often confused by people who just parrot what they read on the internet.

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