I got a mail from US EMBASSY...should i believe it...?

Question

US Embassy, Mumbai
Consular Section
C-49, G-Block, Bandra Kurla Complex,
Bandra East, Mumbai 400051.
Attn: Krishnamohan Avula,

Thanks for contacting US Embassy. Your file was forwarded to me by Edison International and as enlisted on the file received from them, you were provided with an Appointment letter and to follow instructions for your Visa Application. Kindly fill the visa application form enclosed in this mail with pen and return them vie e-mail to me. I shall inform you if there is any other documents you are to provide.

However, before I proceed in processing your visa application, you should register with the Embassy first at this consulate. Registration processing and handling charge is $457 US Dollars which is र25,000 Rupees equivalent(THIS FEE IS FOR REGISTRATION PROCESSING AND HANDLING CHARGES). This fee is to make consideration for your visa application form so that you will be recognized by the US visa authorities.
Below is the breakdown of the visa Charges:

* Visa Application (Urgent Case): Rs. 7,000
* Visa Registration Fee: Rs. 10,500
* Processing: Rs. 4,400
* Handling Charges: Rs. 3,100
Please Note: This fees is to be paid by you to your Visa officer whom will then pay it to the Embassy on your behalf and receive your receipt for future reference because applicant are to pay visa charges/fees through agents by consulate order. You are to get back to us as soon as possible, so that we can provide you with the account details for payment.
In addition, as soon as visa officers acknowledge the payment, your files will be opened. No sooner than the entire required documents are secured and processed, appointment will be granted for you to have biometric data (10 fingers scan and digital photograph taken) for completion of the visa formalities here at the Embassy.

Moreover, you should prepare yourself for interview, though I will give you tips of the interview when the time comes. The date of the interview will be announced to you as soon as your application is granted. I hope and believe to guide your application and ensure that you start your career with your employer in United States on time. So you should be fast in this arrangement as your joining date is fast approaching.

Finally, kindly send to me the Xerox copy of the following documents.
(1). Proof of permanent residence address.
(2). 4 white photo (size 50mmx50mm), taken within the last 4 months.
(3). Resume
(4). Degree Certificate
(5). Fill visa form
(6). International Passport

The above information will enable me to processing your application and get your visa obtained. The entire duration for obtaining your visa from the US Consulate shall not be more than 7 working days because it is a non appearance visa. You are required to send the Xerox copy of the above documents via e-mail as attached file and it must appear in coloured form.
NOTE: FORM ATTACHED HAS SERIAL NUMBER AND EXPIRY DATE, DO NOT FILL UNLESS YOU ARE PREPARED TO REGISTER.

Hours of Operation
The visa section of the U.S. Consulate General Mumbai conducts nonimmigrant visa interviews by appointment only. Our business days are Monday through Friday, except for U.S. and Indian holidays. The Consulate is also closed to the public on the last Wednesday of every month.

As Kolkata, Chennai and Hyderabad consulates do not have an immigrant visa section, all immigrant applicant under those consulate jurisdictions should go to Mumbai. In other words residents of the following states of Maharashtra, Goa, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, and Union Territories of Daman and Diu, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerela and Union Territories of Lakshadweep, Puducherry, Andaman and Nicobar Islands,Andhra Pradesh and Orissa.

When your documents have been submitted and verified, i will send you the mode of payment after confirming the accuracy of information you provided and sure you will be granted visa.

Yours Sincerely,
Richard Rothman,
[phone]
US Embassy
11-06-13
VISA FORM.pdf
104K View Download

Answer 1

no, it's totally a scam. The US consular section in Mumbai is in a consulate, not an embassy. the embassy is in Delhi. the US consulate cannot support or endorse any private business, it's against US law to do so. The visa interview fee is $160, so even if they are actually going to sign you up for an interview and I doubt it, they're charging you 3 times what it costs. the procedures outlined here have nothing to do with actual consular procedures.

Answer 2

Absolute scam

As already mentioned there is NO US Embassy in Mumbai, it's a consulate

That is NOT the phone number of the US Consulate in Mumbai

YOU do not fill out any visa application form - work visa applications are filled out by the employer, not the employee and THEY pay directly to USCIS in the United States. You do not fill out anything nor do you pay any money

If the email you got is not from an @state.gov email address, that;s all the proof you need this person is scamming you



Cut off all contact ASAP - these are criminals trying to steal your money and identity

Answer 3

looks like a scam to me.



particulars:



1. the quality of the English language in the letter is not college standard in the US, but substantially below that. In fact, it likely wouldn't pass muster in an American high school.



2. it is physically impossible to fill in a download form and email it back without using a scanner or similar device to scan it in -- in which case, the signature would not legally qualify as an original.



3. the real website of the consulate in Mumbai, found through google, is at http://mumbai.usconsulate.gov/contactinformation.html. in it, it lists the contact information for visas, including a telephone number. the telephone number you were given in the mail received is apparently not within the consulate's real range of numbers and so I suspect it is a cell phone belonging to the scam perpetrator.



4. the similar US government website for the Hyderabad consulate specifically says that it does have a visa section and does conduct interviews -- which the letter you received claims is false. This is a common tactic of scam artists -- to prevent you from contacting the actual persons who will have zero knowledge of your case and whose master index will not list your name at all.



5. the US government does not initiate communication with anyone by email.



6. the US government does not ask persons to pay an agent who will not immediately issue an official receipt. Funds received will be officially receipted immediately at the Consulate. Normal banking mechanisms may be used to assure that funds are not misappropriated.



***

Sadly, this has all the earmarks of a scam.



note that the US government's website does have an email address for visa applicants and they will respond to your enquiry as to whether the letter is real.



I'd happily bet equal numbers of dollars to rupees that the letter is a forgery designed to separate 25,000 rupees from you.

Answer 4

Us Embassy Mumbai

Answer 5

U do onething. search the mail address of US embassy at Mumbai and send a letter attaching the mail U received. and get it clarified bcoz fraudster are roaming and trying to trap some one.

Answer 6

It's a 100% Fraud email. you just type email address in search engine, you will know about that email address is real or fake.

Answer 7

total fake and scam ...report it here

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