Avoiding scams

Typical traps for Americans moving to Berlin and where to check.

Typical patterns

• Appointment sellers: people or sites charging for Berlin immigration office (LEA) slots. Book only via the official portal at berlin.de/einwanderung. Whether resale of slots occurs at scale could not be verified.
• Rental scams: a flat that is "abroad", asks for a deposit or "viewing fee" by wire or gift card before you see it. Real landlords let you view first. No official Berlin source was checked for this page; the pattern is widely reported.
• "Citizenship by descent" brokers promising a passport for a large fee. The procedure is by application to the Federal Office of Administration (BVA); see German ancestry.
• Fake job offers that require an upfront payment for a "work permit". An employer never pays you less than the contract says and does not charge for the permit.
• "Visa guarantee" and "fast-track" services that charge a premium for what the authority does for free. The employer-side fast-track (§ 81a AufenthG) is applied for by the employer, see Skilled worker.

Where to check

• German missions in the USA for visa questions.
• Make it in Germany, the Federal Government portal.
• US citizens abroad: report fraud to the FTC. Check which reporting channel applies to you.