Image credit: Suzanne Kantra/Techlicious
The FTC is suing the companies behind several passport websites, accusing them of using Google ads and misleading website designs to make consumers believe they were dealing with the U.S. government. The agency alleges the defendants collected at least $40 million from more than 300,000 consumers since October 2023, and that many customers received only passport application forms available for free from the State Department.
The agency filed the lawsuit October 22 in federal court in Puerto Rico against GovAssist LLC, Entry LLC, and their owner, Scott Zuckerman. It charges them with violating the FTC Act, the agency's rule against impersonating government agencies and businesses, and the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, which bars using false statements to obtain financial account information. The sites named in the complaint include GovAssist.com, Entry.com, IVS.us, QuickPassport.com, TravelAssist.us.com, USVisaConnection.com, TVSPassports.com and InvitationLetter.com.
According to the complaint (PDF), searches such as "passport renewal online" and "get a new passport" routinely returned the defendants' ads as top sponsored results, often above the State Department's own site. The ads and landing pages used images of passports and American flags, headlines like "U.S. Passport Online 2026," and a badge-style "IVS" logo that the FTC says evokes the old Immigration and Naturalization Service. One landing page listed the "Issuing Agency" as the U.S. Department of State. Neither company is affiliated with the State Department or registered as an authorized courier.
Entry.com advertised services starting at $89, but the pricing on its application page actually ran from $119 to $499, plus a $29 shipping fee on the cheapest tier. The government's $165 fee for a first-time adult passport was disclosed separately in small gray type, according to the complaint, so some customers did not realize they would have to pay it on top of the companies' charges. The FTC says the average customer was charged $145, and some paid as much as $499.
The sites also promised passports in as little as three to four business days, with the fastest tier at $499. The FTC alleges those promises were false. A third-party company cannot get you a passport faster than applying directly through the State Department, which offers urgent and emergency appointments for qualifying travelers. The complaint says no customer received a passport through the defendants' services without taking additional steps, such as attending an in-person appointment, mailing in a previous passport, or submitting an online renewal application to the State Department.
The sites also touted an "excellent" rating on Trustpilot. The complaint says Trustpilot independently identified hundreds of reviews of the defendants as fabricated and removed them, and notified the companies in May 2025 that it had found abnormally high numbers of fake reviews. It’s a reminder that a glowing star rating, even on a well-known review platform, cannot be taken at face value.
How to apply without paying extra
Applying through the government means paying only the government's fees. First-time adults download a free form from travel.state.gov and apply in person at a post office, library, or similar acceptance facility. The $165 total is a $130 application fee plus a $35 execution fee. Eligible renewals can be filed online for free, beyond the $130 application fee. If you're traveling in less than six weeks, expedited service adds $60 and takes two to three weeks, not counting mailing time.
I advise typing travel.state.gov into your browser. If you do search for "how to get a passport" or "passport renewal," look for the official State Department site, which ends in .gov. Google automatically adds a "Not a government website" label to Search ads for government documents and services, unless the advertiser is a certified government provider.
Image credit: screenshot via Suzanne Kantra/Techlicious
Anyone who believes a passport service misled them can report it at ReportFraud.ftc.gov. The FTC is asking the court to order refunds, but filing a report does not guarantee that you will get your money back.
