The U.S. Attorney for the Districts of Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands recently announced multiple sentences arising out of a scheme to willfully abuse the CW-1 Visa Program for personal profit. The announcement underscores the serious repercussions of defrauding the immigration process and the U.S. government.
According to the announcement, a business owner who resided in the Northern Mariana Islands facilitated an unlawful scheme to acquire CW-1 nonimmigrant visas for workers with no intention of employing them. The business owner petitioned U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) for at least 99 noncitizens to enter the United States under fraudulent employment contracts. While the contracts specified terms, hours, and wages, an investigation into the company ultimately revealed that the company never intended to employ these individuals.
Instead, the company would charge the noncitizens a fee of $1,500.00 to $2,000.00 for the visa, and then require them to pay the company $194.00 every two weeks to maintain their status under the visa program. Rather than employing them, the company would direct the workers to take undocumented jobs in various industries including construction, groundskeeping, and housekeeping. It is unclear the extent to which the business profited from these abuses.
The business owner was found guilty of violating 18 U.S.C. § 1546, which controls fraud and misuse of visas, permits, and other documents (“...
A Sheffield councillor who came under fire for allegedly sharing a video promoting stem cell treatment for autism says the claims are "false". It is understood that Mustafa Ahmed, Green Councillor...