Baseball pitchers get US work visas after five-year ban due to immigration scam
February 02 2010 by Liam Clifford
Two pitchers who are prospects for the Texas Rangers baseball team are expected to be granted US work visas after a five-year ban.
Omar
Beltre and Alexi Oganda were found to be part of a human trafficking ring in the
Dominican Republic between 2004 and 2005, which involved 30 Dominican minor
league players.
They have been banned from living and working in the US
ever since and have not been allowed to so much as set foot in the country.
However, Texas Rangers general manager Jon Daniels and assistant general manager
Thad Levine now claim they have been told that the two men will be granted
waivers. ESPN says the two pitchers already have the US visas and are to attend
spring training sessions in Arizona.
Once they are in training, they can
apply to be reinstated into Major League Baseball and can play for a minor
league club for the 2010 season.
Beltre told ESPN, "I feel thankful to
God for this new opportunity to me. Thanks to the organisation, to my agent, I
never lost hope that everything will be cleared.”
Jon Daniels said the
criminal gangs were “preying on young baseball players” to help them commit US
immigration fraud.
See the latest Immigration News
