Police uncover US work visa scam in Brazil
December 10 2009 by Liam Clifford
US visa gang apprehended in Brazil.
Police in Brazil have
caught a gang of fraudsters who were charging prospective immigrants up to
$15,000 each to provide them with H-2B temporary US work visas.
The
criminal ring had made as much as $50 million from their scam, which involved
them fraudulently applying for the visas that allow immigrants to work in the US
temporarily in certain roles.
A total of 11 people were arrested in the
bust, which had been planned since 2003 when the fraudulent paperwork was first
spotted by US immigration officials. The investigation was named Operation
Anarchy and involved the Brazilian authorities. Visa experts have been deployed
in Sao Paulo to examine US visa applications.
The US work visa frauds
were also reportedly committed in other countries including Russia, the
Philippines, the United Arab Emirates and Dominica. However, no police raids
have taken place in these countries in response to the crimes.
The H-2B
visa is for ‘temporary or seasonal nonagricultural workers,’ according to the US
State Department. There is a current quota of 66,000 temporary US work visas for
people who want to move to the US from abroad on offer each year.
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