Jail Time for Selling Illegally Obtained U.S. Non-Immigrant Work Visas : Immigration Law Blog

A Mexican nationwide dwelling in Texarkana, Arkansas, has been arrested by federal officers for promoting unlawful U.S. non-immigrant work visas. Jesus Martinez-Rubio, age 44, was arrested in June 2020 and charged within the Texarkana Division of the Western District of Arkansas. He was sentenced to 1 12 months and in the future in federal jail for conspiracy to encourage and induce unlawful entry for monetary acquire.

Martinez-Rubio offered visas to foreigners who needed to enter the U.S. He himself had entered the U.S. on an H-2B work visa 37 occasions, beginning in 1977. His final such entry was throughout the border crossing at Laredo, Texas. Shopping for an H-2B visa is way cheaper than being smuggled into the U.S., Martinez-Rubio stated.

U.S. Non-Immigrant Work Visas

Martinez-Rubio was focused by the U.S. Immigration Customs and Enforcement (ICE) in an investigation in impact since 2018. The legal criticism said that an undercover officer in Texarkana, Arkansas, met with Martinez-Rubio on June 11, posing as a enterprise proprietor keen to promote H-2B visas. The H-2B visa program permits U.S. employers or U.S. brokers to herald overseas nationals to the U.S. for momentary nonagricultural staff.

“Below the USA immigration legal guidelines, a foreign-born nationwide can acquire an H-2B visa to work on a short lived foundation within the U.S., supplied that the person has a contract for employment and there’s a licensed want for such a employee. To acquire an H-2B visa, a petitioning employer should present that there was not a certified American employee out there for the place that had been marketed,” the criticism states.

Martinez-Rubio’s H-2B Fraud Scheme

An immigrant who was current with Martinez-Rubio had paid him $1,000 for an H-2B visa. The immigrant was to work in a nursery in Mississippi the place Martinez-Rubio labored as a supervisor. The immigrant labored within the nursery for 2 months after which moved to a higher-paying job in Arlington, Texas. As soon as he left the job, Martinez-Rubio charged him an extra $1,700.

Throughout his June 11 assembly with the secret agent, Martinez-Rubio had deliberate to purchase visas for himself and 16 different Mexican residents. He stated that he, his brother, and one other man had already deposited $17,500 into an account to buy the visas. Additionally they paid an extra $2,500 in money on the assembly on June 11.

Martinez-Rubio instructed investigators he would personally make $500 for every visa he offered and defined that the visa beneficiaries had been to pay an extra $2,000 every as soon as that they had obtained the visas and arrived in Texarkana. He additionally conceded that the visa beneficiaries had been going to make use of the visas to enter the USA however wouldn’t work for the corporate for which the visas had been issued, the criticism states.

To be taught extra about this weblog submit or when you have some other immigration considerations, please be at liberty to contact me at rglahoud@norris-law.com or (484) 544-0022.