April 28, 2009

ICE Indicts 2 in Georgia for Immigration Conspiracy Involving Language Learning Center

Two individuals charged with running a fraudulent F-1 student visa scheme were indicted by a Federal Grand Jury on felony charges of conspiring to encourage and induce foreign nationals to reside unlawfully in the U.S. as well as manufacturing false documents including government identification.

The defendants allegedly filed a fraudulent I-17 petition with the Immigration and Customs Enforcement International Student and Exchange Visitor Program (ICE SEVP) to obtain certification to enroll nonimmigrant students at the Humana Language Learning Center, an English language school for speakers of Korean. The petition was approved, and according to the indictment, the defendants charged hundreds of individuals thousands of dollars to obtain F-1 visas using false documents which the defendants created in a document lab set up for that purpose. According to ICE, the visa recipients did not attend the school. If convicted, the defendants face a maximum prison sentence of 10 years and fines of up to $500,000. To read the ICE news release, click here.