BEWARE OF “BAKLAS” VISAS
By: Roman P. Mosqueda, Esq.
The latest immigration scam by unscrupulous travel agency operators in the Philippines involves the use of the identity and visa of a crewman joining a ship outside the United States, but in transit through the United States.
A C-1 (Transit) visa is applied for at the U.S. Consulate in Manila by a crewman or crewwoman, showing documentation of joining a ship outside the United States such as the Bahamas, but passing in transit through the United States.
The C-1 transit visa and alternatively, a D visa, may be issued to crewmen by the U.S. Consul of the Department of State for a period of two years.
Crewmen with C-1/D visa may be physically unable to travel to join or work on a ship, or may have obtained the C-1/D visa to lend to others with or without a fee, or may recycle the C-1/D visa already used for entry into the United States and then returned to the Philippines for the use of someone else.
“Baklas” Visas For Sale:
Crewmen who are issued C-1/D visas may sell their visas for a considerable amount from P100,000.00 to P130,000.00, Philippine currency (approximately from $1,775.25 to $2,307.83, U.S. currency, at P56.330 to $1 exchange rate) to travel agencies.
Syndicated travel and airline agencies allegedly in Malate and Mabini, Manila, may in turn sell C-1/D or B-1/B-2 [Visitor for business or pleasure (tourist)] visas to target victims for cold cash from P150,000.00 to P160,000.00 (approximately $2,662.88 to $2,840.40, U.S. currency, at P56.330 to $1 exchange rate.)
Target victims of unscrupulous travel and airline agency operators are usually the following:
1. Filipino applicants who were previously denied U.S. nonimmigrant B1/B2 visa;
2. Filipinos who are barred entry into the United States for overstaying their nonimmigrant status: barred for three years from date of departure or removal, if having overstayed for more than six months; barred for ten years, if having overstayed for more than one year, under Section 212(a)(B)(i)(I) and (II) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA); and
3. Filipinos who were deported or removed from the United States and barred from entry for ten or twenty years or shorter because of overstaying, commission of crimes, including aggravated felonies, or violation of other laws.
Mechanics of “Baklas” Visa:
“Baklas” is a Tagalog word meaning take off. In the context of using the word “baklas” in visa preparation, “baklas” visa refers to a validly issued, good and unexpired U.S. nonimmigrant visa of one person, whose photograph therein was taken-off (“baklas”) and replaced by the photograph of another person who will use it, using highly specialized procedure and equipment.
Crudely crafted “baklas” visas are easily detected. More sophisticated methods have been presumably developed due to the ingenuity of Filipinos. So, “baklas” visas have passed the scrutiny of the Immigration Officers at the U.S. ports of entry; and Filipinos have entered the United States under assumed names.
For the “baklas” visas to pass muster, consideration of the following factors should be made:
1. physical resemblance such as weight, height, and color of hair and eyes, of the visa owner and the visa user; and
2. age of the parties involved, so that the age appearing in the visa resembles the physical appearance of the visa user.
C-1 Visas For Crewmen:
C-1 visas are issued to crewmen joining ship or businessmen passing through the United States.
Under 22 C.F.R. § 41.71(a), “(a)n alien is classifiable as a nonimmigrant transit alien under INA 101(a)(15)(C) if the consular officer is satisfied that the alien:
1. Intends to pass in immediate and continuous transit through the United States:
2. Is in possession of a common carrier ticket or other evidence of transportation arrangements to the alien’s destination;
3. Is in possession of sufficient funds to carry out the purpose of the transit journey, or has sufficient funds otherwise available for that purpose; and
4. Has permission to enter some country other than the United States following the transit through the United States, unless the alien submits satisfactory evidence that such advance permission is not required.”
And under 8 C.F.R. § 214.2(c)(3), the period of stay in the United States of a transit alien cannot exceed 29 days. Thus, it is not true that the transit alien can stay in the United States for the period of the C-1/D visa. A visa is required for entry. At the port of entry, the Immigration officer selects the status, whether C-1 or D, and states the duration of authorized stay in the Departure document (Form I-94), which should not exceed 29 days.
A C-1 status holder cannot change status (INA § 248), cannot extend stay [8 C.F.R. § 214.1(c)(3)], cannot apply for employment [8 C.F.R. § 214.1(e)], and cannot adjust status (obtain lawful permanent resident status, even if married to a U.S. citizen), if a crewman [INA § 245(c)(1)].
D Visas For Crewmen:
D visas are issued to alien crewmen who are employed for normal operation and service on board a ship, under INA § 101(a)(15)(D).
Similar to C-1, the maximum period of admission into the United States of a D status holder is 29 days.
And similar to a C-1 status holder, a D status holder cannot change status (INA § 248), cannot extend stay (8 C.F.R. § 252.1(f), and cannot adjust status to lawful permanent resident [INA § 245(c)(1)] except under INA § 245(i), if a labor certification or family petition was filed for the crewman as beneficiary on or before April 30, 2001.
D status is issued on Form I-95, Conditional Landing Permit, for crewmen employed on board a ship. It does not authorize land work in the United States.
Thus C-1 and D statuses do not authorize any kind of land work in the United States, except on board a ship.
Immigration Fraud And Crime:
Under INA § 212(a)(6)(C), it is immigration fraud for an alien who, by fraud or willfully misrepresenting a material fact (such as identity), seeks entry into the U.S. or other benefit provided under the Act.
It is a ground for removal, unless a Section 212(i) waiver is available to a spouse or son or daughter of a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident, who can show that denial of lawful permanent resident status to the alien would result in extreme hardship to the U.S. or lawful permanent resident spouse or parent.
18 U.S.C. § 1546(a), third paragraph, criminalizes: “Whoever, when applying for an immigrant or nonimmigrant visa, permit, or other document required for entry into the United States, or for admission to the United States personates another, or falsely appears in the name of a deceased individual, or evades or attempts to evade the immigration laws by appearing under an assumed or fictitious name without disclosing his true identity, or sells or otherwise disposes of, or offers to sell or otherwise dispose of, or utters, such visa, permit, or other document, to any person not authorized by law to receive such document.”
Conviction thereof carries a fine or imprisonment of not more than 10 years, in case of the first or second such offense, if the offense was not used to facilitate international terrorism or a drug trafficking crime, or both.
The illegal practice of selling “baklas” visas should be stopped by the Philippine Government. Prospective nonimmigrants should be educated of the pitfalls of “baklas” visas.