Upgrade to High-Speed Internet for only ₱1499/month!
Enjoy up to 100 Mbps fiber broadband, perfect for browsing, streaming, and gaming.
Visit Suniway.ph to learn
CEBU CITY – A visa consultancy firm here was shut down after it was allegedly caught engaging in illegal recruitment.
AUTHORITIES shut down the office of a visa consultancy firm in Cebu City for allegedly engaging in illegal recruitment activities. (Contributed photo)
Officials from the Department of Migrant Workers-Central Visayas-(DMW 7) and Cebu City government served the closure order against Visa to America Manila Inc.-Cebu on Friday, Aug. 1.
Instead of just processing visa applications, the company allegedly collected $5,400 to $8,500 from applicants seeking teaching jobs in the United States under the J1 and H1B visa programs.
Visa packages promised annual salaries ranging from $40,000 to $100,000, depending on qualifications, said DMW-7 Director Jhoaden Lucero.
Lucero said the company had been referring applicants to employers abroad and conducting recruitment and placement activities despite being registered only as a visa consultancy agency.
“Their registered business is for visa consultancy. However, they are offering recruitment and placement activities, which is illegal,” Lucero said.
Applicants were placed at disadvantage as despite the hefty fees collected from applicants, job placement was not guaranteed.
Applicants were promised placements through affiliate partner schools and US-based employers.
Two employees were present in the office when DMW-7 and Cebu City officials, led by Legal Officer Briccio Joseph C. Boholst, arrived.
Eight branches of the company were simultaneously closed on Friday. The other branches were located in Lucena City, Iloilo City, Santiago City in Isabela, Quezon City, Davao City, Zamboanga City, and its main office in Pasig City.
The DMW-7 started investigating the company when its alleged activities were reported during the agency’s legal assistance session at the DMW Jobs Fair on June 12 at Robinsons Galleria in Quezon City.
