PTI

WASHINGTON, Nov 16: Over 30 immigrants, mostly Pakistanis, have been arrested for entering the US by fraudulently obtaining religious workers visas.

The arrests were made by Homeland Security in eight states and the District of Columbia in connection with an ongoing investigation into a visa fraud scheme designed for aliens to get into the country.

Many of those arrested were not religious scholars or religious workers but were illegal aliens employed as gas stations attendants, taxi drivers, landscapers and factory workers, according to a release by the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

It said 33 people, primarily from Pakistan, were arrested during the crackdown. Some of those arrested could face criminal prosecution on visa fraud charges.

The multi-year investigation by the ICE agents in New York and Boston has revealed that petitioners in the US filed false applications on behalf of large numbers of illegal aliens under the religious worker programme.

According to the release, the aliens paid large cash to get people or organisations to sponsor them for visas for which they were not eligible.

Churches that sponsored the immigrants turned out to be non-existent, workers could not be traced and addresses could not be verified.

Under the religious worker programme, aliens with religious training and experience can obtain work visas and ultimately, green cards if religious organisations in the US sponsor them, the release said.