A Chicago attorney has been indicted on charges of conspiring to file fraudulent employment documents to secure U.S. work visas for Filipino nurses. The federal grand jury indictment, announced Thursday by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Illinois, accuses Gerardo Dean, 58, and Felicitas “Felice” Cordero, 76, of running an immigration fraud scheme.
Allegations of Fraudulent Visa Filings
Prosecutors allege that Dean, of Park Ridge, Illinois, and Cordero, of Buffalo Grove, Illinois, collaborated to submit false information to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). The scheme reportedly involved inflating job titles and duties on visa applications to make applicants appear more qualified under visa categories like the H-1B and EB-2 programs.
The H-1B program allows U.S. companies to temporarily employ foreign workers with specialized expertise, while the EB-2 program enables foreign nationals with advanced degrees or equivalent qualifications to pursue permanent resident status.
