TEXARKANA, Ark. - A man accused of selling U.S. non-immigrant work visas has been charged in a Texarkana federal court.
Jesus Martinez-Rubio appeared Wednesday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Barry Bryant in Texarkana's downtown federal building for an initial appearance on a criminal complaint charging him with conspiracy to encourage and induce illegal entry for financial gain.
Martinez-Rubio allegedly met June 11 with an undercover officer in Texarkana, Arkansas, whom he believed was a business owner willing to sell H-2B visas, according to the complaint.
"Under the United States immigration laws, a foreign-born national can obtain an H-2B visa to work on a temporary basis in the U.S., provided that the individual has a contract for employment and there is a certified need for such a worker. To obtain an H-2B visa, a petitioning employer must show that there was not a qualified American worker available for the position that had been advertised," the complaint states.
Martinez-Rubio, a native of Mexico, allegedly sold visas to foreigners who wanted to come to the U.S. and was targeted in an investigation which began in 2018 by U.S. Immigration and Customs
Enforcement. Martinez-Rubio has allegedly entered the U.S. on such a visa 37 times since 1997 and last entered the country at the border crossing in Laredo, Texas, on an H-2B visa.
A man who was with Martinez-Rubio at the time of his arrest, allegedly told investigators that he paid Martinez-Rubio $1,000 for an H-2B visa to work at a nursery in Mississippi where Martinez-Rubio was a manager. That man allegedly reported that he worked at the nursery for about two months but left for a job in Arlington, Texas, at which he could earn more. When the man told Martinez-Rubio he intended to leave for Arlington, Martinez-Rubio allegedly charged him an additional $1,700.
Martinez-Rubio allegedly told investigators he intended to buy visas for himself and 16 other Mexican citizens at the June 11 meeting with the undercover operative. He allegedly said he, his brother and a third man had deposited $17,500 into an account intended for purchasing the visas and paid an additional $2,500 in cash at the meeting June 11.
Martinez-Rubio allegedly told investigators "he would personally make $500 for each visa he sold, and explained that the visa beneficiaries were to pay an additional $2,000 each once they had obtained the visas and arrived in Texarkana. He also conceded that the visa beneficiaries were going to use the visas to enter the United States but would not work for the company for which the visas had been issued," the complaint states.
Martinez-Rubio allegedly told investigators that buying an H-2B visa is less expensive than being smuggled into the United States.
Texarkana lawyer Cory Floyd is appointed to represent Martinez-Rubio. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kim Harris represented the government at Martinez-Rubio's first appearance. Martinez-Rubio remains in custody.