Federal officials announcing the results of a massive immigration fraud operation in the Twin Cities on Tuesday.
United States Citizenship and Immigration Services director Joseph Edlow says Operation Twin Shield was conducted this month and targeted over 1,000 cases involving more than 900 individuals.
"Our officers encountered blatant marriage fraud, visa overstays, people claiming to work at businesses that can't be found, forged documents, abuse of the H-1B visa system, abuse of the F-1 visas, and many other discrepancies," explains Edlow.
The office says suspected fraud was discovered in 275 cases.
Edlow adds they uncovered elder exploitation and fake death certificates during their investigations and says Operation Twin Shield was the first of its kind.
"It just makes sense to start in a in a city where we have a sense of what's going on and where we can try to make a an impact on certain things like the immigration fraud for marriages and things of that nature," he explains. "So it really was based on reviewing data that this is, as I said, this is not the only city where this is going to be. This is the first of many."
The effort focused on site visits and targeted verifications for applicants and petitioners with pending immigration benefits who matched specified risk criteria.
“USCIS is declaring an all-out war on immigration fraud. We will relentlessly pursue everyone involved in undermining the integrity of our immigration system and laws," Edlow adds.