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Photo = Yonhap news |
[Alpha Biz= Paul Lee] INCHEON, South Korea — June 11, 2025 — A 42-year-old Bangladeshi national has been referred to prosecutors by the Incheon Airport Immigration Office after being arrested for orchestrating a large-scale visa fraud scheme involving fake U.S. green card identities.
According to the Ministry of Justice, the suspect, identified as Mr. A, allegedly received KRW 27 million (approx. USD 19,500) from each of 35 Bangladeshi nationals seeking to enter South Korea for illegal employment between September 2022 and early June 2025. Mr. A helped them apply for visas by posing as U.S. permanent residents — a group known to have higher approval rates for tourist visas.
Authorities revealed that Mr. A conspired with a 55-year-old Bangladeshi-American broker, Mr. B, based in the United States. The duo exploited the simplified U.S. visa process for green card holders, fabricating U.S. green card documents and submitting fraudulent visa applications to South Korea’s diplomatic missions.
Of the 35 applicants, 9 never traveled, 4 were denied entry, 4 were deported, 16 are currently undergoing refugee application procedures, and 2 remain in South Korea as undocumented immigrants.
Mr. A was apprehended at Incheon International Airport on June 9, following a crackdown triggered by suspicious patterns involving Bangladeshi nationals entering the country under tourist visas but remaining as illegal residents or applying for refugee status.
알파경제 Paul Lee 특파원(hoondork1977@alphabiz.co.kr)
