The Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) shuts down eight ( 8 ) branches of Visa To America Manila Inc. and its main office at the Ortigas Center, Pasig City in an anti-illegal recruitment operations held today, August 01, 2025.

DMW Secretary Hans Leo J. Cacdac led the closure operations of the main office in Ortigas Center while simultaneous shut down operations were also conducted for its branches in Cebu City, Lucena City, Iloilo City, Santiago City, Quezon City, Davao City, and Zamboanga City.

“Kung sila’y involved in job matching, inooferan nila ng trabaho dito yung worker na may counterpart sila sa US na mayroon na nakahandang employer. So that is clearly a case of recruitment. They are recruiting for overseas employment na walang lisensiya sa DMW and under the laws, that is a case of illegal recruitment,” emphasized Secretary Cacdac.

The illegal recruitment scheme involved offering J1 and H1B visas which they offered to prospective clients wanting to work as teachers and professionals in hospitality industry. The consulting company offered visa processing, mock job interviews, job application processing including assistance in doing their CVs for a fee of USD 5,400 for J1 visa and USD 8,500 for a H1B visa or equivalent to Php 300, 000 to Php500,000.

Job applicants were enticed to apply with a promised salary ranging from USD 40,000 to USD 100,000 for a job in various states in the United States.

They have allegedly deployed over 50 clients to the US since they started operations in 2022. The DMW will monitor the deployed OFWs for any contract violations.

“We will monitor and we will dig into their records kung sino pinadala nila. OFW teachers whose contracts are violated and are not in accordance with the labor laws of the host country and our laws, so we will monitor their situation lalo na ang terms and conditions of their employment, kung nahaharap sila sa contrata na hindi nila gusto o substandard,” said Secretary Cacdac.

The J1 visa is an exchange visitor visa and is for promoting cultural exchange between two countries while H1B is an employment pathway to the US and is regulated by the DMW through deployment via accredited licensed employment agencies.

Under the anti-illegal recruitment laws, operating a recruitment agency without a license from the DMW is a case of illegal recruitment.

“Ang kahalagahan ng lisensiya mula sa DMW, ibig sabihin regulated ang kanilang pagrerecruit. Ibig sabihin sisiguraduhin nila na naaayon sa batas ng host country at most especially ng Pilipinas, yung method ng pagrerecruit, yung kontrata, yung visa, yung kaparaanan ng pagdedeploy, yung job interview, all those things ay regulated  under the DMW pero kung wala kang lisensiya iniiskip mo lahat yun. Recruitment is a privilege  hindi yan karapatan. It’s a highly regulated economic or business endeavor in our country under our laws.,” added Secretary Cacdac.

The anti-illegal recruitment operations conducted by the DMW-Migrant Workers Protection Bureau is in fulfillment of the directives of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. to ensure that OFWs are protected against illegal recruitment. The DMW also reminds job applicants to ensure they are dealing with legitimate and licensed recruitment agencies by contacting DMW directly or by verifying through the DMW website.