The Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) announced the successful shutdown of the main office and eight provincial branches of “Visa To America Manila Inc.” following a nationwide anti-illegal recruitment operation.
Led by DMW Secretary Hans Leo J. Cacdac, the operation targeted the company’s main office at the Ortigas Center in Pasig City. Simultaneous closure orders were executed at its branches in Cebu City, Lucena City, Iloilo City, Santiago City, Quezon City, Davao City, and Zamboanga City.
According to Secretary Cacdac, the company was illegally recruiting workers for overseas employment by acting as a job-matching service without a valid license from the DMW.
“They were involved in job matching, offering jobs to workers here with a supposed employer counterpart in the U.S. This is a clear case of recruitment without a DMW license, which, under our laws, is illegal,” Secretary Cacdac stated.
The company’s illegal scheme involved offering J1 and H1B visas to aspiring professionals, including teachers and those in the hospitality industry. For a fee ranging from USD 5,400 to USD 8,500 (approximately Php 300,000 to Php 500,000), they offered visa processing, mock interviews, and assistance with job applications. Applicants were enticed by the promise of salaries from USD 40,000 to USD 100,000 in various U.S. states.
The DMW has also initiated a monitoring program for the more than 50 clients the company allegedly deployed to the U.S. since it began operations in 2022.
“We will monitor their situation and dig into their records to find out who was deployed. We will check if the terms and conditions of their employment are by the labor laws of both the host country and the Philippines,” Secretary Cacdac said.
The Secretary further emphasized that holding a DMW license is not a right, but a privilege for a highly regulated business endeavor. The license is crucial to ensure that the entire recruitment and deployment process—from contracts and visas to job interviews—is transparent and fully compliant with the law.
This nationwide operation was conducted by the DMW-Migrant Workers Protection Bureau in fulfillment of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.’s directive to protect Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) from illegal recruitment.
The DMW reminds job applicants to always verify the legitimacy of recruitment agencies by contacting the department directly or by checking its official website.
