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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider DMW shuts down consulting firm for illegal recruitment of Filipino teachers, hospitality workers to US

DMW shuts down consulting firm for illegal recruitment of Filipino teachers, hospitality workers to US

Published Aug 1, 2025 05:32 pm
Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) Secretary Hans Leo Cacdac (center) shuts down the main office of Visa To America Manila Inc. in Ortigas Center, Pasig City on Aug. 2025 after it allegedly engaged in illegal recruitment of teachers and professionals in the hospitality industry, some of whom had paid up to half a million pesos just to be employed in the United States. Simultaneous shutdown operations were also conducted for the firm's branches in Cebu City, Lucena City, Iloilo City, Santiago City, Quezon City, Davao City, and Zamboanga City. (Photo: DMW)
Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) Secretary Hans Leo Cacdac (center) shuts down the main office of Visa To America Manila Inc. in Ortigas Center, Pasig City on Aug. 2025 after it allegedly engaged in illegal recruitment of teachers and professionals in the hospitality industry, some of whom had paid up to half a million pesos just to be employed in the United States. Simultaneous shutdown operations were also conducted for the firm's branches in Cebu City, Lucena City, Iloilo City, Santiago City, Quezon City, Davao City, and Zamboanga City. (Photo: DMW)
The Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) closed eight branches of a consulting firm across the country on Friday, August 1, after it allegedly engaged in illegal recruitment of teachers and professionals in the hospitality industry, some of whom had paid up to half a million pesos just to be employed in the United States.
DMW Secretary Hans Leo Cacdac shut down the main office of Visa To America Manila Inc. in Ortigas Center, Pasig City while simultaneous closure operations were also conducted for its branches in Cebu City, Lucena City, Iloilo City, Santiago City, Quezon City, Davao City, and Zamboanga City.
Cacdac said the consulting firm’s alleged illegal recruitment scheme involves offering J1 and H1B visas to prospective clients wanting to work as teachers and professionals in the hospitality industry.
The J1 visa is an exchange visitor visa and is used for promoting cultural exchange between two countries while H1B is an employment pathway to the United States and is regulated by the DMW through deployment via accredited licensed employment agencies.
According to the DMW chief, the consulting company would offer to its clients an array of services including visa processing, mock job interviews, and job application processing, including assistance in doing their curriculum vitaes (CVs) for a fee of USD5,400 for J1 visa and USD8,500 for a H1B visa or equivalent to P300,000 to P500,000.
Cacdac said job applicants were enticed to apply with a promised salary ranging from USD40,000 to USD100,000 for a job in various states in the United States.
The only problem is that the company has not secured a license from the DMW to do such operations.
The migrant workers chief explained that under the anti-illegal recruitment laws, operating a recruitment agency without a license from the DMW is a case of illegal recruitment.
“If they are involved in job matching, offering jobs here to workers who have a counterpart in the US with a ready employer, that is clearly a case of recruitment. They are recruiting for overseas employment without a license from the DMW, and under the laws, that is a case of illegal recruitment,” Cacdac explained.
He emphasized the importance of a recruitment company securing a license from the DMW as it guarantees that an agency’s activities are regulated.
“It ensures that the method of recruitment, the contract, the visa, the deployment process, the job interview, all those aspects, comply with the laws of the host country and, most especially, the Philippines. If you don’t have a license, you’re skipping all of that. Recruitment is a privilege, not a right. It is a highly regulated economic or business endeavor in our country under our laws,” he noted.
The consulting firm had allegedly deployed over 50 clients to the US since it started operations in 2022. The DMW said it will monitor the deployed OFWs for any contract violations.
“We will monitor and we will dig into the records of whoever they deployed. For OFW teachers whose contracts are violated or are not in accordance with the labor laws of the host country and our own laws, we will monitor their situation especially the terms and conditions of their employment to determine if they are facing contracts they do not agree with or that are substandard,” Cacdac added.

Related Tags

DMW illegal recruitment Hans Leo Cacdac OFWs teachers hospitality workers United States employment Visa To America Manila Inc.
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