Government steps up US Visa inspections to stop illegal workers

US immigration officers have more than quadrupled the number of workplace inspections for illegal workers in two years, a government report has said.

US Visa

An increase in UK Visa inspections nationwide has resulted in a record number of fines.

A record 2,746 worksite enforcement investigations were undertaken in 2010, more than double the 503 inspections in 2008 the report submitted to Congress by the US immigration agency's deputy head Kumar Kibble.

As a result of the US Visa inspections, fines for 237 immigration violations reached almost $7 million dollars compared to 18 violations and $675,209 in 2008.

Kibble said the department was focused on identifying "criminal illegal aliens who pose a threat to the public."

Kibble said the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) "has engaged in record enforcement, removing more aliens in both 2009 and 2010 than in any point in the history of our country, including more than 195,000 criminal aliens last year."

The department is also increasing the consequences for illegal entry and re-entry. Aliens who illegally enter in Arizona, for example, are no longer given the opportunity to return voluntarily but instead are given orders of removal and are repatriated through other states."

The American Visa Bureau is an independent consulting company specialising in helping people with their US Visa to the US Embassy.