Baltimore CBP operators apprehend Tunisian woman for vessel crew visa fraud

BALTIMORE – U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers apprehended a Tunisian woman for visa fraud on Tuesday in Alexandria, Va. -- about 1,600 miles away from the cruise ship that she was supposed to serving aboard as a crewmember.

The 23-year-old woman arrived in Newark, N.J., aboard a flight from Turkey on March 15. She applied for admission with a valid C1/D non-immigrant visa to work aboard a cruise ship. The C1/D visa allowed her admission into the U.S. until April 12. However, she never joined her cruise ship, which is now cruising around the Caribbean.

CBP initiated a routine search for the woman after the vessel agent reported the woman as a no-show. CBP officers eventually discovered the woman to be working without authorization at several businesses in the Northern Virginia area. On Tuesday, CBP special response team operators apprehended her at one of those Northern Virginia businesses where she was unlawfully employed.

CBP processed the Tunisian woman for removal and turned her over to Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers. She now faces being barred from returning to the United States for a minimum of five years and she then faces a daunting challenge trying to acquire a visitor visa for future U.S. travel.

“Abusing our visitor visa program is a very serious violation of our nation’s immigration laws and abusers will face severe consequences, up to and including removal and incarceration,” said Matthew Suarez, Acting Director of Operations, CBP Baltimore Field Office. “CBP reminds foreign travelers that the United States is a welcoming nation, and we encourage you to visit, but do so lawfully or we will find you and hold you accountable.”

CBP's border security mission is led at our nation’s Ports of Entry by CBP officers and agriculture specialists from the Office of Field Operations. CBP screens international travelers and cargo and searches for illicit narcotics, unreported currency, weapons, counterfeit consumer goods, prohibited agriculture, invasive weeds and pests, and other illicit products that could potentially harm the American public, U.S. businesses, and our nation’s safety and economic vitality.

See what CBP accomplished during "A Typical Day" in 2024. Learn more at www.CBP.gov.

Follow the Director of CBP’s Baltimore Field Office on X at @DFOBaltimore for breaking news, current events, human interest stories and photos, and CBP’s Office of Field Operations on Instagram at @cbpfieldops.