U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) uncovered a large-scale immigration fraud scheme that led to the sentencing of Venerando Aquino Martin, a 56-year-old Philippine national, to 18 months in prison for visa fraud. Between September 2023 and April 2025, Martin submitted approximately 242 fraudulent immigration applications, falsely claiming that applicants were eligible for employment authorization under the Immigration and Nationality Act’s “Registry” provision. As a result, 66 work permits were improperly issued and later used by unauthorized individuals to obtain employment in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. The fraud was discovered after a USCIS officer identified suspicious patterns among Martin’s filings, prompting an investigation by USCIS’ Fraud Detection and National Security Directorate. Investigators found that Martin charged applicants thousands of dollars to prepare and submit fraudulent applications, despite most applicants being clearly ineligible—some were not even born before the Registry program’s required cutoff date of January 1, 1972. Following the investigation, USCIS revoked all 66 work permits and initiated removal proceedings against the individuals involved. The case was investigated in partnership with Homeland Security Investigations and prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of the Northern Mariana Islands.