DMW closes travel visa agency for illegally sending Pinoy caregivers to US

The Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) on Thursday closed a travel visa agency in Pasig City for its alleged illegal deployment of Filipino caregivers to the United States.

In a statement, the DMW said the shuttered travel visa consultancy is “neither licensed nor authorized” to recruit and deploy overseas Filipino workers (OFWs). It also has no approved job orders for deployment to the US.

The DMW’s Migrant Workers Protection Bureau (MWPB) and its National Capital Region Office implemented the closure in coordination with the Pasig City police.

During the operation, authorities intercepted two applicants who were about to submit their documents for supposed caregiving jobs in the US.

Initial investigation showed that the two applicants, along with two other complainants, had already paid substantial placement and processing fees to the consultancy firm.

The travel visa agency allegedly referred applicants to US employers for caregiver positions using tourist visas, promising monthly salaries of $1,800 or around P109,800.

Applicants who were supposedly to be deployed as trainees were asked to pay as much as P150,000 for documentation and processing fees.

The DMW urged victims of the shuttered travel visa consultancy firm to reach out to the MWPB through its Facebook page, DMW Anti-Illegal Recruitment and Trafficking in Persons Program, via email at mwpb@dmw.gov.ph, or through hotline number +632 8721-0619 for legal assistance in filing cases against the illegal recruiters.

The agency has closed 12 firms for alleged illegal recruitment activities so far for 2026.

The DMW reminded OFWs to transact only with licensed recruitment agencies with approved job orders to avoid falling victims to illegal recruiters and syndicates. — JMA, GMA News