Mexican National Sentenced for Conspiracy to Defraud U Visa Program
Published Aug 4, 2026
A federal court in Kansas City sentenced Jose Luis Morales Salgado to 21 months in prison for orchestrating staged robberies that allowed immigrants to fraudulently apply for U visas. USCIS assisted in the investigation led by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of Missouri.
Key points
- Salgado was sentenced July 22, 2026, to 21 months with no parole and ordered to pay back $61,200 in illicit proceeds.
- He pleaded guilty March 23, 2026, to conspiring to fraudulently obtain immigration visas.
- Salgado arranged staged robberies so immigrants, some undocumented and some on work visas, could falsely claim to be crime victims and apply for U visas.
- Investigators identified 11 staged robberies involving 33 purported victims between December 2021 and July 2024, of whom 18 applied for U visas.
- U visas are granted to victims of qualifying crimes who assist law enforcement in investigations or prosecutions.
- The case was investigated by the Kansas City Police Department, ATF, and ICE Homeland Security Investigations with USCIS assistance.
Who is affected
This concerns individuals involved in fraudulent U visa applications and those monitoring immigration benefit fraud enforcement.
What to do
Suspected immigration benefit fraud can be reported to USCIS using its online Tip Form.
Full text
The complete official text was archived on this site on 2026-10-12. It stays available here even if the source link changes or is removed.
Release Date
08/04/2026
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A Mexican alien in the Kansas City area was sentenced in federal court for his role in helping illegal aliens fraudulently obtain visas allowing them to reside and work in the United States. The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of Missouri made the announcement. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services provided valuable assistance to the investigation.
Jose Luis Morales Salgado, 37, was sentenced July 22 by U.S. District Judge Beth Phillips to 21 months in jail with no possibility of parole. The court also ordered Salgado to pay $61,200, which constitutes the illicit proceeds he obtained from his involvement in the visa fraud conspiracy.
Salgado pleaded guilty March 23 to conspiring to fraudulently obtain immigration visas for aliens. Salgado admitted that immigrants contacted him to arrange to become “victims” of staged robberies so they could then submit applications for U visas, which are granted to crime victims. The aliens, who were either illegally present in the United States or in the United States legally through work visas, paid Salgado thousands of dollars to participate. In exchange, Salgado directed them to the location of a planned staged robbery on a particular day and time.
Salgado also admitted that he recruited individuals to pose as robbers during the staged crimes and provided directions to those individuals. He admitted that each robbery involved aliens who told police they had car trouble and pulled over. Soon after stopping, another vehicle would arrive. The robber, wearing a mask and brandishing a firearm, would strike the purported victims in the head or face, take their cash, and typically fire two rounds into the purported victim’s vehicle. Salgado instructed the alien “victims” to falsely report to law enforcement officials how the robberies occurred and advised them how to make these false reports to bolster their applications for U visas.
According to court documents, a source told investigators the number of purported victims involved in the scheme was well over 100. Court documents also indicate that investigators identified 11 robberies involving 33 purported victims that occurred as part of the conspiracy between Dec. 29, 2021, and July 13, 2024. Of those 33 immigrants, 18 applied for U visas falsely claiming to be victims of violent crimes.
The Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act was designed to strengthen the ability of law enforcement agencies to investigate and prosecute certain crimes while also protecting victims of crimes who are willing to help law enforcement authorities in the investigation or prosecution of criminal activity. A foreign national is eligible for a U visa if he or she was the victim of qualifying criminal activity, suffered substantial physical or mental abuse as a result of having been a victim of the criminal activity, possesses information about the criminal activity, and is likely to be helpful to law enforcement in the investigation or prosecution of the crime.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Trey Alford. It was investigated by the Kansas City Police Department; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations, with assistance from USCIS.
To report suspected immigration benefit fraud or abuse to USCIS, please use the USCIS Tip Form.
For more information on USCIS and its programs, please visit uscis.gov or follow us on X, Instagram, YouTube, Facebook and LinkedIn.
08/04/2026
Original title: Mexican Alien Sentenced for Fraud Conspiracy
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