Courtesy: Geo News/Reuters

Authorities warn AED20,000 to AED100,000 will be fined over fake job advertisement

DUBAI: The UAE authorities have shut down 230 social media accounts in a sweeping crackdown on fake job advertisements that lured victims with promises of employment in the United Arab Emirates and allegedly took money in return for bogus offers, officials said.

The fraudulent posts, widely shared online under slogans such as “excellent job opportunities in Dubai”, targeted overseas jobseekers and residents seeking work, authorities said. Victims were asked to pay fees for processing, visas or recruitment services that did not exist.

Officials said the accounts were operating without government licences and were illegally advertising recruitment services. Promoting employment opportunities without proper authorisation is a criminal offence under UAE law, they added.

The Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation (MoHRE) announced the closure of 230 social media accounts during the past year that were promoting domestic worker recruitment services, in cooperation with the Telecommunications and Digital Government Regulatory Authority (TDRA), after it was established that the owners of these accounts had not obtained the necessary licences from the Ministry and were not affiliated with any licensed recruitment offices authorised to practise the activity of recruiting this category of workers. The Ministry reaffirmed its strict oversight over entities providing domestic worker recruitment services through an integrated field and digital regulatory system that safeguards the legal rights of all concerned parties. MoHRE calls on you to report any negative practices or misleading advertisements on social media promoting such services by contacting 600590000. Review the list of licensed offices available on the Ministry’s website: http://mohre.gov.ae

Authorities warned that those found running fake job advertisements face fines ranging from 20,000 dirhams to 100,000 dirhams ($5,400–$27,000) and up to six months in prison.

The government urged jobseekers to verify vacancies through official channels and licensed recruitment agencies, and to avoid transferring money in response to online job offers.

The crackdown forms part of broader efforts to combat online fraud and protect the country’s labour market from exploitation and misinformation.

1- Header image: UAE flag flies over a boat at Dubai Marina, Dubai, United Arab Emirates. — Reuters

Courtesy: Geo News

Pakistani national’s daughter questions why deportation order issued in 1990s suddenly enforced decades later

A Pakistani national who had lived in the United States for nearly five decades was deported following a green card interview, triggering concern within the Pakistani-American community and prompting appeals for a humanitarian review of his case.

Asif Amin Cheema, a resident of Chicago in the US state of Illinois, was deported to Pakistan on January 1 after immigration authorities acted on a decades-old deportation order. His family has urged the court to reconsider the case on humanitarian grounds.

Speaking exclusively to Geo News, Cheema’s daughter, Rabia Amin, said her father arrived in the United States in the late 1980s along with his cousins. He married a Pakistani woman in 1995. Asif is now a father of five children — two sons and three daughters.

Without elaborating the reason, Rabia revealed that a deportation order had been issued against her father in 1993. However, until 1997, he continued travelling between Pakistan and the United States without facing any obstruction from immigration authorities at airports.

She said her father appeared for a green card interview in April 2025 and was hopeful of receiving permanent residency, as he had no criminal record and was widely regarded as a respectable member of the Chicago community.

Asif Cheema, 63, owned a restaurant in the Humboldt Park area of Chicago and also possessed a valid work permit, his daughter added.

In September, while heading to work as usual, Asif was unexpectedly arrested by officials from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). He was scheduled to be deported in November, but moments before boarding the aircraft, he experienced severe chest pain and was temporarily removed from the flight. He was transferred to a hospital for medical treatment.

In an interview, Asif claimed he was denied medication during his detention, an allegation US authorities have denied.

Legal appeals were filed to halt his deportation, but the immigration judge ruled against the family. As a result, Asif was deported to Pakistan.

His daughters questioned why a deportation order issued in the 1990s was suddenly enforced decades later. They said an attorney had assisted in attempting to adjust their father’s immigration status, but the family was unaware that the old deportation order was still active.

Fighting back tears, Rabia said the family had followed all legal procedures, yet her father was subjected to what they believe was unjust treatment. She added that her father never took bank loans for his children’s education and had moved to the US with dreams of securing a better future for his family — dreams she said were now shattered.

Following former President Donald Trump’s return to office, a large number of individuals from various countries, including India, have reportedly been deported as part of a broader crackdown targeting those with criminal backgrounds or prior deportation orders.

Addressing concerns over the issue, Pakistan’s Ambassador to the United States, Rizwan Saeed Sheikh, said in a recent interview that fewer than 300 Pakistanis had been deported so far.

Rabia said her father recently visited a hospital in Pakistan and is currently staying at a relative’s home. She expressed concern over his health and uncertainty about when the family would be reunited.

The family remains hopeful that the judge will reconsider the case, allowing them to reunite and live together again in the United States.

1- Header image: Asif Amin Cheema (left) and her wife celebrating graduation of their daughter Rabia Amin. —File Photo provided by family

Courtesy: Geo News/Reuters

“Basically it’s a Green Card, but much better,” says US president

WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump’s administration officially launched his “Trump Gold Card” visa program on Wednesday to provide a pathway, with a steep price, for non-US citizens to get expedited permission to live in the United States.

The website Trumpcard.gov, complete with an “apply now” button, allows interested applicants to pay a $15,000 fee to the Department of Homeland Security for speedy processing.

After going through a background check or vetting process, applicants must then make a “contribution” – the website also calls it a “gift” – of $1 million to get the visa, similar to a “Green Card,” which allows them to live and work in the United States.

“Basically it’s a Green Card, but much better. Much more powerful, a much stronger path,” Trump told reporters at the White House. “A path is a big deal. Have to be great people.”

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said some 10,000 people have already signed up for the gold card during a pre-registration period and he expected many more to do so. “I would expect over time that we’d sell, you know, thousands of these cards and raise, you know, billions, billions of dollars,” Lutnick told Reuters in a brief interview.

Lutnick said the gold card program would bring people into the United States who would benefit the economy. He compared that to “average” Green Card holders, whom he said earned less money than average Americans and were more likely to be on or have family members on public assistance. He did not provide evidence for that assertion.

Trump’s administration has pursued a broad crackdown on immigration, deporting hundreds of thousands of people who were in the country illegally and also taking measures to discourage legal immigration.

The gold card program is the Trump version of a counterbalance to that, designed to make money for the US Treasury in the same way the president, a former New York businessman and reality television host, has said his tariff program has successfully done.

Lutnick noted that there was also a corporate version of the gold card that allowed companies to get expedited visas for employees they wanted to work in the United States, for a $2 million contribution per employee.

Trump launches $1 million ‘Golden Visa’: Here’s how it works, who can apply

Trump gold card is open for applications

U.S. President Donald Trump officially introduced his “Trump Gold Card” program on Wednesday, December 10.

This creates an expedited pathway to U.S. lawful permanent residency for foreign nationals who can pay a $15,000 processing fee and a $1 million “contribution” or “Gift” to the U.S. treasury.

Following the announcement, an official website has also been created “TrumpCard.gov.” Initially, the policy was announced in February and created by an executive order signed by Trump on September 19, 2025.

How “Gold Card” works

Unlike a new visa category, the Gold Card will serve as an expedited application route within the existing U.S. Immigration framework.

The $1 million financial gift from an individual applicant, or a $2 million gift from a sponsoring corporation will be evidence that the applicant is a substantial benefit for the United States.

With this evidence, the applicants will be eligible to apply for EB-1 visa (for individuals of extraordinary ability) or an EB-2 visa with a national interest waiver.

The application procedure has several steps and major costs including significant new fees for family members. Key costs and steps include:

Trump platinum card

Beyond the gold visa card, the program also previews a more exclusive “Trump Platinum Card,” which is “coming soon” as per the official site.

The card has a processing fee of $15,000 and a $5 million contribution. With this a foreign national will be able to spend up to 270 days per year in the United States without being subject to U.S. taxes on their non U.S. income.

The site clarifies that current U.S. citizens and resident aliens are not eligible for this card.

Courtesy: Dawn News/Reuters

A US State Department official on Thursday said that continuous vetting applies to “all of the more than 55 million foreigners who currently hold valid United States visas”, including those who have already been admitted to enter the country.

“The State Department revokes visas any time there are indications of a potential ineligibility, which includes things like any indicators of overstays, criminal activity, threats to public safety, engaging in any form of terrorist activity, or providing support to a terrorist organisation,” the official said.

In a written comment to The Associated Press, the official said that if a visa holder presents these indications, their visa will be revoked and they will be subject to deportation if they are already in the US.

US President Donald Trump has made cracking down on illegal immigration a focus of his presidency, boosting resources to secure the border and arresting people in the country illegally.

Earlier this month, the US government announced that it could require bonds of up to $15,000 for some tourist and business visas under a pilot programme to crack down on visitors who overstay their visas.

The programme gives US consular officers the discretion to impose bonds on visitors from countries with high rates of visa overstays, according to a Federal Register notice, which adds that bonds could also be applied to people coming from countries where screening and vetting information is deemed insufficient.

In July, US broadcaster CNN reported that the US would soon require international visitors to pay a “visa integrity fee” of at least $250, a new addition to existing visa application costs, according to a provision in the Trump administration’s domestic policy bill.

The fee is to be paid at the time visas are issued. Although there will be no fee waivers for the payment, the provision states that travellers who comply with the terms of their visa can have the fee reimbursed after their trip.

In June, United States consulates in Karachi and Lahore requested that all applicants for F, M or J nonimmigrant visas make their social media accounts public for vetting.

US consular officers are now required to conduct a “comprehensive and thorough vetting” of all student and exchange visitor applicants to identify those who “bear hostile attitudes toward our citizens, culture, government, institutions, or founding principles”, said a US diplomatic cable.