Canadian immigration consultant sentenced in smuggling case

DETROIT (AP) — A Canadian immigration consultant has been sentenced to three years in prison stemming from a scheme to illegally smuggle people into the United States.

The U.S. Attorney’s office in Detroit says Iram Jafri, 38, of Windsor, Ontario, also has been ordered to pay a $200,000 fine. She pleaded guilty in February.

Visas were obtained fraudulently from 2011 through last year for more than 100 people living illegally in the United States.

People receiving the documents were instructed to go to a company in Canada. They re-entered the U.S. from Windsor through Detroit and paperwork requesting non-immigrant professional visas was later submitted for some.

Court records say thousands of dollars were accepted as payment to an immigration consulting firm.