State Department Official Sentenced In Visa Fraud Case

A U.S. Federal District Court in Washington, D.C., sentenced former State Department Foreign Service Officer Alexander J. Meerovich to 24 months in prison and fined him $5,000. Meerovich pled guilty to one count of visa fraud and admitted to issuing at least 85 visas illegally while serving as a consular officer at the U.S. Embassy in Prague from August 1999 to July 2002.

Meerovich’s illegal activities were investigated by the Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service, in coordination with the Bureau of Consular Affairs, the U.S. Embassy in Prague, the Justice Department and local officials.

In a press release, State Department Spokesman Richard Boucher said that the Department is “resolute in its determination to protect the integrity of the U.S. visa. We constantly review visa issuance procedures for improvements and safeguards at embassies and consulates worldwide. We will continue to investigate all allegations of visa fraud vigorously and seek to prosecute and punish those people involved to the fullest extent of the law.”