Trump may limit H-1B work visa used by FETÖ members


As part of a number of measures being taken regarding immigration, U.S. President-elect Donald Trump is reportedly planning to limit the issuing of H-1B visas for temporary workers coming to the U.S., a visa type which the Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ) has long used to bring their followers into the country to work for Gülenist schools.

According to a report in the Washington Post, Trump opposes this type of visa application due to the widespread abuse of the visa system and the bringing cheap labor into the country.

According to an Anadolu Agency (AA) report, this type of visa was used by a large number of FETÖ members when they are brought in from Turkey to work at FETÖ-linked schools and other companies. The report adds that many of those brought in to work as cheap labor are not qualified and are not able to speak English very well. If approved, the FETÖ members' visas are expected to not to be renewed.

According to international legal firm Amsterdam & Partners, FETÖ abused the use of public funding in their schools, which receive nearly $150 million in taxpayer monies from the U.S. government.

Charter schools linked to FETÖ in the U.S. are facing several probes by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in four states, although the FBI remains quiet about the progress of the investigations, which are reportedly focused on shady business practices by the charter school chains.

The schools in the U.S., some of which have changed names over time, were opened in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Around 60,000 students attend the schools annually.

FETÖ's schools in the U.S. are usually under umbrella organizations and are managed through foundations. As an example, there are 46 schools - all under the name "Harmony" in Texas, 30 schools under the name "Concept" in and around Ohio, as well as the name Magnolia.

While the judicial processes continue against FETÖ schools in the U.S., the American public has also started to express more doubts about the schools, according to U.S. media reports.