Chinese National Convicted of Fraudulently Obtaining US Visas for Individuals Working for Beijing

The U.S. Department of Justice is seen in Washington, on June 11, 2021. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

A Chinese national from New Jersey has been convicted of fraudulently obtaining U.S. visas to get Chinese government employees into the United States, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced on March 23.

Liu Zhongsan, 59, of Fort Lee, was arrested and charged in September 2019. He was convicted on March 22 of one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States and to commit visa fraud, a charge that carries a maximum sentence of five years. Sentencing was set for July 11, according to the DOJ.

“Liu Zhongsan sought to exploit the J-1 research scholar program—which is intended to allow foreign nationals to conduct research at approved U.S. institutions—for the improper purpose of enabling his conspirators to work for the Chinese government in the United States, against the rules of the research scholar program,” said Damian Williams, U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, in a statement.

From 2017 to September 2019, Liu operated an office of the China Association for International Exchange of Personnel (CAIEP) in Fort Lee, helping several individuals fraudulently obtain a J-1 visa, according to court documents and evidence presented at trial. The J-1 research scholar program allows foreign nationals to come to the United States for a short-term visit for the primary purpose of conducting research at a research institute, corporate research facility, museum, library, university, or similar types of institutions.

CAIEP is a Chinese regime agency that recruits U.S. scientists, academics, engineers, and other experts who assist in Beijing’s technological and economic development needs, according to prosecutors. This overseas agency is under the control of the State Administration of Foreign Experts Affairs (SAFEA), which is, in turn, a department within China’s cabinet-like State Council.

Before running the office in Fort Lee, Liu worked for nearly 26 years at CAIEP in China and SAFEA. He is a former general director of the Secretariat of CAIEP in China, according to the criminal complaint.

In 2019, the FBI said that these Chinese individuals with J-1 visas came to the United States seeking to “recruit top U.S. talent to benefit the government of China.”

The criminal complaint also claimed that Liu took part in recruitment efforts for one of China’s well-known state-run recruitment programs, the Thousand Talents Plan.

Two individuals that Liu helped were identified by the DOJ on March 23—Sun Li and Liang Xiao.

In about April 2018, Liang received a J-1 visa to conduct research at an unnamed U.S. university, prosecutors said, but she was in reality a CAIEP employee. Liu took several measures to help enhance Liang’s “false appearance as a research scholar,” including ensuring her obtaining a U.S. driver’s license and disguising her CAIEP salary as a “subsidy for a research scholar’s living expenses.”

Liu also reached out to multiple unidentified U.S. universities in order to have one of them invite Sun, a prospective CAIEP employee, to come to the United States as a J-1 research scholar, the DOJ said.

“Liu’s conviction reflects this office’s commitment to holding to account those who seek to defraud this country’s visa system and the agencies responsible for its administration,” Williams said.