Newly released documents from the U.S. Department of Justice show how Jeffrey Epstein Using student visas, English schools, work permits and marriage to manage the immigration status of women in their orbit.Emails, bank records and legal correspondence reveal a pattern of having women take language courses to obtain student visas, funding their expenses, seeking special work visas and, in at least one case, arranging marriages to gain permanent residency and citizenship.In a 2012 email about an unidentified woman’s travel plans, Epstein wrote: “Call immigration, does she need an I 20 for her visa???” The message shows two employees scrambling for answers before their flight the next morning. One person was relieved when the woman didn’t board the flight: “I’m glad she didn’t go,” they wrote. “The thought of her coming back on a Je plane and something going wrong makes me sick.”Records show English schools are often used as entry points. In November 2010, Karyna Shuliak enrolled in the Hispanic College in Midtown Manhattan. Such programs can provide the documentation required for a student visa as long as the applicant demonstrates sufficient funds or has a financial sponsor.Emails and bank statements show Epstein provided sponsorships and payments to multiple women.“This is the English school that Anna in Paris would like to join,” Epstein wrote of the American Language Exchange Center in 2017, as quoted by Bloomberg. “Get the I-20 and get a Russian visa, but stay in Paris.”These courses often prepare students for the TOEFL exam, which is required by many American universities. In 2015, an employee wrote: “Jeffrey needs TOEFL books for the island again” and requested that the books be delivered overnight. Later emails showed that Epstein requested 10 TOEFL prep books for his Paris apartment.
The case of Karina Shuliak
Schuliak’s case illustrates how barriers to immigration can be overcome.In 2011, Epstein arranged for her to attend Columbia University School of Dentistry as a Belarusian transfer student who had not completed her degree. The process described in the document is very complex.By mid-2012, concerns arose about her visa status. In July 2012, an official at Columbia Dental School wrote Shuliak, “I am very sorry if you were dealt with by immigration today. At this time, I believe everything is fine with your immigration status.” Columbia and the official did not respond to requests for comment.Epstein seeks more help. At the end of 2012, he contacted British investor Ian Osborne.“I didn’t want to ask because I didn’t want her to be part of my file,” Epstein wrote. “I remember you had a good lawyer friend in Washington who was responsible for immigration.”Osborne responded that he knew someone with ties to senior immigration officials and mentioned Greg Craig, then a partner at the law firm Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom and former White House counsel to President Barack Obama. Osborne wrote that Craig “used an excellent professional immigration law firm and then alerted Ali Mayorkas of USCIS.” “I’ll call you later today to coordinate.”Mayorkas, who later served as secretary of homeland security under the president Joe BidenIt was not mentioned again in the message and there is no indication that he knew about it. Osborne said he regretted meeting Epstein and was unaware of his illegal conduct. Lawyers later told Epstein that Shuliak had overstayed her student visa and had a pending asylum case, complicating efforts to restore her status. “We need to decide whether pushing for asylum and redoing it is a better path to success than the prosecution’s decree to reinstate asylum,” Epstein wrote.
Marriage and citizenship
In August 2013, Epstein teamed up with immigration lawyer Arda Beskardes.“We should also talk about marriage soon. Are you in New York?” Beskardes wrote to Epstein, changing his address.A month later, Shuliak contacted a lawyer. “Can we meet tomorrow? That’s me and Jen,” she wrote.On October 9, 2013, Shuliak got married in New York. The spouses’ names were redacted from the marriage certificate, but both listed the same Manhattan address, which appears multiple times in the documents as the residence of women and guests associated with Epstein. Records later showed Shuliak and Jennifer had a joint bank account.“Yes Alda, sorry for the delay, waiting for the rest of Jen’s information,” Schuliak wrote in response to Beskardes’ follow-up, according to Bloomberg.In mid-2014, Shuliak applied for a family green card. Interviews are scheduled for December. In January 2015, she wrote to Beskardes: “I have received my green card!! Thank you very much for your help!!!”Three years later, she became a naturalized U.S. citizen. On the day of her citizenship interview, one of Epstein’s regular immigration attorneys sent a celebratory message: “Now that she is an American, you should throw her a big party,” the attorney wrote. “There’s a mechanical bull, red, white and blue balloons, and deep-fried Snickers bars on flag-shaped toothpicks.”Shuliak began divorce proceedings in October 2018, a few months after becoming a naturalized citizen. Less than a year later, the divorce was finalized.
work visa
The documents also reveal efforts to secure work visas for women linked to Epstein.His longtime legal counsel, Darren Indyke, filed a work visa application for a woman citing her volunteer work with the Epstein Foundation and her modeling career.In other cases, attorneys seek O-1 visas, which are reserved for individuals with “extraordinary abilities or achievements,” describing applicants as accomplished in modeling, communications, public relations and art curation. It’s unclear how many petitions were approved.A former bookkeeper for MC2 Model Management said in a sworn deposition that Epstein guaranteed the agency a $1 million line of credit. Its founder, Jean-Luc Brunel, was accused in a civil lawsuit of bringing underage girls to the United States for sex trafficking and providing them to Epstein. Brunel died in 2022 while facing rape charges.“Mr. Epstein paid for the visa. But, you know, all the visas were processed through Karin’s or MC Squared,” the former bookkeeper said.
