Visas for Victims: How Epstein Used Sham Marriages and Ivy League Schools to Traffic Women

Release of thousands of pages of documents from the Jeffrey Epstein investigation has exposed more than just a list of high-profile associates. Buried within the emails and flight logs is a disturbing blueprint of how the disgraced financier systematically gamed the United States immigration system to traffic women and keep them under his control.

From enrolling victims in English language schools to arranging same-sex sham marriages, Epstein’s network treated US border laws as mere hurdles to be cleared by money and influence.

The "Student Visa" Pipeline

One of Epstein's most common tactics involved using education as a cover for trafficking. Documents show that he frequently sponsored foreign women to attend English language classes at institutions like the Spanish American Institute and the American Language Communication Center in New York.

• The Lure: These enrollments allowed women to obtain F-1 student visas, granting them legal entry into the US.
• The Control: Epstein often paid the tuition and even ordered bulk shipments of TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) prep books to his private island, ensuring the women remained dependent on him for their legal status.
• Ivy League Connections: In more advanced cases, Epstein leveraged his connections to secure admissions for women at prestigious universities like Columbia and NYU, sometimes paying their full tuition to buy their silence and indebtedness.

The Karyna Shuliak Case: A Sham Marriage

Perhaps the most brazen example of immigration fraud involves Karyna Shuliak, a Belarusian dentist who was Epstein’s girlfriend at the time of his death.

• The Problem: By 2013, Shuliak had overstayed her student visa, and her asylum application was faltering. Epstein needed a permanent solution to keep her in the US.
• The "Fix": Emails reveal that Epstein and his lawyers discussed a "marriage" strategy. Shortly after, Shuliak married a woman named Jennifer in a civil ceremony.
• The Result: The sham marriage paved the way for Shuliak to obtain a Green Card and eventually US citizenship in 2018—just months before Epstein’s arrest. She was later named the primary beneficiary of his estate.

Weaponizing the System

Epstein didn't just use the system to bring women in; he used it to kick them out. New records show he plotted with high-powered lawyers to weaponize the Department of Homeland Security against women who became "inconvenient." In one 2015 exchange, he explicitly asked an attorney if they could revoke a woman’s tourist visa or have her deported for "federal extortion" because she was bothering one of his associates.

This dual-use of the immigration system—as both a lure and a weapon—highlights the terrifying level of control Epstein exerted over the women in his orbit, often with the complicity of legal professionals who knew exactly how to navigate the gray areas of the law.