An employee at the United Nations headquarters in New York has been arrested on suspicion of visa fraud.
Russian national Vyacheslav Manokhin, 45, is accused of using his position to provide false documents to support US visa applications since April 2005.
US prosecutors said he made it appear the UN supported the applications and, consequently, most visas were granted.
If found guilty, Mr Manokhin, who worked as a translator, could face a maximum five-year prison sentence.
False documents
According to the court papers, Mr Manokhin conspired with two others to help as many as 14 people enter the United States illegally.
It is alleged that he submitted documents on UN letterheaded paper for non-US citizens to attend UN conferences that either did not exist or which they did not attend.
Vladimir Derevianko is accused of helping Mr Manokhin prepare the false documents submitted to US immigration officials.
A third man, Kamiljan Tursunov, is accused of paying $15,000 (£7,500) for a fraudulent visa. He also faces conspiracy and fraud charges, according to US officials.
Foreigners have found it increasingly difficult to gain visas to the US following the 9/11 attacks in 2001.
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