Recently unsealed immigration documents reveal that Jeffrey Epstein’s inner circle actively pursued H-1B and O-1 visas to bring foreign nationals into Epstein’s circle, highlighting the intersection of employment-based visa programs with those accused of misconduct in his network.
Documents released by the Department of Justice and reviewed by The Dallas Express indicate that Epstein associates — including Sarah Kellen, also known as Sarah Kensington, fashion model executive Jean-Luc Brunel, and longtime Epstein lawyer Darren Indyke — were involved in efforts to bring foreign nationals to the United States through employment-based visa petitions.
The filings, many dated in the late 2000s through the early fall of 2011, include labor condition applications, legal correspondence, and draft petitions tied to H-1B visa requests.
The H-1B program allows U.S. employers to sponsor foreign workers in specialty occupations that generally require at least a bachelor’s degree.
Sarah Kensington’s H-1B Petition for SLK Designs
One labor condition application from Kensington states: “I have an interior design business by myself. I require someone to help manage my office and business relations in order to allow me to expand my company and take on more clients.” Kensington founded SLK Designs, an interior design company, in 2010, according to paperwork she filed.
The position was described as full-time and requiring “a bachelors degree with a background in business management and experience working with interior designers.” The listed pay for this position was $45,000.
Other filings indicate that the British H-1B worker would be based in a Manhattan apartment rather than in a formal office. Real estate listings show the property is currently valued at more than $1 million on Zillow.
Legal correspondence shows that Epstein associate and attorney Mehmet Arda Beskardes handled aspects of the petition and was paid $2,000 in legal fees, which he described as a “discount.”
Other communications reflect scrutiny by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services of the legitimacy of the small interior design business, which had existed for roughly one year before seeking to hire a foreign worker in 2011.
In response, the attorney described the foreign national as essential to the company’s success in a business development manager role.
Separate documents indicate that the petition was denied after premium processing, prompting Beskardes to file an eight-page appeal letter.
Designer Mark Zeff submitted a letter endorsing Kensington’s credentials as part of the effort.
Zeff told The Dallas Express via email, “I believe Sarah had left Epstein by this time and was starting her company and she apparently reached out to me for a reference- I had my Secretary deal with her and I signed the note.”
Despite the alleged separation between Epstein and Kensington, emails suggest the parties were keeping Epstein informed about the status of Kensington’s H-1B hiring.
An email exchange dated Wednesday, 21 January 2015, with the subject line “Fwd: Withdrawal of H1B for SLK,” suggests the female beneficiary was eventually approved by USCIS and worked in New York for three years, and then sought to change to an F-1 student visa to attend Parsons School of Design.
In one email to Epstein, the student wrote: “If I don’t make it in time parsons will defer me to fall semester.” She added that an earlier H-1B status “works against you,” forwarding advice from Beskardes that “usually, in situations like yours, the visa application is not a problem.”
Additional Visa Efforts and Related Filings
Two other records indicate additional attempts to acquire visa holders.
One heavily redacted filing shows an attempt to hire another “business management” foreign worker for an interior design company at a salary of $35,000.
The other appears to be a client intake for a visa applicant from Russia. The other files reviewed by DX do not clarify the meaning and significance of these records.
Indyke, who was reportedly named by federal authorities in 2019 as a possible co-conspirator alongside Ghislaine Maxwell and Brunel, also appears in correspondence concerning another visa matter.
In emails regarding a Romanian “painter” identified as Ion Nicola, Indyke raised concerns about expiring legal status and the potential pursuit of an O-1 visa.
Records show that attorney Charles Jason Lore filed an I-129 petition seeking O-1 classification for Nicola through a Brooklyn-based interior design firm known as Asterisk Design. Portions of the redacted filing indicate Nicola previously held O-1 status and sought compensation of $240,000 annually.
A 2017 federal indictment later charged Lore with visa fraud and aggravated identity theft in connection with allegedly fraudulent O-1 filings.
Lore was convicted in August of that year, according to PACERMonitor entries.
Broader Context and Connections to Epstein’s Network
The newly released filings add to prior reporting by The Dallas Express that Epstein personally sponsored Ghislaine Maxwell’s initial H-1B entry to the United States in November 1992.
Other recent records reviewed by the publication showed Brunel-linked modeling agencies sponsoring Eastern European models under H-1B classifications during periods when some traveled on Epstein-associated aircraft.
Brunel was an accused sex trafficker and rapist of minors, who died by suicide in jail in February 2022, awaiting trial in France, The Guardian reported.
Epstein reportedly financed Brunel’s firms and “directly paid for the visas of models brought to the US to work for it,” according to the same outlet.
Kensington was reportedly described by a federal judge as “criminally responsible” in connection with Epstein’s sex trafficking operation during Maxwell’s sentencing. However, she has also claimed to be a victim and said that Epstein “raped and abused” her “weekly,” per the Palm Beach Post.
Indyke has denied wrongdoing, The New York Times reported.
None of the immigration documents reviewed explicitly alleges criminal conduct tied to the visa filings. However, the records illustrate repeated efforts by Epstein’s associates to secure employment-based immigration status for individuals connected to his orbit, raising new questions about how visa programs were used within the broader network now under renewed scrutiny following the release of thousands of pages of records under the Epstein Files Transparency Act.
Epstein died in a Manhattan jail in August 2019 while awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges. Maxwell is serving a 20-year federal sentence following her 2021 conviction.
