u Some foreigners enter the Kingdom on pilgrimage visas only to stay beyond the permitted time in order to seek work. u Some obtain legitimate work visas but find upon arrival that the job, and often the whole company employing them, never existed in the first place. The sponsor then tells the newcomer to find work wherever he can, and may demand a monthly “commission” for keeping the visa up-to-date. The foreigner is, however, working in breach of the conditions of his visa. u Some people enter into similar agreements with their sponsors only to find that work is not that easy to find. u Many end up homeless and penniless, while some decide that they have had enough. A few may have achieved everything they came for and decide it's time to go home. u Representatives of all these groups can be found under highway overpasses hoping to be deported either at the expense of their respective embassies or the Saudi government. u The embassies themselves, in most cases, wash their hands of illegal aliens from their countries, while deportation centers suffer from overcrowding. Unless picked up by Passports Department buses periodically sent out to gather persons seeking deportation, foreigners trying to hand themselves in as living or working illegally will usually be turned away. u If picked up by the Passports Department, deportation seekers are fingerprinted and eye-scanned to check for criminal records before deportation procedures are concluded.
