The US Government has said that the Indian students were deported from San Francisco recently mainly because the information presented by them to the border patrol agent was inconsistent with their visa status. The clarification from the US Government came after the Ministry of External Affairs took up the matter of deportation of India students from San Francisco where they had landed for admissions in Silicon Valley University at San Jose and Northwestern Polytechnic University, Fremont. All the students had valid visa.
While MEA has asked the US to honour its visa, it has also issued advisory to Indian students aspiring for admissions to US institutes to carry necessary supporting documentations and do due diligence to ensure that the institutions to which they are seeking admission have proper authorisation and capacities.
“There have been further cases of denial of entry to Indian students holding valid visas to pursue studies in other US educational institutions. Some Indian nationals travelling on business/tourism/work visas have also been deported. The US Government has conveyed that the decision to deny entry to these students is not because of the corresponding institutions being “black-listed” but based on the assessment made by the US immigration authorities of individual applicants. According to the US Government, the deported persons had presented information to the border patrol agent which was inconsistent with their visa status,” MEA said in an advisory issued on Wednesday.
MEA said that while the Government of India continues to remain closely engaged with the US Government on this subject, it has has strongly emphasised the need for the US authorities to honour the visas issued by their own Embassy/Consulates.
“Meanwhile, it is reiterated that all Indian students seeking admission in US educational institutions should do due diligence to ensure that the institutions to which they are seeking admission have proper authorisation and capacities. Apart from travel documents, the students should also carry all required documentation regarding their study plans, housing, financial support, healthcare arrangements etc. and be prepared for admission (entry to the US) interviews with US immigration officials. Similarly, all Indian nationals travelling to the US on other visas are also advised to carry the necessary supporting documentations regarding place of stay, financial support, medical arrangements, sponsorship details etc,” MEA said in a statement.
The US ambassador in New Delhi Richard Verma had last week regretted the impact of deportation of Indian students and said the embassy was closely following the situation after the incident.
