ID :
161887
Thu, 02/17/2011 - 16:46
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/161887
The shortlink copeid
US wants to resolve TVU issue quickly
Lalit K Jha
Washington, Feb 17 (PTI) Regretting the inconvenience
caused to Indian students, the US has said it wants to quickly
resolve the "visa fraud" issue leading to the closure of the
California-based Tri-Valley University even as radio tags were
removed from three more students.
"We have reiterated over the course of the last
several days our commitment to work very closely with the
Indian government. We understand the concerns the government
has. We want to resolve these cases and those that are just
ensnared in somebody else's fraud. We understand that they've
been put in kind of a limbo status as a result of this. We
regret that very much," State Department spokesman P J Crowley
told reporters here.
"We we have strong suspicions that visa fraud has
occurred. It is a matter of great concern to us as a country.
It's a matter of great concern to India as a country. We will
seek to resolve this as quickly as we can. We will pledge to
keep Indian authorities fully informed. But we have to go
through this investigation first," he said.
India's Consul General in San Francisco Susmita
Gongulee Thomas said Immigration and Custom Enforcement (ICE)
have removed radio tags from three more Indian students and
returned their passports along with the two others, from whom
radio tags were removed last week.
In all radio tags so far has been removed from five of
the 18 Indian students.
According to a federal complaint filed in a California
court in January, the TVU had helped foreign nationals
illegally acquire immigration status. The university is said
to have 1,555 students. As many as 95 per cent of these
students are Indian nationals, the complaint said.
Investigations by US Immigration and Customs
Enforcement (ICE) have found that while students were admitted
to various residential and on-line courses of the university
and on paper lived in California, but in reality they
"illegally" worked in various parts of the country as far
as Maryland, Virginia, Pennsylvania and Texas.
ICE has called it as a "Sham University", a charge
denied by the TVU.
The US fully understands the point made by Indian
government that the closure of this university has put in
limbo the academic career of Indian students, Crowley said,
adding that the issue has been a subject of discussion between
New Delhi and Washington which involves Secretary of State
Hillary Clinton.
"We have ongoing concerns both in this case and more
broadly about instances of visa fraud. We need to continue to
investigate how these things happen and try to do everything
we can to prevent them from occurring in the future," Crowley
said.
"That said, we do understand that there are students
who have been caught up in this. It has been the subject of
discussions with Secretary Clinton and others and also with
the Indian embassy here, our embassy in India," he said.
Crowley said the US government will cooperate with
Indian authorities but went on to say, "it's hard to know
exactly what is possible because the matter is still under
investigation".
He said US understands India's point fully that for
the students caught up in this the risk is that they'll lose a
year of schooling and go through great inconvenience as this
matter is being investigated.
"We do understand that, and we've pledged our
cooperation. But we do, you know, recognise that there are
strong indications of visa fraud. We don't know who's
involved. We don't know how they got involved, but this has to
be investigated fully. And we will do that," he said.
"The (US) embassy in Delhi has also issued some
statements that reiterate that the embassy is available as a
resource to help students who want to apply to come to schools
in the United States," he noted.
"We will make sure that whoever is interested in
coming to the United States we continue to welcome Indian
students to study here -- that they avail themselves of all
the available information on how to do this and alert them to
the potential for fraudulent institutions that are trying to
do these kinds of things," he said. PTI LKJ
PRI
Washington, Feb 17 (PTI) Regretting the inconvenience
caused to Indian students, the US has said it wants to quickly
resolve the "visa fraud" issue leading to the closure of the
California-based Tri-Valley University even as radio tags were
removed from three more students.
"We have reiterated over the course of the last
several days our commitment to work very closely with the
Indian government. We understand the concerns the government
has. We want to resolve these cases and those that are just
ensnared in somebody else's fraud. We understand that they've
been put in kind of a limbo status as a result of this. We
regret that very much," State Department spokesman P J Crowley
told reporters here.
"We we have strong suspicions that visa fraud has
occurred. It is a matter of great concern to us as a country.
It's a matter of great concern to India as a country. We will
seek to resolve this as quickly as we can. We will pledge to
keep Indian authorities fully informed. But we have to go
through this investigation first," he said.
India's Consul General in San Francisco Susmita
Gongulee Thomas said Immigration and Custom Enforcement (ICE)
have removed radio tags from three more Indian students and
returned their passports along with the two others, from whom
radio tags were removed last week.
In all radio tags so far has been removed from five of
the 18 Indian students.
According to a federal complaint filed in a California
court in January, the TVU had helped foreign nationals
illegally acquire immigration status. The university is said
to have 1,555 students. As many as 95 per cent of these
students are Indian nationals, the complaint said.
Investigations by US Immigration and Customs
Enforcement (ICE) have found that while students were admitted
to various residential and on-line courses of the university
and on paper lived in California, but in reality they
"illegally" worked in various parts of the country as far
as Maryland, Virginia, Pennsylvania and Texas.
ICE has called it as a "Sham University", a charge
denied by the TVU.
The US fully understands the point made by Indian
government that the closure of this university has put in
limbo the academic career of Indian students, Crowley said,
adding that the issue has been a subject of discussion between
New Delhi and Washington which involves Secretary of State
Hillary Clinton.
"We have ongoing concerns both in this case and more
broadly about instances of visa fraud. We need to continue to
investigate how these things happen and try to do everything
we can to prevent them from occurring in the future," Crowley
said.
"That said, we do understand that there are students
who have been caught up in this. It has been the subject of
discussions with Secretary Clinton and others and also with
the Indian embassy here, our embassy in India," he said.
Crowley said the US government will cooperate with
Indian authorities but went on to say, "it's hard to know
exactly what is possible because the matter is still under
investigation".
He said US understands India's point fully that for
the students caught up in this the risk is that they'll lose a
year of schooling and go through great inconvenience as this
matter is being investigated.
"We do understand that, and we've pledged our
cooperation. But we do, you know, recognise that there are
strong indications of visa fraud. We don't know who's
involved. We don't know how they got involved, but this has to
be investigated fully. And we will do that," he said.
"The (US) embassy in Delhi has also issued some
statements that reiterate that the embassy is available as a
resource to help students who want to apply to come to schools
in the United States," he noted.
"We will make sure that whoever is interested in
coming to the United States we continue to welcome Indian
students to study here -- that they avail themselves of all
the available information on how to do this and alert them to
the potential for fraudulent institutions that are trying to
do these kinds of things," he said. PTI LKJ
PRI
