Indian Embassy’s advisory for students
The Indian Embassy has issued an advisory to the students aspiring to pursue their degrees from a US university to 'exercise due diligence' before seeking admission.
Look out for an operational campus
Avoid admission in universities which does not function from a campus or merely maintains a website or only has an administrative premise. Such universities are not to be regarded as bonafide educational institutions.
Check the faculty list
Universities which typically employ only administrative staff and their websites have no information about the faculty should be avoided.
Do not opt for a university without a defined curriculum
Admission in a university that does not have a proper curriculum, regular classes or any academic or educational activity should also be avoided.
Why this advisory was issued
The advisory comes in the wake of hundreds of Indian students becoming a victim of either fake universities or those established by federal agencies to trap recruiters engaged in immigration fraud.
Beware of visa rackets
The US authorities busted a 'pay to stay' visa racket in January and arrested about 129 Indian students for enrolling at a fake university allegedly to remain in the US.
Go for a bonafide university
The fact that a university is duly accredited by relevant US authorities such as its inclusion in the Student and Exchange Visitor Programme (SEVIS) is not an assurance in itself about the bonafides of a university.
'Fake' universities
According to the US law enforcement, these universities are run by undercover law enforcement agents of the US, who pose as owners and employees of the university. However, their sole objective is to identify recruiters and entities engaged in immigration fraud in the US.
The most recent examples of such universities are the University of Northern New Jersey set up in 2013 and of Farmington University established in 2015 by the Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in the Department of Homeland Security of the United States.
In both cases, the Indian students enrolled paid the requisite tuition fee and were granted F1 visa as well as Curricular Practical Training (CPT) permission.
Indian students accused
However, these Indian students were accused of having violated the US immigration laws and of knowingly remaining enrolled in a 'fake' university for the sole purpose of continuing their stay . They were subsequently detained by the US enforcement agencies and subjected to deportation proceedings.
Embassy’s advisory to provide guidance to students
The advisory is not exhaustive and intended only to provide general guidance to the students in taking the right decision while seeking admission in US universities.