Close X
Sunday, November 17, 2024
ADVT 
International

Pre-Election Rhetoric Or St Bernardino Paranoia? Why Is USA Turning Indian Students Back

Darpan News Desk IANS, 11 Jan, 2016 11:46 AM
    Call it pre-election rhetoric or post Paris and St Bernardino paranoia, Indian students coming to the US have been caught in a bind, with many deported or denied entry for no fault of theirs.
     
    They all came with valid F-1 student visas issued by US missions in India with the requisite I-20 forms from educational institutions certifying their admission, but have been sent packing back home at the port of entry.
     
    There are no official figures available, but an estimated 60-70 students have been turned back so far. The process of deportation continues despite New Delhi making a strong plea to Washington to honour their visas.
     
    It all started from San Francisco about two weeks after the December 2 terrorist attack in St Bernardino by a Pakistani couple, with Air India asked to fly back 14 Indian students who had come to join two allegedly "blacklisted" dodgy schools.
     
    Both Silicon Valley University (SVU) in San Jose and Northwestern Polytechnic (NPU) in Fremont have denied being "blacklisted" or "under any sort of governmental investigation or targeting".
     
    NPU has even blamed the whole mess "on the actions of Air India" which after the first deportations declined to seat US-bound students claiming it had been informed by the US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) about the two schools being under the scanner.
     
    NPU suggested that Air India was not allowing its students to board as it has to fly back at its own cost any individual denied entry to a country.
     
    Air India is reported to have now resumed bringing in Indian students provided they commit to pay for their return in case they were not allowed to enter.
     
    Over the last couple of weeks, several students coming through Chicago or New York and on other airlines to join other schools, some of them well reputed, have also been turned back.
     
    Yet, according to diplomatic sources, the US has denied any large-scale denial of entry of Indian students and claims that CBP agents decide each case on its own merit whether it is genuine or not.
     
    In some cases, the students did not even know what courses they planned to study, where they would stay or how they would meet their living expenses as students are not allowed to work. Some immigration officers are even giving spot tests to incoming students.
     
     
    A majority of students hail from Andhra Pradesh but there is apparently no racial profiling or targeting of Indian students as students from other countries including China too have been denied entry.
     
    NPU president Peter Hsieh in a posting on the school's website also said that several incoming students had informed it that "as long as students have proper documentation and are able to answer questions, they are being allowed into the US."
     
    "They also report that this is not limited to NPU or F-1 students but also to other foreign travellers on H-1 visa and the like," he wrote.
     
    But whether the system has been gamed by some unscrupulous elements is beside the point.
     
    There seems to be a dysfunction between the consulates in India and the border agents, informed sources said.
     
    The fact that so many students have been denied entry indicates that the US consulates in India were not doing due diligence before issuing visas.
     
    Unless the US authorities can find a quick fix, Indian students who, according to the 2015 Open Doors Report, make up 13.6 percent of the total international students in the US, would continue to suffer.
     
    The US too stands to lose as with a whopping 29.4 percent increase, a record high of 132,888 Indian students studying in the US in 2014-15 academic year contributed $3.6 billion to the US economy.

    MORE International ARTICLES

    Canadian Tourist In Hurry Accidentally Kills Chinese Woman On The Great Wall: Chinese Media Reports

    Canadian Tourist In Hurry Accidentally Kills Chinese Woman On The Great Wall: Chinese Media Reports
    Media reports in China say a Canadian tourist accidentally killed a 73-year-old woman while they were both visiting one of the country's top tourist attractions.

    Canadian Tourist In Hurry Accidentally Kills Chinese Woman On The Great Wall: Chinese Media Reports

    Indian-Origin Man, 64, Kills Grandson In Suspected Murder-Suicide

    Indian-Origin Man, 64, Kills Grandson In Suspected Murder-Suicide
    An Indian-origin man is suspected to have killed his four-year-old grandson in what authorities believe to be a murder-suicide case in South Africa's Gauteng province, media reported.

    Indian-Origin Man, 64, Kills Grandson In Suspected Murder-Suicide

    India Says Lakhvi Release 'Most Negative', France Terms It 'Deeply Shocking'

    India Says Lakhvi Release 'Most Negative', France Terms It 'Deeply Shocking'
    India on Friday registered its strong concerns with Pakistan on the release of 26/11 principal accused Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi and said that it was a "most negative development" for bilateral ties.

    India Says Lakhvi Release 'Most Negative', France Terms It 'Deeply Shocking'

    'Naav Pe Charcha' : PM Modi And Francois Hollande Go On Boat Ride On Seine River

    'Naav Pe Charcha' : PM Modi And Francois Hollande Go On Boat Ride On Seine River
    Prime Minister Narendra Modi, French President Francois Hollande as well as French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius and senior French government officials went on a boat ride along the Seine river, a la "nav pe charcha".

    'Naav Pe Charcha' : PM Modi And Francois Hollande Go On Boat Ride On Seine River

    As A White Cop Shoots Another Black Man, People Ask Do Black Lives Matter?

    As A White Cop Shoots Another Black Man, People Ask Do Black Lives Matter?
    Do black lives matter, asked horrified Americans as a video showing a white cop in South Carolina shooting a black person running away from him eight times, sparked outrage and fears of another Ferguson.

    As A White Cop Shoots Another Black Man, People Ask Do Black Lives Matter?

    Senior Pakistani Taliban Leaders Join Islamic State

    Senior Pakistani Taliban Leaders Join Islamic State
    Senior Pakistani Taliban leaders in a tribal region on Thursday declared allegiance to the Islamic State (IS) terrorist group in another serious setback for the banned outfit at a time when it is under attack in its former strongholds.

    Senior Pakistani Taliban Leaders Join Islamic State