alwayson
01-25 09:42 AM
LINK (http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/news-by-industry/services/travel/visa-power/immigration-fraud-hundreds-of-indian-students-may-be-deported-from-us/articleshow/7359653.cms)
WASHINGTON: Hundreds of Indian students , mostly from Andhra Pradesh , face the prospect of deportation from the US after authorities raided and shut down a university in the Silicon Valley on charges of a massive immigration fraud .
The Tri-Valley University in Pleasanton, a major suburb in San Francisco Bay Area, has been charged by federal investigating authorities with being part of an effort to defraud, misuse visa permits and indulge in money laundering and other crimes.
According to a federal complaint filed in a California court, the University, which was raided and shut down last week, 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 Immigration and Custom Enforcement (ICE) found that while students were admitted to various residential and online courses of the university and on paper lived in California, 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." The ICE investigations found that more than half of these students were reported to be residing in a single apartment located in Sunnyvale California.
During the course of the investigation ICE found that the university gave the residential address of its students in order to conceal that they did not live in California, said the court papers.
For a student to maintain an active immigration status, they must show proof that they are making reasonable process towards completing coursework and physically attend classes.
Federal investigating authorities are now sweeping out on each of those students, who paid lakhs for obtaining students visa and also students work permit.
Several of them have been interrogated, creating a panic reaction among the Indian student community.
Many of the students from Andhra Pradesh, who were planning to join the university for the new semester, have cancelled their US travel plans.
Classes were scheduled to start on January 10 after the winter break.
It is understood that many of these students are planning to leave the country as soon as possible as they are being interrogated.
There are unconfirmed reports of some of the students being detained and deportation process has been started against them.
Once the university has been shut down, the students who come on F-1 visa, lose their status within a stipulated time. These students have been making desperate calls to Indian- American immigration attorneys.
"We have received verification that ICE has detained some of the students and placed them in removal proceedings," Murthy Law Firm, a popular immigration attorney firm among Indian-Americans, said in a posting on its website.
On January 20, 2011 the Murthy Law Firm received numerous phone calls from students registered at Tri-Valley University in Pleasanton, California, it said in its posting.
WASHINGTON: Hundreds of Indian students , mostly from Andhra Pradesh , face the prospect of deportation from the US after authorities raided and shut down a university in the Silicon Valley on charges of a massive immigration fraud .
The Tri-Valley University in Pleasanton, a major suburb in San Francisco Bay Area, has been charged by federal investigating authorities with being part of an effort to defraud, misuse visa permits and indulge in money laundering and other crimes.
According to a federal complaint filed in a California court, the University, which was raided and shut down last week, 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 Immigration and Custom Enforcement (ICE) found that while students were admitted to various residential and online courses of the university and on paper lived in California, 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." The ICE investigations found that more than half of these students were reported to be residing in a single apartment located in Sunnyvale California.
During the course of the investigation ICE found that the university gave the residential address of its students in order to conceal that they did not live in California, said the court papers.
For a student to maintain an active immigration status, they must show proof that they are making reasonable process towards completing coursework and physically attend classes.
Federal investigating authorities are now sweeping out on each of those students, who paid lakhs for obtaining students visa and also students work permit.
Several of them have been interrogated, creating a panic reaction among the Indian student community.
Many of the students from Andhra Pradesh, who were planning to join the university for the new semester, have cancelled their US travel plans.
Classes were scheduled to start on January 10 after the winter break.
It is understood that many of these students are planning to leave the country as soon as possible as they are being interrogated.
There are unconfirmed reports of some of the students being detained and deportation process has been started against them.
Once the university has been shut down, the students who come on F-1 visa, lose their status within a stipulated time. These students have been making desperate calls to Indian- American immigration attorneys.
"We have received verification that ICE has detained some of the students and placed them in removal proceedings," Murthy Law Firm, a popular immigration attorney firm among Indian-Americans, said in a posting on its website.
On January 20, 2011 the Murthy Law Firm received numerous phone calls from students registered at Tri-Valley University in Pleasanton, California, it said in its posting.
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somegchuh
12-07 01:59 PM
I see there is a lot of discussion about how one day GOI will have an agreement with US Govt and we will all get benefits of all social security taxes paid. I don't see that happening because India doesn't have a social security system! US does have social security agreements with a lot of countries but those countries have social security programs. US transfers credits and the other govt has to take care of the details. Also, these agreements are always bilateral. India would have to offer some sort of social security or something in return to US nationals working there. I wouldn't get my hopes high about getting social security money if you leave the US before getting 40 credits. In fact even if you do gather the credits ... by the time you become eligible in 30 years things could be drastically different and you may not get a single penny out of it.
madhu345
12-21 06:40 AM
Atleast someone is hearing our voices.
Does H4 to H1 conversion counts H1B numbers right?
:confused:
-Madhu
Does H4 to H1 conversion counts H1B numbers right?
:confused:
-Madhu
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gbof
11-03 01:44 PM
Sometime back I commented on visa bulletin predicitions (whatever predictions remain popular) and got nasty comments and too many reds. I think some people get pissed off by the prospects of VB
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desijackass
07-13 06:44 PM
i think its great that you made a contribution as soon as you got your green card. Most people would have just removed themselves from this forum and not bothered. Thank you.
swede
08-31 10:10 PM
This is your only chance. There is no more rally later.
If you want to wait 10+ years for your green card, stay at home and hide. (Retrogression will just get worse, I guarantee). If you want to change your future and get a GC one day please show up at the rally. We are there to show that we even exist, no need to do anything else. We need everyone.
No one cares about people who doesn't exist.
If you want to wait 10+ years for your green card, stay at home and hide. (Retrogression will just get worse, I guarantee). If you want to change your future and get a GC one day please show up at the rally. We are there to show that we even exist, no need to do anything else. We need everyone.
No one cares about people who doesn't exist.
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angelfire76
01-03 02:31 PM
yes..agreed. But you are forgeting all the new EAD's (H4's) who will be part of the mix.
You have to compete with H4s on EAD (I might be generalizing here so apologies to anyone offended) you've got more serious issues than you have foreseen.
EAD is not a ticket to a high-paying job requiring a certain level of skill.
I feel this thread is going the way of a Programmer's guild forum in that "Now that I'm in the door, stop the offshoring" :D
You have to compete with H4s on EAD (I might be generalizing here so apologies to anyone offended) you've got more serious issues than you have foreseen.
EAD is not a ticket to a high-paying job requiring a certain level of skill.
I feel this thread is going the way of a Programmer's guild forum in that "Now that I'm in the door, stop the offshoring" :D
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bigticket
08-23 12:01 PM
That is right, no need to file I-485 again. The format of I-485 has nothing to do with this. I am assuming he is just trying to make money by doing the additional paper work. A couple of my colleagues got their GCs that way in July and my employer is also in the process of filing my EB-2 I-140 under Premium Processing this week with a request to port my earlier EB-3 PD and a letter to USCIS requesting to adjudicate my pending I-485 under EB-2 preference, once EB-2 I-140 is approved. In my colleague's case, TSC approved both Eb-2 I-140 and pending I-485 (was at TSC as well) concurrently in July.
Final Q, how long it took from day1 of EB2 filing to filing I140 this week ?
Final Q, how long it took from day1 of EB2 filing to filing I140 this week ?
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BumbleBee
08-22 07:48 PM
Starting July 16th, 2007, labor certification has a 60 day validity period. Meaning, a I-140 petition needs to be filed within 60 days from labor approval date....If immigrant visa numbers are unavailable (dates retrogressed), you wont be able to file your I-140/I-485 concurrently but you can file your I-140 petition irrespective of your priority date as long as you have a labor approved. You dont have to apply for your labor again and again....Its just that, once you get your I-140 approved, you will have to wait for dates to become current to file I-485...
Now that make sense :)
Now that make sense :)
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tammman
08-14 02:01 PM
EAD & AP
E-Filed: July 19, 2008
FP: Aug 14th, 2008 for my wife & me
E-Filed: July 19, 2008
FP: Aug 14th, 2008 for my wife & me
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bobzibub
11-22 01:18 AM
....
The question I was asked by the Congressional staff repeatedly was - 'If so many thousands are impacted, why are we seeing just 4-5 coming to DC asking for help? Why aren't we hearing about from our constituents? Why is it always 'the outsiders' approaching us? Why aren't they visiting us? Why aren't they writing letters to us?'. So many questions with no answers!
...
-Many in the immigrant community come from countries where corruption is endemic.
-USCIS controls our economic freedom, movement, where we work and reside, and if we "rock the boat" our file might be "deep-sixed" and we would have no recourse. Who knows, a petty officer could browse a news group, read this and sick Home land security goons me. I would never know why. We don't all have the resources to hire powerful lawyers and fight for a couple years. Did they take 120 days to renew my EAD because I visited my congressional representative's staff? Maybe.
-"Transparent" and "accountable" are words not often used to describe USCIS and her parent Homeland Security. But they do have complete authority over our lives. Kafka could write a book! (Oh, he did.)
-Many Americans are now afraid to join political protests for fear of being arrested and hence losing their job, etc. Why should immigrants be more politically active than Americans? They are publicly targeted by politicians as causing all the problems in the land (Tancredo for example) with out any serious rebuke. In my country Tancredo saying things he's said would have been considered a hate crime.
-There are many Americans (even level headed ones) that do not believe that immigrants have any right to push for change in US policy. Regardless of whether it is change for the better, and there is no other constituency to demand improvements. The argument goes that regardless of the request, if you don't like it you should go home. (Of course the answer is to flip it and say: should Americans be treated poorly when living in my country? Sheepish looks ensue...)
-Depending upon your level of risk aversion, it is often rational for the immigrant (who's stay is tenuous) to stay home and be "good" which means pliant.
In summary, the US scares the freak'n crap out of a lot of people. And so they "behave" as best they can. This should not be a revelation to the staffers.
I don't agree that we should be pliant. We should be in their face because they deserve it.
As for me, I've come to the point that I think being kicked out of the US would be like getting fired from a crappy job I didn't have the guts to quit. :D
The question I was asked by the Congressional staff repeatedly was - 'If so many thousands are impacted, why are we seeing just 4-5 coming to DC asking for help? Why aren't we hearing about from our constituents? Why is it always 'the outsiders' approaching us? Why aren't they visiting us? Why aren't they writing letters to us?'. So many questions with no answers!
...
-Many in the immigrant community come from countries where corruption is endemic.
-USCIS controls our economic freedom, movement, where we work and reside, and if we "rock the boat" our file might be "deep-sixed" and we would have no recourse. Who knows, a petty officer could browse a news group, read this and sick Home land security goons me. I would never know why. We don't all have the resources to hire powerful lawyers and fight for a couple years. Did they take 120 days to renew my EAD because I visited my congressional representative's staff? Maybe.
-"Transparent" and "accountable" are words not often used to describe USCIS and her parent Homeland Security. But they do have complete authority over our lives. Kafka could write a book! (Oh, he did.)
-Many Americans are now afraid to join political protests for fear of being arrested and hence losing their job, etc. Why should immigrants be more politically active than Americans? They are publicly targeted by politicians as causing all the problems in the land (Tancredo for example) with out any serious rebuke. In my country Tancredo saying things he's said would have been considered a hate crime.
-There are many Americans (even level headed ones) that do not believe that immigrants have any right to push for change in US policy. Regardless of whether it is change for the better, and there is no other constituency to demand improvements. The argument goes that regardless of the request, if you don't like it you should go home. (Of course the answer is to flip it and say: should Americans be treated poorly when living in my country? Sheepish looks ensue...)
-Depending upon your level of risk aversion, it is often rational for the immigrant (who's stay is tenuous) to stay home and be "good" which means pliant.
In summary, the US scares the freak'n crap out of a lot of people. And so they "behave" as best they can. This should not be a revelation to the staffers.
I don't agree that we should be pliant. We should be in their face because they deserve it.
As for me, I've come to the point that I think being kicked out of the US would be like getting fired from a crappy job I didn't have the guts to quit. :D
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raysaikat
01-05 03:48 AM
two mother in laws???
He might have 4. (extending logic that his father in laws also had two wives) :)
Not necessarily 4 mother in laws; the wives could be sisters.
So the number of parents-in-laws, x, is bounded above and below according to Indian law as follows:
2<=x<=20.
He might have 4. (extending logic that his father in laws also had two wives) :)
Not necessarily 4 mother in laws; the wives could be sisters.
So the number of parents-in-laws, x, is bounded above and below according to Indian law as follows:
2<=x<=20.
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gc28262
02-21 08:06 AM
ICE do site visits to investigate employers. It happened to one of my former colleagues. What officer did was to verify that he was a genuine H1B employee. The officer visited his manager at client's place and verified his duties.
However I haven't heard an officer visiting one's home.
However I haven't heard an officer visiting one's home.
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mammoy2k
12-28 10:38 AM
Anyone invoking AC21 with unapproved I-140?
Hello Guys,
I am planning to utilize AC21. My PD is OCT 2005, EB2 India, I-140 was approved in June 2006 and I-485 filed on 2nd July 2007.
The question I have is if my current employer can do anything, I mean anything at all, now?
Thank you.
Hello Guys,
I am planning to utilize AC21. My PD is OCT 2005, EB2 India, I-140 was approved in June 2006 and I-485 filed on 2nd July 2007.
The question I have is if my current employer can do anything, I mean anything at all, now?
Thank you.
more...
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snathan
06-16 11:21 PM
what about 221(g)?
I would say all issues related to re-stamping. I am not sure how any particular issue can be addressed. Lets see...
I would say all issues related to re-stamping. I am not sure how any particular issue can be addressed. Lets see...
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amitjoey
01-31 12:55 PM
Guys - why is the Hike in immigration fees conciding with strong opposition to funding of the Iraq War.....These funds may well go to Iraq....as Bush is not able to garner support for additional funding from congress.
I do not think they can use it for IRAQ. But in the past, when INS was one Department, they have used it for border control and all for deporting illegals and all other such activities.
I do not think they can use it for IRAQ. But in the past, when INS was one Department, they have used it for border control and all for deporting illegals and all other such activities.
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satishku_2000
07-13 03:18 PM
As far as I know dream act does not offer anything for legal kids. Its all about kids of undocumented workers.
I am not quite sure why should I support this bill. Unless this bill includes age out protections for legal kids or legal kids get the same benefits as kids of undocumented workers, I don't think many people would support this.
Please let me know if you know any provisions that help us or hurt us . I am open to change the mind ...
I am not quite sure why should I support this bill. Unless this bill includes age out protections for legal kids or legal kids get the same benefits as kids of undocumented workers, I don't think many people would support this.
Please let me know if you know any provisions that help us or hurt us . I am open to change the mind ...
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mhathi
10-12 10:17 AM
---
On a similar note, I kept reminding people at the DC rally to take it easy and walk slowly because the greencard office had closed early that day and they wouldn't get their GCs at the rally finish line, what was the hurry about? :)
LOL!! :D:D
On a similar note, I kept reminding people at the DC rally to take it easy and walk slowly because the greencard office had closed early that day and they wouldn't get their GCs at the rally finish line, what was the hurry about? :)
LOL!! :D:D
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rayoflight
04-13 05:51 PM
Great Job guys. I am proud to be part of IV.
gc_chahiye
11-21 01:59 AM
Most of the people affected by the July Visa bulletin are highly skilled people who have the capacity to buy houses, but are not investing in houses, since their future in US is not secure until they get Green Cards.
.....
If Congress passes a law to give speedy Green Cards to these highly skilled people ASAP; these highly skilled people, who have good jobs and capacity to buy houses inspite of the difficult situation regarding getting loans etc, will help US tide over the current difficult housing situation.
oddly enough I was under the same impression and started a poll to see how many IV members would buy a house as soon as they got their GC. The results were very surprising:
http://immigrationvoice.org/forum/showthread.php?t=11737
Of almost 500 responses, 50% of people have already bought a house even without having a GC, and only 25% intend to buy a house within 6 months of getting the GC.
.....
If Congress passes a law to give speedy Green Cards to these highly skilled people ASAP; these highly skilled people, who have good jobs and capacity to buy houses inspite of the difficult situation regarding getting loans etc, will help US tide over the current difficult housing situation.
oddly enough I was under the same impression and started a poll to see how many IV members would buy a house as soon as they got their GC. The results were very surprising:
http://immigrationvoice.org/forum/showthread.php?t=11737
Of almost 500 responses, 50% of people have already bought a house even without having a GC, and only 25% intend to buy a house within 6 months of getting the GC.
desijackass
04-09 11:31 AM
Same here, fraud bodyshop consultants make life miserable for genuine applicants and also give a bad name to the H1B process. It's more like an easy ticket to come to the US as opposed to being qualified for a job. I wonder what people think , that life gets better once you start with fraud??