Tag: Indian Students

Tri-State University Scandal, Small Story In The United States

On By southwerkIn business ethics6 Comments

There are two aspects of this story that I would like to talk about. The first that in the American media, this story is not front page news. It’s buried in the middle of the newspaper. The big coverage is in India.

The second thing I want to talk about is here – today, I read this. From DNA Daily News and Analysis based in Mumbai, India. –

The large-scale mushrooming of fake Indian agents working on behalf of lesser-known foreign universities are to blame (my emphasis) for students falling prey to fraudulent institutions like Tri-Valley University (TVU) in the US, say experts.

“This is sad but true. In India, we have no regulatory mechanism to monitor agents working for foreign universities. These agents work for lesser-known or fraud universities abroad and dupe Indian students. They mislead students into joining fake universities abroad like TVU in the US,” says Manjula Raman, a career counsellor and principal of Army Public School, Bangalore.

It required a great deal of effort for this scandal to happen. Yes, there were agents in India exploiting these students but the American tolerance for sham universities and colleges is the other half of the equation. One make the other possible.

I personally know of some sham schools. Most people here do. Colleges spring up with signs in store front windows and four room buildings. Usually some religious education designed to train you as a minister or get you a certificate for office work.

My suspicion is that overseas, one American college looks very much like another.

Agents in India are taking advantage of how the American educational works (or doesn’t work). But there were a good number of Americans involved as well.

Fraud

I want the people responsible in India for these students’ plight to go to jail.

I also want the Americans defrauding these students to go to jail.

James Pilant

United States May Re-instate The Immigration Status Of Tri-Valley Indian Students

On By southwerkIn ethics

There is motion in the case of the Tri-Valley University students. Most of these students are fromIndia and while they retain their visas, they have lost the right to attend other schools or work at a job in the United States. For more background, you can read my post –  The Saga Of The Students From India And Tri-valley University Continues.

From the Economic Times article, ICE indicates it may reinstate Tri-Valley students’ visas. –

The US Immigration and Custom Enforcement (ICE) has indicated that it is ready to consider reinstating the immigration status of those Indian students, who have lost their student visas due to the closure of a California-based “sham” university.

“We received a message from ICE today, in which they indicated that they would consider the possibility of reinstatement of their (students) visa status through I-539,” Susmita Gongulee Thomas, Consul General, Indian Consulate San Francisco, told PTI.

I-539 is the form used by US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) for visa extension and change of immigration status.

When one is out of the visa status for one reason or the other under a particular law of the US and the individual is not in criminal violation, USCIS may agree to give the reinstatement of his or her status under this form.

It would appear that things are moving in favor of the Indian students. But let’s not celebrate just yet. This could be a “trial balloon” to see what the reaction is to the idea, for instance whether or not the government of India will consider this an adequate response to their complaints. Let’s give it a few days. I’ll stay on it.

James Pilant

Hundreds of Indian Students Duped by Fake University Face Deportation (via Change.org)

On By southwerkIn ethics

Here is the situation from the Yahoo News article, Feds probe Calif. ‘sham university’ for visa fraud.

The government of India is urging the United States to show leniency toward Indian students who were enrolled at a “sham university” in California that U.S. authorities say was a front for illegal immigration.

The U.S. attorney’s office alleges the owner of Tri-Valley University in Pleasanton used the unaccredited school to charge foreigners millions of dollars in tuition fees and help them obtain student visas to stay in the U.S.

Officials at Tri-Valley did not immediately respond to a request for comment Monday.

There were 1,555 students enrolled at Tri-Valley last fall and about 95 percent of them were from India, according to a complaint filed Jan. 19 in U.S. District Court in San Francisco.

Many of those students, who took Tri-Valley courses online, could be deported if they are found to be in violation of their immigration status.

Okay, these guys were probably duped into enrolling into a money making scheme posing as a college. It’s pretty sad. Now, assume just for a moment that these students were aware in some way that this was a sham. I don’t believe that but let’s assume it for the sake of my next question.

Is this fair? Read on –

Indian officials say the students are being “treated like criminals” by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents even though they were issued valid U.S. visas by American consular officials in India.

“I don’t think any of them had any idea this was a sham university,” said Susmita Gongulee Thomas, consul general of India in San Francisco. “I don’t think any of them had the motivation to defraud any rules of the U.S. government … These students came here genuinely to improve their prospects and they should not be criminalized or victimized.”

Students told Indian consulate officials that they were searched, treated rudely and handcuffed before being taken into immigration offices for questioning, Thomas said.

Many have been forced to wear ankle bracelets to track their movements with radio frequency signals, and they must report to immigration officials regularly while they go through deportation proceedings, Gongulee Thomas said.

I’ve had people put in ankle bracelets. Those things are pretty demeaning and easy to spot. I recommended those individuals be put in ankle bracelets because they were flight risks.

These citizens of India came here looking for an education or to work at a job. Doing either one requires having a verifiable identity.

This is from Change.org –

Currently, the students from Tri-Valley have their SEVIS information blocked by DHS without which they cannot seek transfers or admissions to other universities and the students are under electronic surveillance. India has already demanded that the students be treated fairly and expressed concern. The Ministry of External Affairs stated that “we have conveyed to the US authorities that the students, most of who are victims themselves, must be treated fairly and reasonably, and that the use of monitors on a group of students, who were detained and later released with monitors in accordance with US laws, is unwarranted and should be removed.”

Help these students stay in the United States to complete their education. In my experience there are a great number of schools in this country designed to extract the maximum amount of money for the least educational value. Considering the number of these schools, I think it would be wise to give these students the benefit of the doubt.

There is an online petition here. I doubt that the petition will get them released, the fear of foreigners in the United States being at all time high. But maybe they will reconsider things like the ankle bracelets and other objectionable treatment.

If you’ve liked the things I’ve written I would appreciate the assistance. Okay?

James Pilant