Home » News » Telugu Students Deported From The Us For Visa Irregularities

Telugu students deported from the US for visa irregularities, violations — AP sets up dedicated helpline

As a 5-year ban from entering the country looms over the deported students' heads, AP government has asked them to reach out to APNRTS.

ByAjay Tomar

Published Aug 20, 2023 | 6:32 AM ⚊UpdatedAug 20, 2023 | 6:32 AM

Vishweshwar Reddy Kalavala, Founder-Chairman of the Global Telangana Association, explained the factors leading to such incidents. (Creative Commons)

Several Telugu students, from Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, who were deported by the US authorities for alleged discrepancies in their visa and financial documentation, and other necessary eligibilities for entry, have returned to India.

As per the law, a ban of five years from entering the US now looms over the deported students’ heads.

After a brief detention, the students, who travelled on F-1 visas, were sent back by the immigration authorities. Most of them had landed at the Chicago, San Francisco, and New Jersey airports.

A similar incident had occurred in January 2016, when 16 students from the two Telugu states were reportedly made to return by the US immigration authorities from New York.

Also Read: Ailing mother of Hyderabad engineer found fragile in US seeks visa

Andhra sets up helpline

The group of students reportedly reached New Delhi’s Indira Gandhi Airport on Thursday, 17 August, before boarding a train to Hyderabad. However, when South First reached out to government authorities in both states, they were trying to establish details of the deported students.

Taking cognisance of the matter, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy asked the concerned students to reach out to a helpline to be monitored by the Andhra Pradesh Non-Resident Telugu Society (APNRTS).

‘Never use fake documents’

South First spoke to Vishweshwar Reddy Kalavala, Founder and Chairman of the Global Telangana Association (GTA) in Washington, DC, who explained the factors leading to such incidents, including the latest one.

Kalavala, who was speaking over the phone from the US capital, said that students have to prove that they have enough funds to pay their college tuition and living expenses, based on which they get the F-1 visa.

As per reports, some of the students could not “clearly communicate” with the US officers and when asked to show financial documents, resorted to “vague” responses. When the social media accounts of the students were scanned, it was found that some of them were in touch with the local students to look for work.

“However, instead of securing enough funds, they produce fake documents and come here with a plan to work. such as in gas stations or restaurants, or look for part-time jobs to manage their expenses,” he detailed.

He added that the US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) authorities, who interview the students once they land in the country, cross-verify with their sources.

“So, some of them had produced fake financial documents at the immigration here,” said Kalavala.

He and his team received calls from some of students. However, after verifying the matter thoroughly, they found that the students were indeed travelling with faulty documents to secure admission in colleges and universities.

“That is why we could not help them, as we are bound by the law. Many of them don’t even report usually because they don’t want the word to spread that they have been deported. It will affect their future and other aspects of life,” Kalavala said.

Also Read: Daughter of woman stranded in Oman seeks help from MEA

However, a female student, who was deported by officials at the Atlanta airport, reportedly claimed that she had provided all the necessary documents to the US Embassy and the university. She alleged that the immigration officials’ behaviour was arrogant and they were unresponsive.

Kalavala said that if a lot of people come to the US from a single country at once, the authorities start digging deeper. “If a few people are caught at one place, for example in Chicago, they inform their counterparts in other airports,” he added.

He advised the students against fake documentation.

“Even if they escape at immigration, they will be caught somewhere else in the country,” he warned.

AP launches helpline

As per the Andhra Pradesh government, Chief Minister Jagan will take up the matter to the Ministry of External Affairs to “resolve this at the earliest, as all students have a valid US visa for higher studies, and also to keep in view the careers of students of AP.”

It has now asked asked the students who have been deported to reach out to the APNRT Society, which is a government entity that specialises in the NRI services, overseas education admission, and counselling process, among other things.

While acknowledging that a valid US visa does not guarantee entry into the country, the Andhra government claimed that when the students were interviewed, CBP officers “may have thought that they may be potential violators of immigration laws of the US as they gave unsatisfactory answers at the time of immigration when asked about financial proofs for sustenance in the US, about university admission documentation, etc.”

The state government also advised the students to exercise caution and not fall for misleading and false promises of education consultants and other agencies.