Students from Telangana and AP in a fix following US arrests

HYDERABAD: The arrest of eight students on the charges of conspiracy to commit visa fraud and hundreds facing the threat of deportation for joining in a fake university has left Telugu students studying in the United States restive.

Students said that if one fails to get an H1-B visa, they opt for a second masters, so that they get Curricular Practical Training (CPT), which is temporary employment authorisation for F-1 visa non-immigrant foreign students.

“Many of my friends opted to do second masters when they failed to get a job after completing their Optional Practical Training (OPT) period. While few of them used CPT to work and parallelly managed to complete the course, others discontinued after their H1B visa is processed. I don’t think this comes under violation of visa status,” said a graduate of a California-based university.

Students said there are colleges which offer CPT from day 1 of the course but makes sure that everything is legal.

“Generally, a student of graduation level gets CPT for less than a year. But there are colleges which provide CPT for about two years for the same level of degree. I am sure there must be some loopholes in the law. Students who joined in the colleges are confident that their visa status is valid. This sudden arrests and possible deportations is creating confusion and restlessness among students,” said a graduate, who recently completed his graduation from a university based out of Mexico.

Students, who joined the fake Farmington university too, said that they have no clue that their varsity is illegal. In a voice recording, which was done by the room mates of the student, when federal agents paid a surprise visit, the student was seen saying that his visa status is valid.

“My OPT expired recently and my H1B application is under process. I have joined for second masters and attend classes via online. I have even paid my semester fee recently,” said a student of Farmington university.

Interestingly, while Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) department through which Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS) is generated to facilitate entry of a student into the USA authorizes more than 12 months of CPT, United States Citizenship & Immigration Services considers it as a violation of F-1 status and thus ineligible to be granted a change of status in the USA.