‘More quality students seeking US visa’

HYDERABAD: Visa officers across India are finding that the number of ‘quality students’ applying for visa in the consulate is increasing, United States (US) Consul General Katherine B Hadda said in an exclusive chat with the Express team on Friday.

“Fewer unqualified students are applying for visa these days. That being said, a fair number still shows up with false documents,” Hadda stated. She was speaking in regard to the recent ‘Farmington fake university’ scandal, that led to the detention and arrest of several Telugu students. She implored students not to forge documents while applying for visa and urged them to follow the country’s law when in the US.
Issuing her first statement on the Farmington scandal, Hadda said, “I wouldn’t even call the accused persons students. A lot of them had already been in the US for a long time. They will have their day in court, but we are convinced that they all knew what they were doing. But it’s not like we are enjoying this. We want the students to go to the US to get a good education, while staying there legally.”

The Consul General stressed the importance of being honest to a visa officer. “If you are found to be lying, the officer has no choice but to reject you. You might even be made permanently ineligible. It’s especially a shame when a deserving student, believing that they have to go the extra mile, end up doing something foolish.”

Hadda also talked about the “illicit agents” who trick or lure students into opting illegal ways. “A lot of prospective students are being lured by illicit brokers. We are working closely with the State to shut these people down. But they are always a step ahead of us,” she said. Hadda informed that eight agents, who acted as brokers, would be criminally prosecuted in connection with the Farmington scandal.

Additionally, Hadda stated that the US government had been approached by NRI advisory groups from both Telangana and Andhra Pradesh to spread awareness on the issue. “We are now preparing for a joint outreach programme to clarify how legalities work at an international level. The students should understand that the Indian government will not be able to get them out of any pickle that they might end up in, when they are in the United States. That is exactly what we demand of our citizens that stay in India as well.”

In a bid to advise students and direct them towards the right way to get education in the US, Hadda said that the Consulate’s Education USA section was doing a lot of outreach. “We inform them that the US has 45,000 accredited institutions. They vary in multiple aspects and are all over the country,” she said. Hadda further added that though it prefers not to directly tell students which institutions to go for, it would recommend institutions based on their interests.

Consulate in Gachibowli by 2021

The upcoming 12.5 acre-US Consulate office in Gachibowli would be ready by the summer of 2021, the US Consul General said. “The construction has started and they broke ground during Global Economic Summit. There were small delays in terms of permits. However, we are on schedule.” She, added that It was a complicated project for them. “What took most of our time was blasting through the rocks. However, iit was done with care because our building is built around a beautiful rock formation. There would be a rock formation inside the campus as well.”