MEA asks two US varsity students to defer travel

The Ministry of External Affairs has advised students seeking admission in Northwest Polytechnic University and Silicon Valley University to defer their travel to the US.

The advisory comes after the US customs and border protection agency deported 14 Indian students who travelled to get enrolled in the two universities.

“The government has taken up this matter with the US. We have asked US authorities to explain the reasons for denial of entry on a large scale to Indian students holding valid visas,” the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) stated in the advisory.  “Till such time the matter is satisfactorily resolved, students seeking admission in the two institutions are advised to defer their travel to the US,” it added.

The advisory further stated: “Indian students seeking admission in US educational institutions are advised to do due diligence to ensure that the institutions to which they are seeking admission have proper authorisation and capacities.”

The MEA also advised students to carry all “required documentation regarding their study plans, housing, financial support and healthcare arrangements” in the US, in addition to travel documents like passport and visa.

Students should also be prepared to face admission interviews conducted by US immigration officials, it added.

The US on Saturday informed Air India (AI) that these varsities were “under scrutiny” and students arriving in San Francisco International Airport to take admission into the institutions were not allowed to enter the US and were deported back to India.

This prompted AI to stop 19 students seeking admission to the universities from boarding a flight from Hyderabad to San Francisco late on Sunday night.

“We have learned that a small percentage of international students are being sent back to India, but only those that fail their immigration interviews, for example by communicating that they are coming to the US to work illegally or are unable to show sufficient identification or financial support,” said Northwest Polytechnic University (NPU) president Peter Hsieh. “In no situation have we seen specific questions directed about NPU. Do not let the media fool you into believing that their deportation is an NPU issue,” Hsieh added.