Agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement raided the University of Northern Virginia on Thursday. The unaccredited college has at least three campuses, and the majority of their students are from India. Many of these students have student visas.
ICE agents have stated that the university is the subject of their scrutiny and not the students. Cori Basset, a spokeswoman for the agency, told the Washington Post that they warned the University they would lose the authority to admit foreign students. Various agencies, such as Immigration and the FBI are investigating the university for fraud.
The agency will assist the students with transfer to other universities or with return to their home in India.
Immigration attorneys have assisted many people from India with their student or working visas.
This is the second raid of an American university that has a large number of Indian students. In January, the Tri-Valley University in California was raided and shut down after being charged with immigration fraud. They had over a thousand students from India.
What isn’t clear is whether the student visas were fraudulently attained by the university, or if the students had the help of a qualified immigration lawyer.
The feds are increasingly cracking down on illegal immigration, and despite a person’s viewpoint on immigration, a legal presence is necessary to avoid deportation. Until comprehensive immigration reform is enacted, getting legal documentation aided by an immigration attorney will be the only way to avoid possible deportation.
