More 150 US-bound students sent back

External affairs ministry has advised admission seekers to two universities to defer their travel plans; Indian Airlines has promised to reschedule dates

As many as 150 students travelling to the US for joining a couple of universities in California were believed to  have been sent back home, many of them midway, ever since the deportation of 14 students from San Francisco came to light five days ago.

While the total number is yet to be confirmed, an airline official told Business Standard a batch of 45-50 students had arrived at the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport here in similar circumstances on a single day during the last 48 hours.

"In a way it is better for students who were being sent back mid-way because there were no return seats available once they land in the US, as this being the peak season. Students book one-way ticket in the hope of getting into the universities of their choice. Imagine the hardships they would face," the airline official said on condition of anonymity.

The first batch of students, who were deported from San Francisco, came back in a pretty bad shape after being detained there by the Customs and Border Protection (CBP) for verification of their details and questioning a few days ago.

Facebook posts and Whatsapp conversations of students were also being verified by the US authorities to check if they were entering the country with a genuine interest in pursuing higher studies apart from verifying the financial details given by them at the time of visa clearances.

The external affairs ministry (MEA) has advised students seeking admission to the Silicon Valley University at San Jose and North Western Polytechnic University, Fremont, to defer their travel plans till the matter was resolved, while the Indian Airlines had announced that it would reschedule the travel dates of students without charging any extra money.

As there were no direct flights to the US from Hyderabad, those who travel by airlines like Etihad would have to travel via Abu Dhabi where the airline has a screening centre to decide on such matters. Other airlines, including Jet Airways and Emirates, had also brought back some students who boarded their planes to travel to the US in the past few days, according to sources.

All those who have been sent back were being landed at Hyderabad because almost all of them hail from the regions fell into the erstwhile undivided Andhra Pradesh. According to some reports, over 1,20,000 out of 1,82,000 Indian students currently studying in the US were Telugus, belonging to either Andhra Pradesh or Telangana.

The rush for admission to US universities from Andhra Pradesh and Telangana engineering graduates was so great that the US Consulate in Hyderabad occupies number one position among the five US Embassy/consulates operating in India in terms of visa clearances. The jurisdiction of the US Consulate in Hyderabad covers Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Odisha.

The Hyderabad Consulate receives about 1200 visa applications a day and almost 80-85 per cent of these applications are usually cleared, according to the recent reports.

In the light of the ongoing deportation issue, the US authorities clarified that the visa was only a means to reach a point of entry, while the immigration authorities have a final say on whether to allow a person into the country or not.

Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, which have more than 600 engineering colleges, produce 0.35 million graduates a year. While a small percentage of these graduates find a suitable job or absorbed into the domestic software industry, a section of the students opt for MS course in the US.

In this process, those who get relatively lower ranks in Graduate Record Examination (GRE), a standard test for admissions into most of the US institutes, end up getting admissions in schools such as the ones which became a focus point in the present deportation issue.

"Some of the students are falling prey to the advice of unauthorised consultancy firms, which usually direct them to get admissions in low grade universities as they receive handsome commissions. Some even promise the students that they would be exempted from compulsory attendance so that they can earn by doing small time jobs in the US while studying," a source told Business Standard.

A BITTER HOMECOMING
As many as 150 students travelling to the US to take admission in universities are being sent back by immigration officials

UNIVERSITIES

> Silicon Valley University, San Jose

•  

> North Western Polytechnic University, Fremont

REASON

US authorities clarified that a visa was only the means to reach the point of entry. Immigration authorities have the final say on whether or not to allow people to the country. The students were unable to convince the officials of their purpose of visit