MLK recent info

[india.bharat]

WASHINGTON: The Indian embassy in Washington and its consulates across United States will organize free legal camps for students affected by the Tri-Valley University scam even as US immigration authorities have promised to use "good judgment and common sense" while handling the issue.

The US assurance came after New Delhi took up the matter strongly through its embassy and consulates here, following which John Morton, director of the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), phoned Indian ambassador Meera Shankar to provide an update of the situation and the US perspective on the developments.

Indian officials acknowledged that the issue of culpability could extend to agents and some students besides the university itself, but insisted that US authorities had crossed a threshold by radio-tagging some students despite the American explanation that it was standard procedure that circumvented immediate legal requirements (arrest, posting bond etc) and offered free movement with monitoring. Only 18 students from among hundreds affected by the case, believed to be in egregious violation of visa terms, were radio-tagged after they chose the option ahead of due legal process.

"Efforts are on to ensure that legitimate students are not affected," an Indian official familiar with the discussions on the matter with US administrators said, adding that Indian missions were obliged to help the students given the complex nature of the scam.

Some students who spoke to TOI insisted they were innocent because they had valid visas (F-1) issued by American consulates in India on the basis of valid documents furnished by Tri-Valley University. But the US contention is that while the visas issued in good faith may be valid, the students violated the terms of the student visa, which broadly prohibits long-distances online classes and immediate gainful employment.

Many students, 95%from Andhra Pradesh, appear to have opted for Tri-Valley only because the so-called university, which even a cursory scrutiny would have revealed was dodgy, found ways to circumvent the rules and allow them to work. US authorities now appear set to call their bluff. They have indicated to Indian authorities that there will not be a general amnesty for the students, but on a case-by-case basis.

Read more: Legal camps to be set up for Tri-Valley students - The Times of India [url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/us/Legal-camps-to-be-set-up-for-Tri-Valley-students/articleshow/7414886.cms#ixzz1Cpq41Nkf]http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/us/Legal-camps-to-be-set-up-for-Tri-Valley-students/articleshow/7414886.cms#ixzz1Cpq41Nkf[/url]

[katharnak]

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