Telugu-speaking students aspiring to study in US universities are having trouble landing in that country.
Following reports of deportation from Abu Dhabi and San Francisco, this time 20 more students were deported from yet another port of entry, Chicago, after US immigration officials revoked their F1 visas and sent them home on Sunday.
According to information from Telugu Association of North America (Tana), students from Andhra Pradesh and Telangana were on their way to join universities near Chicago.
Tana said that its representatives are trying to resolve the students’ immigration problems with the university officials, airlines, immigration officials, Indian embassy and the External Affairs Ministry.
Tana has asked students to contact them at info@tana.org for help.
The first batch of 14 students faced deportation from San Francisco on December 19 after they failed to answer questions posed by the US Customs and Border Protection officers.
The students were then taken to a local jail and were grilled for hours and were not served proper food. Following their deportation, Air India and several other airliners, including Etihad, refused to board students enrolled in Silicon Valley and North Western Polytechnic University.
Even as the universities argued that they were not blacklisted, the External Affairs Ministry recently issued a notice to aspiring US students to postpone their travel until the issue is resolved. However, many students are reaching US shores as the orientation is slated for January 6.
The Overseas Education Consultancies here, which has sent the students to certain universities in the US, argue that students were caught unawares by the US Customs as such prolonged grilling is never expected at the Port of Entry.
“Many students were even asked about their Facebook postings on possible part time employment and funding by relatives,” they said.
However, they all agree that the recent fear of attacks by the Islamic State has certainly heightened the security blanket in the US affecting Indian students.
DH News Service