Washington:
The California University accused of a massive "visa fraud" by US immigration officials says the charges against the college are "baseless" and that it has not cheated any student.
The US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) claims that the college acted as a front for a massive immigration racket.
Ninety five per cent of the students are reported to be from India. Some of them are now in danger or being deported. The US has defended its decision to place radio tags or ankle-bracelets on some of the students - criticized as "adding insult to the injury" by Indian Foreign Affairs Minister SM Krishna.
The US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) brought "this baseless allegation ...causing hundreds of students to withdraw from classes.... Also, it caused a profitable university operation to quickly sink into negative in financial debt," Susan Su, President and Founder of the TVU, said in an e-mail to PTI.
According to Ms Su, "Starting in April, a student assistant, Anji Reddy, who worked in TVU's administrative office teamed with another student Ram Krista Karra, who also has a consultant company" to swindle international students who were asked to deposit their tuition fees into Karra's personal account in exchange for a I-20 form needed for student visas.
Ms Su claimed that TVU is a Student and Exchange Visitor Programme (SEVP)-verified and approved legitimate school that can admit international students.
But Ms Su claimed that TVU had not charged money from students for visa-related documents.
According to a federal complaint, the university helped foreign nationals illegally acquire immigration status.
The ICE alleges that hundreds of students were shown living at the same apartment on paper. Many students attended courses online and were working in other states, instead of attending classes in California at Tri-Valley.
Ms Su claims TVU signed a contract with a company named ABS Consultancy that handled accommodation and visa assistance for students.
"When students arrive in California, they are picked up by ABS consultancy, temporarily stay with them for a couple of days. ABS then arrange them to stay at an apartment in the same complex which ABS rents and charges the student for rental fee," she said in her email to PTI.
There was no immediate response from ICE on the claims made by Su.