Hyderabad:
Radio tags of two Indian students of California-based Tri-Valley University (TVU) were removed just ahead of the arrival of the Indian Foreign Minister in the US. But the families of these students claim it had nothing to do with any diplomatic pressure put by the Indian government on the US. They say this happened only because they appointed an attorney and appealed.
Karthikeya's sister was among the 18 Indian students radio-tagged after Tri-Valley University was declared a "sham university" by US authorities and shut down on massive visa fraud charges. After an appeal, the immigration authorities have removed the tags of two students, including his sister.
"I am glad the radio tags have been removed from the ankle but I am not so happy because there was no support from the government's side. Whatever has been done was because of our personal effort. We appointed attorney there by ourselves and appealed,'' said Karthikeya.
Other students who have been radio-tagged are also planning to appeal to the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
These students are hoping that they will be able to get a visa extension and also re-admission to another university. But they say there is more confusion after the latest update from the immigration authorities offering them two options - to be reinstated or depart to India and return later.
"What if all the students are issued Notices To Appear (NTA) after they furnish details. They will have to wait for the NTA to be settled before applying for reinstatement which itself will take 30-90 days," says one of them in an email. The students also fear that if they voluntarily return to India, they could be denied re-entry.