A recent joint sting operation from Homeland Security and Immigration’s and Customs Enforcement resulted in over 100 arrests. Officials set up what they say was a fake university designed to catch people who were attempting to commit immigration visa fraud. This news might be upsetting to foreign national students who are hoping to study in Louisiana.
It is unclear why these officials were concerned that some people were possibly misusing the student visa system, but those worries were apparently serious enough to warrant the sting operation. The fake university — the University of Farmington — had approximately 130 people enroll as full-time students. All have since been arrested.
However, there is growing concern that many of the students did not realize that the school was fake. A significant number of those enrolled in classes might have thought they were actually attending a real school. Workers stationed at the building posing as the fake university reported that many of the students actually showed up ready to attend class and may have been confused when they could not locate them. Many of these students came from India, whose government is worried that its citizens might have been confused and tricked by the sting.
U.S. investigators claim they used safeguards to make sure that innocent people would not be caught up in the operation, although they did not provide any details. This might feel like an extremely distressing situation for those involved, and students who want to travel to Louisiana for school might even feel worried about the same thing happening to them. Although these fears are not unfounded, working with an attorney who is experienced in immigration law can usually help minimize these concerns.