breakingLately we have seen a surge in F1 students denial. Many are asking why? The question is not easy to answer, however having spoken to hundreds of the students who are having F1 student visa issues as an immigration lawyer, I have come up with some of the answers:

  1. Many students are picking wrong schools. There are many ‘diploma mills’ school out there which while actually helping some students, are effectively undermining the genuineness of the F1 student visa program by overreaching in the curriculum including abuse of CPTs.
  2. Students are wrongfully abusing CPT (Curricular Practical Training) programs as a definite work permit. A CPT is meant for an internship and getting practical training, but should not be used as a tool to circumvent the immigration and nationality rules.
  3. Wrong information being provided to students and students relying on forums which are just giving general opinions. For example if few people write on non-lawyers forums that certain school did well for them, and the prospective students rely on such ‘reviews’ to base their application for a student visa, they might fail. Note that reviews can be faked or even unreliable.
  4. Certain people who are denied or unable to obtain an H1B visa because of the lottery or other reasons are pouring into the F1 student visa programs in order to obtain a CPT or an OPT (Optional Practical Training) once the program is finished. This has become a reality of the time. While they might be lucky, they are actually barring the chances of others who actually need such OPTs or CPTs to complete their degrees.
  5. The F1 student visa is actually not a dual-intent visa. Which means that you can be denied under INA 214(b) (intent to immigrate) if you are not able to prove that you will return back to your home country. In fact, many will admit that they will be looking into an H1B as soon as they get here. By using the ‘diploma mills’ school, many are just proving the points of the Department of Homeland Security and Department of State that the Indian students did not really want to study or go back to India once a student visa is issued to them.
  6. While a stamp on your passport is not a guarantee of entry into the United States, the Indian students which were denied entry at the port of entry in the past few months, were just victims of the system. Note that having a visa stamped on your passport only allows you to board a plane or any vessel until you come to the port of entry where a Custom Border Patrol (CBP) officer will actually determine if he/she is satisfied with your reasons or paperwork. If the CBP officer is not satisfied, at his/her discretion, he/she can deny entrance. In the case of the Indian students, this is what exactly happened.
  7. The political climate prevailing in the United States is actually putting pressure on Congress, the Administration and other agencies to act on issues related to student visas. As such DHS (Department of Homeland Security) is just doing their job albeit arbitrary and capricious in certain times.
  1. Anti-immigration groups and so-called US workers groups are filing several law suits all over the United States to block OPTs, H4 EAD and so on claiming that companies are taking American jobs. They are probably wrong but the impact on the public in a politically charged year is not to be underestimated.
  2. Students giving false documents, lying or misrepresenting at the US embassy. Unfortunately many have been lying to the US embassies and when caught, they are being denied entrance.
  3. Luck – this is a big factor. In fact, many unfortunately do not realize that although they are doing the exact same thing as their peers, they might be denied and their peers might be accepted. Unfortunately this is another element which most of us should not ignore.
The above are just few reasons why many Indians have been denied entrance to the United States under the F1 student visa program. However, if the denials are arbitrary and capricious, it is important for the community to stand against it. I have personally seen many cases where officers tend to overreach. In such cases an experienced F1 student immigration lawyer can be helpful.

I have fought many battles against the DHS and DOS and have won. The Tri Valley University was one of them and now we are having issues with NPU, ITU and SVU. Note that while many are blaming the school, I blame the system which is allowing abuses.

We have started a petition to protect the F1 Student Visa and the Students, please sign it.

Feel free to reach out to us if you have any questions.

(510) 742 5887

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