U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has announced that the University of Northern Virginia has been served a Notice of Intent to Withdraw (NOIW) the school’s SEVP-certification and SEVIS access.
It's the second time this year an American university has been raided and investigated for alleged visa fraud - you might remember we talked about Tri-Valley University back in the winter. And for the second time, it's been largely Indian students who have been affected. This time though, according to the Hindustan Times, authorities say the focus of their investigation will be the school rather than the students.
Interestingly, UNVA was actually cited by The Chronicle of Higher Education back in March when they investigated the Tri-Valley University case.
The Times of India took the occasion to remind all students that the following constitute violations of your visa status:
And a school that allows or encourages you to do any of those things is doing something wrong (here's the full guidance from the ICE).
CORRECTION: An earlier version of this article stated UNVA has been shut down. In fact, it has been barred from accepting any new foreign students. Thank you to the commenters who quickly pointed out our error.
It's the second time this year an American university has been raided and investigated for alleged visa fraud - you might remember we talked about Tri-Valley University back in the winter. And for the second time, it's been largely Indian students who have been affected. This time though, according to the Hindustan Times, authorities say the focus of their investigation will be the school rather than the students.
Interestingly, UNVA was actually cited by The Chronicle of Higher Education back in March when they investigated the Tri-Valley University case.
The Times of India took the occasion to remind all students that the following constitute violations of your visa status:
- Lack of physical attendance at classes (taking only online courses is not acceptable)
- Failure to maintain a full course load
- Unauthorised employment
And a school that allows or encourages you to do any of those things is doing something wrong (here's the full guidance from the ICE).
CORRECTION: An earlier version of this article stated UNVA has been shut down. In fact, it has been barred from accepting any new foreign students. Thank you to the commenters who quickly pointed out our error.