US visa papers’ fraud grows two fold in 2009

Dec. 26: Souru Joy, a 42-year-old mason from Ernakulam, Kerala, walked into the US Consulate General at Chennai posing as the general manager of a construction company on December 22 to obtain a visitor visa but was caught by the officials during the visa interview. Joy was not the only person arrested by the city police for presenting fake papers at the US consulate for a visa. So far, they have arrested 32 persons this year for submitting fake documents to obtain visas. “This is nearly twice the number of persons who were arrested in 2008,” Ms P. Vasanthakumari, assistant commissioner of police, told Deccan Chronicle.
The US consulate authorities cautioned prospective immigrants that malpractices would lead to permanent debarring and future immigration will remain a dream.
“One should submit only original documents and strictly avoid documents sold by document vendors or brokers. Applicants must tell the truth on all visa forms and during visa interview with a consular officer. Visa-seekers should protect themselves from potential employment fraud by always verifying a recruiter’s claim. The consular website http://chennai.usconsulate.gov includes complete information about visa requirements, visa application process, employee rights and how to report violations,” Ms Ragini Gupta, acting public relations officer, US Consulate General, Chennai, said.
“We didn’t get any case of document fraud from Tamil Nadu. Most cases were from Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka. We are sending police teams to nab the travel agents who prepared and sold the fake documents,” Mr A.G. Mourya, deputy commissioner of police, Mylapore, said.