The lengths to which some Indians would go to stay as illegal immigrants in the US has been exposed by an elaborate sting operation run by US homeland security and investigation authorities through a fake university. As many as 10 Indians are among 21 charged with acting as brokers, bogus recruiters or employers to cheat the system into accepting students as immigrants with permits or visas to stay on in the “land of opportunity”. Any number of students from India and China have fallen prey to this illegal buffer system supporting illegal immigration.
The plight of students might evoke sympathy as their family support systems suffer considerable mental stress and financial losses. It is, however, not India’s business if the US has heightened vigilance about immigration, which is only likely to increase given the resistance of local communities to loss of opportunities to “sons of the soil” even in a nation of immigrants.
It is India’s duty to advise its citizens not to get caught in dubious deals with hucksters to try and stay on, and to use only legal channels. To persuade the US to be more liberal with H1-B visas may enable talented people from India to stay on to contribute to an international community committed to enhancing the life experience of billions through innovations incubated in the US. Unless Indians realise the risks they are taking in trying to outfox the US system, we will only hear more horrendous tales of uprooting of lives as a xenophobic antipathy builds up against potential immigrants.
