F1 Visa

Student’s Worst Nightmare – Denied Entry into America. Sent Back to India

deported student to india

This a sad story.  This student’s dream came down crashing at Chicago Airport.

She was sent back to India from Chicago (Port of Entry).

Before we get into the story, here is an overview of process of coming to U.S.A.

  • Apply for College
  • Get Admission ( I-20 form confirms your admission )
  • Attend F1 Visa Interview ( get student visa stamping in the passport )
  • Travel to USA. Clear  Immigration and Customs at Port of Entry.

Visa stamping gives the right to entry into to U.S.A at Port of Entry. You still have to clear the Immigration and Customs before you are allowed into U.S.A.

So, this person was denied entry at Chicago Airport. Her Dreams were crashed.

She was sent back home. Her dream of studying in U.SA. was crushed.

Her parents should have been shocked to see her daughter come back to India 2 days later after they wished her Bon Voyage.

So, what happened?

Why was she asked to leave the country at Port of Entry?

Before that, watch this video to understand what to expect at Port of Entry

Now, you can read this student’s experience.

Denied Entry into U.S.A

Things didn’t work well for me.

I traveled to U.S.A on 11th August as planned.

I reached Chicago Airport on 12th August,  which was my port of entry for Immigration and Customs.

  • CBP officer : Where are you going?
  • I : Findlay University.

But my visa was issued for Oklahoma City University.

So they cancelled my visa for Oklahoma City University, took my Findlay university I-20 and immediately sent me back to India.

University Transfer

I called the Findlay University before leaving to USA.

I spoke to some one in admission office. It could be Megan or Emily. I am not sure but I spoke to a lady about my admission status.

I told her that my F1 visa was issued for Oklahoma City University and I asked her how to transfer to Findlay University,

She said that, I need to come to Findlay University directly and then apply for University transfer online.

I said the same to CBP Officer at Port of Entry in Chicago.

He then cancelled my F1 visa.

Because of one person gave  me the wrong information, ,y dream of studying in USA came down crashing.

I don’t know what to do now.

I have spent 2 lakhs  for all this things and everything is wasted. My career is spoiled here. I’m from Hyderabad, India. I’m a poor girl who wanted to study in USA. It’s all over now.

 

CBP officer called the Findlay University in front me and came to know that there is no one by name Deborah Vantta or Megan Ehora. They have played with my life.

This is what was stamped on my visa in my passport, what do they mean by 22 cfr41.122(h)(3)*(4) of the INA.

Is there is no way that I can enter US again? I don’t know if I should proceed further or not,  please help me.

 

So, that was her experience. Terrible and Sad one. At the same time, CPB officer’s job to keep America Safe. They are the gate keepers.

This is heart breaking story. This student was so close to entering U.S.A to start her college for Fall 2014 semester.

I have to answer the following questions to make sure others don’t run into similar circumstances in the future

  • Who should be blamed here? Student or Findlay University?
  • What is the Actual Rule and Regulation About University Transfer?
  • What is 22 cfr41.122(h)(3)*(4) of the INA ?
  • What can be done next?

Blame Game

Being an international student, it’s very hard to know the rules and regulations of U.S. Immigration law.

  • It is possible to Transfer University? Yes
  • Is it possible to transfer university after getting visa stamping? Yes

But, what went wrong?

  • Student must Enter U.S.A
  • Report to the First School ( via email or even fax).
  • Then Apply for University Transfer.

Refer to the following blog post on how to transfer university after F1 Visa stamping.

The student must report to your school by the program start date listed on his or her Form I-20. Reporting does not have to be in person, it may be via e-mail, telephone, and/or fax.

As with any other F-1 transfer, the student must provide written verification of his or her acceptance at another SEVP-certified school.

If the student has been accepted by another SEVP-certified school with a program start date that is within 30 days of the student’s initial admission into the United States, you must transfer the student’s SEVIS record

As per ICE.gov, this student should have said, she’s going to OCU, then reported to the OCU that she’s arrived in  USA. Then apply for University Transfer.

But, things didn’t work that way.

I don’t know about the conversation she had with Findlay University. I hope they told her that clearly what should be done. I can think of 2 ways to give instructions

Option 1:

  • Yes, you can come to Findlay after arriving in USA.

Option 2:

  • Yes, you can come to Findlay after arriving in USA.
  • But, you need to make sure that you enter USA as you are going to OCU.
  • First report to OCU.
  • Reporting can be done email or phone. Don’t have to be in person.
  • Then inform them that you like to apply for Transfer.

I’m not here to debate on who should be take the blame. But, this experience highlights the importance of DSO’s job.

I’m not sure if she spoke to someone in Graduate School, who might know be aware of Immigration Rules.

DSO’s are the right person to speak to about this. Moreover, they should know the how things could go wrong and provide instructions based on that.

I checked Findlay University staff names and I can see both Megan and Deborah.

Looks like she had a bad day.

What can be Done Next?

There’s always a way to fix this or find a solution. But, you need to work with an Immigration Attorney.

Talk to Attorney at MurthyIndia.com. They have office in Hyderabad.

At the same time, I’m going to forward this blog post to Findlay University.  I doubt someone will respond to this blog post.

 

Lessons Learned

As an Indian student, it takes a lot of courage, effort, time and money to come to USA for higher education.

This is exact same reason, why I have been preaching to do the entire process by yourself. Don’t go with any consulting companies.

When you start to depend on others, you are giving-up on this AMAZING opportunity to learn.

Experience of going through this journey will make you a better person. It just happened to be a negative experience in this case.

I know what it means to be so close to enter into U.S.A and you were asked to leave.

Make sure you don’t mess with U.S. Immigration Laws.

Comments?

Share this blog post with any Facebook Groups you are part of.

Make sure students traveling to U.S.A for the first time are aware of what to expect at the port of entry.

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34 Comments

  1. This is not a fair statement to make i have learnt that one sgould try to go to the airport closest to the university of choice to avoid suspicions and that talking to yhe university before traveĺung and asking the right questions to a genuine source is equally very important… so u find his responses very usedul

  2. CANCELLED STAMP on unused F1 USA visa but have Canada visitor visa.. Can I travel to canada without any problem ?? MY PURPOSE IN CANADA IS TO VISIT ONLY.

  3. CANCELLED STAMP on unused F1 USA visa but have Canada visitor visa.. Can I travel to canada without any problem ?? MY PURPOSE IN CANADA IS TO VISIT ONLY.

  4. Hello there!! Why not choosing other countries like Holland, Germany, Japan, France or Norway etc too if your sole goal is to purshue higher education? One must probably need to to give some effort on learning new language but it paya back off too. Its not expensive as US and people are really polite. Just food for thought!!

  5. Bottom line, all documents must be consistent with university name. Variations in university names on I20, FL etc will raise more than BCP officer’s eyebrows; his suspicion will be supported by questionable supporting documents in including odd travel itineraries to visit family members for reasons inconsistent with studies.

    You’ll be sorry when you make up your own rules and attempt to justify them…..as was evidenced by those dozens deported to South India.

    Also, being deported from the USA for any reason is not something that can be ignored for later travel to Canada, Australia or the UK. It will likely follow you for the rest of your life.

  6. Great News, Finally the authorities have started to look into the students frauds in the name of higher studes in US. Their are thousands who already made their way and have GC, AED, OPT and citizenship. India has million universities for higher studies then why u wana come?????

    Students who never studied have been issued US student visa s.

    Eaiest way to US Green Card and Citizenship is F1, L1, H1. “Major companies play a vital role in visa scams. WHEN IT projects are outsourced then why Indian wana come. We have thousands of students from prestigious universities passing every year with huge student loan to pay off . Unfortunately the authorities took action after 20yrs. Imagine how many students came in as students and have taken US citizenship. ENOUGH IS ENOUGH . STOP ! STOP! H1, L1, F1 !! ASAP !. Fortune 500 companies profit margin is doubled since IT projects outsourced . Student Loans in US is in trilions.

    1. This is affecting the students who just want to genuinely study in overseas.
      Even I have noticed that many people just want to enter USA directly or indirectly just to stay illegally or to become citizens. The illegal entries via mexico and canada must be stopped. I know many agents in gujarat who takes huge amounts to help people to migrate from here to usa via mexico and canada.
      Actions must be taken against those people as well as agents

  7. Hi Raghu,

    I’m an international student transferred two universities after entering USA. My visa stamped for Univ of South Florida, after coming to USA i transferred to Another university and I studied there for one semester and Then transferred to minnesota state university and completed my 30 credits here. I’m planning to Visit India in jan . I’m worried about number of transfers within USA. Could you please help me on this.

  8. Sorry to reply late.
    Ya I was victim of fraud agent and he collected my passport from vfs ahmedabad and asked me for 20 lacs bribe to return my passport back. My date of reporting to university was very close and even local police dint helped me. Anyhow I got my passport back and then wen I was about to fly , just 1 day ago I got call from embassy to re interview and I explained everything to consulate for 2hr but finally my visa was stamped CANCELLED. Also they gave me 214 b page.
    I don’t know what to do.
    They assured me that I can re apply .
    But now do I have chances to get f1 visa approved ? Due to a mistake of agent I have suffered a lot.
    Pls suggest me

    1. Why did you get call from the consulate? Do you think the agent called consulate? What is the name of the agent?

      1. Agent name is jagdish patel. Skylink education ahmedabad.
        Ya he might have called consulate as he told me and threatened me that if I don’t pay him money he will return my passport after cancelling my admissions and he will tell consulate that my marksheets were fake. Whereas not even single document was fake.
        I was re interview for 2hr. I explained my entire situation but I suffered.
        Consulate told me they would take action on agent but the result is that agent is working good again and I am in india only.
        I don’t know that now should I re apply or not

          1. Ya ofcourse I won’t hire a consultant next time but now is it possible that us embassy will approve my visa ?
            As they have cancelled me once.
            Now I am bit scared of reapplying to it.
            Strange is that even us embassy knows this fraud agent jagdish patel but still they are not taking any actions. I want to raise my appeal for it so that other people don’t get trapped by this agent. That’s all.

          2. U.S. controls what’s happening within their consulate. Next time around, they will be careful with this agent.

          3. Hello.
            Few days ago I reapplied and they just asked me 2 questions and then again rejected. 214 ( b ) again.
            They dint even let me talk much. And still he said I can re apply again .
            Wat the hell is that ?

          4. There’s no use in reapplying if your “situations” is not going to change between now to next interview.

          5. So does that mean that now I won’t get USA any visas in future also ?
            I mean was that my mistake to come forward and say the truth to embassy about that agent ?
            If yes than I regret that it would be easy to pay that agent and go to usa in past rather than getting a black spot on me currently.
            I have no idea what’s going on with it

          6. Saw your video about the recent 19 students who got deported by air india airlines.
            Now I heard that they too got cancelled stamp on their visas.
            Does that mean that now in future they won’t get entry to USA?
            Can I and any other prospective students who faced cancellation on f1 visa apply to any other countries such as canada or Australia for student visa?

  9. After reading this post, I just want to say one thing. Don’t go to consultancies. Selecting and applying to Universities, getting an admit and applying for F1 Visa can be done by your self. Going through all this process will actually help a lot as you can get to know how things are done.

  10. I got my visa approved for texas A&M university,kingsville for fall 2015. My college in starting on aug 24.But i have got my relatives in philadelphia.So i planned directly going to philadelphia ,spend a week of time and then go to the college.Is it okay to land in philadelphia. please help me out.

  11. I too am a victim of a fraud agent in ahmedabad.
    I got f1 visa on 7th may 2015.
    university of findlay

  12. Dear Student,

    At some level, either you have became victim of misguiding or you understood your self expert of visa than Immigration officer at Airport. You must not take your flight for The University of Findlay. First you have to go to Oklaham State University and must confirmed your ticket for nearest airport and complete all immigration process.

    University Transfer immediate after visa shows that your intention is not genuine….Whatever you have choose just to make good impression for getting visa and then change your mind about future goal within few days.

  13. I did my Masters from University of Findlay and I can tell you that there is a lady in the admissions department with name Deborah Vanatta.

    There must be something wrong here.

  14. I’m not sure whats the confusion over here. One must report to the university the visa is granted for. Irrespective of which university the applicant intends to continue studying in.

    CBP officers are not in a position to provide counseling in such situations.

    Without going to any consultant, without having known about HappySchoolsBlog, 10 years back I knew that I-20 and visa should be the same when clear immigration.

    The onus is on the student to figure out and cross check before believing anyone. I personally do not take anything for granted (at work, with business, immigration, travel etc) unless there’s something in writing (on paper or email).

    Yes, whoever gave her the wrong info is to be blamed. But blaming them helps no one, including the applicant. Hopefully she’ll retake the visa interview and pursue her studies.

  15. If she could have shown her I-20 of OCU then she would have entered. I believe we can transfer after entering US

  16. Well, thats really a sad and heart breaking story. But its not the end. You always have a second chance to improve your life. Also I would suggest to everyone who is going abroad to study, no matter which country it is, to make yourself familiar with all the legal procedures associated with your stay in the host country. That way, you will know what to do, how to do and most importantly when it has to be done. Now, coming to the above article, the author had to first gain entry into the USA by telling that she is going to OCU and then once reported at the host university think about transferring herself to another university.

  17. I dont understand why students always get trap in such phenomenon.What we dont have in our country that they dont even predict long term future in unknown place 14,000km from home.Folks are surrendering their GC or H1s and turning back to so called home india to invest or open a new firm.why dont you come here and make india number 1 !

    1. You comment isn’t helping anyone in this blog and especially this story… We know you are here to make India great. Studying in USA doesn’t mean that the student wont return back or India is left behind.
      This blog is all about the people who want to persue education in USA and your comment is just a waste of space here!

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