Indian students harassed by US immigration officials, deported back; visas cancelled

At least 16 Indian students were harassed, publicly shamed by US immigration officials and were later deported back to their place of origin.

Silicon Valley University

After the recent deportation case of 19 students from the San Francisco International Airport, several other Indian students were almost given a similar treatment by American immigration officials at the Abu Dhabi Airport.

At least 16 Indian students, who landed at Abu Dhabi airport for US-pre clearance (immigration) were harassed, stung by a series of irrelevant questions and later deported back for failing to answer their questions effectively. The deported students claim they possessed letters from two California-based institutions - Silicon Valley University, San Jose and Northwestern Polytechnic University, Fremont, and had valid visas.

Did you consume alcohol in the last 24 hours? What was the air hostess in the flight, in which you were travelling, was wearing? These were some of the uncomfortable questions asked by the US immigration officials. "I was completely taken aback when one of the officials asked me the colour of the dress the air hostess in the flight was wearing. When we asked about the purpose behind asking such questions, we were dismissed outright" one of the troubled students on the condition of anonymity revealed. The students were grilled by the immigration officials for more than 8 hours.

"Several other off-the record questions were thrown at us. None of these questions figured on the printed questionnaire that we were asked to read and sign. Surprisingly, we were forced to sign a document which stated that we were voluntarily giving up the offer of admission from the US university," another student revealed. His visa, along with 16 others was cancelled after which they were sent back from Abu Dhabi on a flight to Hyderabad.