Hyderabad: A 28-year-old student from Nalgonda district in Telangana was arrested in Hyderabad after being deported from the United States. He was accused of using fake documents to get his visa, police reported on Wednesday. Authorities also detained the managing director of an overseas education consultancy firm on June 2 for allegedly providing the forged degree certificates.
The student, who was studying for a master’s degree at Webster University in Missouri, was first detained on June 1. Both the student and the consultancy firm director face charges of forgery and cheating.
The student was deported from Dallas in late May. He was traveling back from India when U.S. immigration officials found that his SEVIS (Student and Exchange Visitor Information System) status was inactive.
Upon arriving at Rajiv Gandhi International (RGI) Airport in Shamshabad on June 1, local immigration officers questioned him. He reportedly admitted to obtaining a U.S. visa in September 2023 using fake B.Sc. Computer Science certificates. Following his confession, local authorities filed a complaint at the RGI Airport police station, which led to his arrest and statement recording.
The student told police that he got the fake documents from the managing director of the education consultancy firm. A search of the firm’s office revealed various documents, certificates from different universities, and Rs 10 lakh in cash. The managing director was subsequently arrested.
“The student studied in the U.S. for a year and stayed in India for five months. When he returned to the U.S., immigration officers at Dallas airport found his student status inactive on SEVIS and deported him,” said Assistant Commissioner of Police (Shamshabad Division) V Sreekanth Goud to PTI.
During questioning, the consultancy firm’s managing director revealed that over the past five years, he helped 15 students go abroad using fake degree certificates. The investigation into this operation continues.
