Special Article: US visa fraud list with CoP

Chennai: A list of persons, comprising South Indian film actors and directors who are alleged to have helped a number of people get US visas through illegal means, has been submitted to the city police for further action by the US administration. A senior city police official disclosed that the list is now with the Commissioner of Police.   The racket was recently busted with the arrest of actress Asha Shiny who has acted in a few Telugu and Tamil films. Following the unearthing of the racket, the US Consulate in Chennai has slapped a lifetime ban on travelling to the US on nearly 200 personalities from the film industry. They are reported to have used false credentials to apply for visas to that country. Many of the persons on that list are said to come from Andhra Pradesh.

Asha Shiny (29),who is alleged to be involved in human trafficking, was held along with two others on Tuesday for furnishing fake documents to the US consulate here, the police said.  She has been remanded to 15-day judicial custody. The US Consulate said in a statement that its Fraud Prevention Unit had uncovered the racket in which film actors and directors used their positions to lend credibility to a several unqualified applicants.

The unqualified applicants may have paid up to Rs 5 lakh to a ‘visa consultant’ and the accompanying actor or director, it is said. Immigration records showed that the majority of those who received visas were illegally staying on in the US. Their identities have been passed on to US law enforcement authorities.

However, in accordance with US law, the Consulate did not disclose to the public the names of visa applicants, the statement said. Consul General David Hopper said it is unfortunate that some people in the industry have misused the well-earned reputation and stature of the Indian film industry for illegal purposes. US consulate also asked the visa applicants to strictly avoid documents sold by documents vendors or brokers.

Courtesy: deccan