Indian students will be dealt with fairness, Krishna told
February 13th, 2011 - 11:45 pm ICT by IANSNew York, Feb 13 (IANS) The US Sunday assured India that Indian students, who were victims of a sham university in California, will be dealt with “fairness”, when External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna spoke to US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.In their 15-minute telephonic conversation, Krishna also discussed Clinton’s forthcoming visit to India, expected in April, for the second round of the India-US strategic dialogue.
Krishna impressed upon Clinton the need to find a humanitarian solution to the sham Tri-Valley University (TVU) tangle as many Indian students had come on a legal visa.
Some 1,555 students of TVU, 90 percent of them from India, mostly Andhra Pradesh, face the prospect of deportation following the closure of the university in Pleasanton, California, on charges of selling student visas.
Clinton, said informed sources, has asked the Indian ambassador to the US Meera Shankar to meet her Monday and provide more details. The two also discussed the situation in Egypt in the aftermath of president Hosni Mubarak’s exit.
Krishna, who is in New York to participate in deliberations of the United Nations Security Council, also took up the students issue with other senior US officials.
“We have been assured that the students will be dealt with fairness and not just legalistically,” Krishna said in a statement to media here Saturday.
“The options that the US government is considering is to allow the students on a case by case basis to leave the US voluntarily without prejudice or to allow them to transfer to other universities or reinstate their visas’ status if they were already enrolled in legitimate universities which are prepared to take them back,” he said.
“Our government through our embassy in Washington and consulates in America has been working closely with students from India who have unfortunately got caught in the Tri-Valley University scam,” he said.
“We have had prolonged discussions with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), with the Department of Homeland Security and the State Department,” he said, adding that India was providing students free legal assistance.
“You will be happy to know that radio tagging has been removed from some students and other cases are being actively pursued,” he said.
“I want to assure that we will spare no effort with the US authorities to get our students fair and humanitarian outcome,” he added.
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- Tri-Valley visa scam: US envoy assures fair treatment to students (Lead) - Feb 16, 2011
- US assures India of `fair solution' to sham varsity issue - Feb 16, 2011
- Hard times ahead for 'sham' US varsity students - Jan 30, 2011
- Sham university: US promises to cooperate with India - Feb 17, 2011
- Very sensitive towards fake varsity issue: US ambassador - Feb 06, 2011
- 435 Indian students of Tri-valley get transfers to other schools - Oct 22, 2011
- India protests as sham US varsity students radio-tagged (Third Lead) - Jan 30, 2011
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- India protests as students of sham US varsity tagged (Second Lead) - Jan 29, 2011
- Nirupama Rao to take up sham US varsity issue with Clinton - Feb 15, 2011
- India seeks fair treatment of Tri-valley students - Oct 25, 2011
- US assures India of fair solution for Tri-Valley 'duped' students - Feb 16, 2011
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