Foreign students caught in visa sting at fake university may sue US, court rules
- More than 500 students say government wrongfully cancelled their visas after using fictitious University of Northern New Jersey to entrap corrupt visa brokers
- Judge faults authorities for ‘flip-flop’ over whether students, many from China and India, were victims or participants in fraud
A federal appeal court said foreign-born students may sue the US government over claims it wrongfully cancelled their visas, following a sting where it set up a fake university to entrap corrupt visa brokers.
The 3rd US Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia revived a proposed class action on behalf of more than 500 students who said they were deprived of due process when the government revoked their lawful immigration status after ensnaring them in the sting.
Writing for a three-judge panel, Circuit Judge Theodore McKee also faulted the government’s “flip-flop” over whether the students, including many from China and India, who thought they had “enrolled” at the fictitious University of Northern New Jersey were innocent victims, or participants in the fraud.
Spokespeople for the US Department of Justice had no immediate comment.
It would be a cruel irony indeed if we were to allow the government’s own flip-flop on that characterisation to deprive us of the ability to review the disputed governmental action
The government in 2013 created the University of Northern New Jersey, supposedly located in the town of Cranford, to catch brokers of fraudulent student visas, even creating a website and social media accounts for the school that looked real.
It said brokers recruited more than 1,000 students to enrol, typically charged thousands of dollars for visas so they could stay, and sometimes arranged illegally for work visas.