32 year old Jerry Wang, the CEO of Sunnyvale’s Herguan University, was arrested on Thursday charged with selling visas worth millions of dollars to foreign students. The raid was part of a move the government is making to crack down on these so called “visa-mills”. Wang is up on 15 charges of fraud and could be fined up to $1 million. He also faces a 23 year prison sentence if found guilty on all counts.
Wang’s arrest comes as a result of an investigation, which began about a year ago, into alleged misrepresented information the school was using on federal visa applications.
Wang along with a number of other members of Herguan University are said to have submitted false transfer letters and other documents, in an attempt to fraudulently get the visa applications approved. Wang is also accused of illegally accessing a government computer.
About 450 students, many of whom are from India, will have their immigration status reviewed. One of the students awaiting answers, only known as Rai said; “We actually don’t know what is happening at all.”
Last year the president of Tri-Valley University, Susan Su was arrested on the same charges and as a result many students had to face deportation. In 2011 Su was indicted on 35 counts of fraud, including mail fraud, alien harbouring, money laundering and visa fraud.
The US Immigration and Customs Enforcement has already begun proceeding necessary to revoke Herguan University’s certification and their authorization to enrol foreign students. One student caught up in this latest action at Herguan University said; “If that in the next 15 days, if something doesn’t change, you either have to find a different school or leave the country.” Many other students facing the same action are said to be very concerned about their future in the US.
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