More than 90 foreign nationals, many of them Indians, have been the victims of an Optional Practical Training ( OPT ) fraud committed by their former OPT-employeurs thanks to a” secondered dismissal agreement” recently approved in a US district court. These people were denied re-entry to the US or deemed unsuitable for a job visa. Today, all these restrictions have been lifted.
A few individuals, who had found themselves embroiled in such a forgery, had reached out to Soon explaining their position. One such person, who was formerly from Chennai and had been working for a company that was allegedly on the DHS’s radar, was denied entry when he arrived at a US airport after a short break at home. He mentions that OPT was conducted by this business and had received certification. Before realizing he was n’t given projects under guidance as required by OPT regulations, he had left this company and worked for a while. Despite a brief stay with this admitted removed company, he suffered.
Jesse Bless, one of the lawyers who represented the defendants, told TOI,” After decades of discussions, the US DHS, agreed to examine the govt’s inside records. DHS confirmed that these plaintiffs, who were previously students and were being swindled by their OPT-employeur organization, are no unacceptable to the US or unsuitable for a immigration simply because they worked for a vile OPT-company. In other words, these defendants then have a second chance to live and work in the US now that the inadmissibility has been lifted.
To get work experience in the US, foreign students are eligible for a one-year OPT. In contrast, those in the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) area get an extra two- year career for their OPT. According to an Open Doors Report, for the intellectual time 2022- 23, that were 2.7 million American kids in the US of which 69, 000 were undergoing OPT.
Scam’s credo technique
According to Jonathan Wasden, who also represented these learners, DHS has verified these businesses as ready to employ OPT students through the e-Verify system. They” started violently advertising consulting positions on social media platforms for recent alumni.” After offering career, they would say that additional training was required. While the companies did not ask for money in exchange for OPT work offers, they charged for the training- usually a charge of under$ 500- that very of uncertain quality, In addition, many of these students were never assigned any projects, so as to get work experience”, he said.
The government was not informed of the hoax by DHS. Rather, it raided some of these companies and seized individual lists. Then it began matching the names on the list with those in their program. Some former OPT-students had H-1B permits and worked for a while for a while. They were informed by the consul that DHS had made them unacceptable to the US when they returned from a trip to India. According to Wasden, kids should be on the lookout for any businesses that offer them money for education. Individuals should report this to the DHS through an attorney, he added, to give them some shelter at a later date from being rejected or unsuitable for a card.
