Homeland Security ponders fate of Tri-Valley students.

Washington: The fate of hundreds of Indian students of a sham US university not implicated in the investigation of visa fraud by the closed school is under “active discussion” by US authorities.

“The focus right now is on issues regarding what happens for students who are not implicated in the ongoing investigation,” State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley told reporters on Friday.

“Those are matters under active discussion within the Department of Homeland Security,” he said when asked about the fate of hundreds of Indian students affected by the closure of sham Tri-Valley University (TVU) in California.

Nearly 1,500 Indian students of TVU face the prospect of deportation unless they can secure admission to another school to maintain their visa status.

Earlier this week US authorities agreed to work closely with the Indian embassy here for early resolution of the problems faced by the Indian students.

The agreement was reached at a meeting between Indian Ambassador Meera Shankar and the affected Indian students with representatives from the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Student Exchange Visitor Programme (SEVP) present.

There was a detailed and useful discussion and exchange of information on the manner in which the problems of students at TVU are being addressed, and some of the continuing concerns of the students, the embassy said.

“It was agreed that the students and representatives from ICE and SEVP would remain in touch with the Embassy to continue to work together for early resolution of the issue,” it said.

The Embassy said it had also been informed by US authorities that more than 50 per cent of the students were at various stages of processing for reinstatement.

Other students were advised to contact ICE on their website, or contact their call centre at telephone 703-603-3400 to initiate the consideration of their cases.