Let’s face it – some international students are using the F-1 as a relatively easy way to emigrate.  This is one of the reasons why the US Consulate General in Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) is classified as a high fraud post, in addition to issues with the Fiancé(e) (K-1) visa.  In other words, said students most definitely DO NOT meet the first criterion of the visa interview process, which is that they are bona fide students.

Here’s how it works.  Don’t worry, dear reader; once again, I’m not divulging any state secrets here.  As with the quickie F-1 transfer, described in a previous post, the cat’s been out of the bag for a long time on this scam, too.  The difference is that this is beyond gaming the system; it’s visa fraud, pure and simple.

1. Apply to City Community College because you’ve heard “on the street” or from your friendly agent that it’s pretty easy to get a get a visa to attend that school.
2. Put your time in for the obligatory quarter or semester.
3. Make like a magician, fly the coop and disappear, i.e., blend into the population.  The US is a large country in terms of both geography and population, plus there are many areas with high concentrations of Vietnamese-Americans.  That means there are lots of opportunities to work illegally, under the radar, as it were, in a relative’s business, for example.

City Community College, which in good faith admitted these students, is victimized in at least two ways:  1)  it loses students, in some cases, a lot of students; and 2) it runs the risk of coming under official scrutiny as a host institution from which international students are violating their immigration status.

What to do?  In Vietnam – Find out which agents are aiding and abetting the commission of visa fraud, and expose them.  In the US – Locate the violators, deport them back to Vietnam and place their names on an eternal blacklist.  Easier said than done, I realize, in a country of 319 million scattered throughout 9.857 million km² (3.806 million sq miles).  With each deportation and the media coverage it would receive in the sending country, however, this type of fraud would probably wither on the vine faster than you can say Jack Robinson.

MAA