The United States is the top destination for education for many international students. However, the pull of an education in the States has created some unfortunate circumstances, specifically for students coming to the USA from certain parts of India. Allegations of a commercialized education system in some private institutions, where students are guaranteed admissions, regardless of GPA, eligibility financial or otherwise, are being made against some private colleges/universities which are based out of the Silicon Valley as well. One of the schools implicated by these immigration scandals is The Northwestern Polytechnic University (NPU). In order to address this issue and the issue of being blacklisted by the Department of Homeland Security, NPU held a press conference on Saturday, January 23rd, 2016 at their Warm springs campus.

A two part statement was made by Peter Hsieh, president of Northwestern Polytechnic. He first introduced NPU and discussed their mission. He then addressed the recent events that facilitated this press conference.

Peter Hsieh described Northwestern Polytechnic University as a university that deviated from tradition. Giving the example of his own school, UC Berkeley, Hsieh made the argument that four year universities, while still exceptional in the level of education provided, do not prepare students for industry. He then contrasted the education he received as an engineering student at Berkeley with the education one would receive at NPU, saying that NPU provides knowledge of real world problems, whereas Berkeley taught outdated systems.

According to him, students who complete degrees at NPU are extremely well versed in the problems presented in industry. Professors at NPU have a finger on the pulse of Silicon Valley. They understand the flow of the market, where technology is headed and pass this information on to the students.

HOW DOES THIS RELATE TO IMMIGRATION?

Hsieh claims that Northwestern Polytechnic’s reputation is based primarily on word of mouth. Students refer their friends; friends refer other friends, and the domino effect takes place. In India especially, the reputation of NPU is so well known that 95% of the university’s student body is Indian. Young people from India come in droves to get a technical education from NPU.

However, another method of recruitment comes in the form of external paid agencies. These organizations are paid a commission of the entire tuition for bringing students to universities such as NPU. While NPU has not been directly implicated in the employment of these agencies, they do present a serious problem.

Education in the United States is much more expensive than education abroad. As such, applicants for F1 student visas must be able to prove that they can finance their education for the duration of their stay. Students are questioned at the US consulate about their financial situation. They also must provide proof in the form of bank statements to substantiate their stability. Unfortunately, not all students are in a position to fund their education.

However, these agencies, in order to preserve their cut, create fraudulent bank statements which allow students to pass through the consulate undetected. As a result, there are now thousands of immigrants who are amassing debt and are barely able to pay their way through school.

While the press conference at Northwestern Polytechnic University today answered several questions, it left more unanswered. We are still in the dark as to the specifics of these recruiting agencies. When asked by a member of the Media Mahima team, Hsieh simply said that they have not identified any specific agencies, but have been working to find them. Furthermore, in his statement, Hsieh mentioned five students who had called him to say that they had been sent back to India. However, he declined to state the reasons as to why they were sent back. We hope to bring you more in the coming weeks. The news team at Media Mahima has been researching this specific issue and will soon be publishing a follow up article with regard to this F-1 student immigration situation, more specifically the students who are here in the Silicon Valley, who have undertaken huge financial Liabilities, mortgaged their farmer-parents’ only piece of land, borrowed money from several different sources, and are now, cleaning tables, cooking food, checking out your groceries, and still paying for a graduate degree, all in the hope of fulfilling their American Dream.