Delhi Police have registered a case against 31 individuals, including visa applicants and agents from Punjab, Haryana, and other states, following a complaint from the United States of America Embassy in New Delhi alleging a large-scale visa fraud operation.
The accused are suspected of forging documents such as bank statements, educational certificates, and employment records to obtain US visas between May and August 2024, Times of India reports.
This comes amid US President Donald Trump's ongoing crackdown on illegal immigrants after he assumed office under his second term.
The First Information Report (FIR) details 21 instances where agents and applicants allegedly conspired to deceive the US government.
The agents reportedly submitted fraudulent information on US online visa applications (DS-160s) and provided fake documents to applicants, facilitating visa approvals based on these misrepresentations.
Investigations by the embassy revealed that several visa agents charged applicants between Rs 1 lakh and Rs 15 lakh for arranging counterfeit documents. In one case, an agent promised to assist an applicant's visa process for Rs 13 lakh.
On August 20, 2024, an individual named Chamkaur Singh applied for a non-immigrant visa at the US Embassy in New Delhi, claiming employment as a front desk operator at a company in Punjab. However, during the interview, Singh admitted he had never worked in that position and disclosed that a visa agent in Batala, Punjab, had entered incorrect information in his application.
The embassy's investigation identified multiple IP (Internet Protocol) addresses linked to visa consultants, document vendors, passport delivery addresses, and education consultants involved in these fraudulent activities. The Delhi Police are conducting further investigations into the matter.
