Some film personalities in Chennai and Hyderabad, mostly South Indian Film actors and directors, have allegedly helped a number of people get US visas, through illegal means. A list containing the names of those persons, submitted by the US Consulate in Chennai, is held by the Police Commissioner.
Due to the fraud committed by those film personalities, some two hundred people, most of them from Telugu film industry, have been banned for life from travelling to the US. They actually used false credentials to apply for the visa.
The scam was recently exposed with the arrest of actress Flora Shiny and two others, who have submitted fake documents to the US consulate. Flora Shiny has been remanded to 15 days of judicial custody.
The US Consulate-General in Chennai has also announced that those who submit fake documents would be imposed a life ban from the US. According to the Fraud Prevention Unit, many film personalities abused of their influence to help people travel to the US. The applicants might have paid up to 5 lakhs to the visa consultant and the concerned actor or director. Many of those people who went to the US had continued to stay there as illegal immigrants and after being identified, were handed over to the Authorities. However, the names of those illegal immgrants have not been disclosed by the US Consulate with respect to US law.
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