Washington, DC 

External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna, in his conversation with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on February 13, 2011, inter alia raised the plight of the Indian students who were registered with the dubious Tri Valley University and sought Secretary Clinton's personal intervention in the matter with a view to ensuring that the interests of the students are protected and their future is not jeopardized.

2. Ambassador Meera Shankar had earlier raised this issue with the Director of ICE emphasizing that innocent students should not suffer and had been assured that the US authorities would handle this with good judgment and common sense. The problem had also been raised with the State Department and the Department of Homeland Security.

3.      In response to these efforts ICE had  put up guidelines on January 28th and February 8th for the Tri-Valley students on their website at http://www.ice.gov/sevis/tri-valley-110118.htm.  Broadly, the affected students have been advised to call the Student Exchange Visitors Programme (SEVP) and provide their specific details.  The website also indicates that SEVP will provide options to the students, including the option to depart from the United States without an otherwise possibly applicable bar to re-admission in the future. 
 
4. In response to questions, ICE has further clarified that among the options would be the following:-

Quote
Students who contact SEVP representatives will be advised that they have three options:
(i) Report to ICE to be processed for voluntary departure from the United States.  This option allows them to leave under their own power on a day of their choosing, to remain in the United States without fear of being arrested while waiting to depart, and keeps their immigration history clean.
(ii) Depart the United States on their own;
(iii) File for re-instatement with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.
Unquote

5. The Embassy and the Consulates General  will continue to be in regular contact with the students and the concerned US authorities with a view to facilitating the resolution of issues.