Indian arrested by immigration officials, awaiting deportation

An Indian national has been arrested by US immigration officials and is awaiting deportation after he was released from a prison on charges of participating in a widespread foreign student visa fraud.

Maulik Gajjar, 37 of Iselin, New Jersey was arrested by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) after he was released from the custody of Middlesex County.

On May 22, the ICE had lodged an immigration detainer against Gajjar but the correctional facility had released him from custody without notification to the ICE. Gajjar is currently facing state criminal charges. Federal immigration officers from Newark arrested Gajjar this month outside his residence in Iselin. The ICE said in a statement that Gajjar does not have lawful status in the US and will remain in the ICE custody pending removal proceedings. "As a nation, we must protect the integrity of our immigration system and the removal of illegal aliens, especially those with a criminal history, this is one of the ICE's top priorities, said John Tsoukaris, ERO Newark field office director.

Gajjar was among nine people charged and arrested in June 2012 for their alleged participation in a widespread foreign student visa fraud.

According to the complaint, another Indian-origin man Dhirenkumar Parikh was the president, owner, and registered agent of Vision Career Consultants USA (VCC), located in Iselin. VCC operated as an intermediary between students and various academic institutions within the US, recruiting students for the institutions in exchange for a referral fee and assisting students with the application process.