In the wake of the anti-Indian wave in the US, several social media accounts have started targeting Indians living in the US and accusing them of visa fraud. Most often, these allegations are not based on any data; it’s just pure slander and this time Sadhana Gollapudi, an Indian-American woman, became the target of such slander after a popular anti-Indian social media account posted a dancing video of Sadhana and claimed that she had been in the US on an F-1 visa since 2014.F-1 is a student visa on which she might have come to the country, but the account did not verify it and instead called her a “forever” student. “Sadhana enjoys traditional barefoot crab dancing in Houston, Texas. For 12 years, she has played the student visa game, enrolling in multiple programs. Works as a dancer & cash tutor violating her visa,” the account said.US attorney Aaron Reitz responded to the claim and confirmed that Gollapudi is a naturalized US citizen which means she had her Green Card and then became a US citizen.“Thanks for flagging. My office looked. She’s a naturalized US citizen, not here on student visa. As US Attorney over Houston, I take visa fraud seriously. We prosecute it to the fullest. Neither illegal aliens nor those who obtain legal status illegally are welcome on American soil,” Reitz posted.The account that flagged the case did not apologize. “Thanks for looking into this matter. We have many serious visa fraud cases with detailed evidence that we can share with your office,” it said.
‘Online witchhunts’
The incident triggered a massive backlash from the Indian-American community. Co-founder of the Indian American Advocacy Council Sidharth said he filed a formal complaint with the DOJ office of Professional Responsibility. “Taxpayer -unded federal power should protect innocent Americans—not legitimize online witch hunts and reward reckless smears,” Sidharth wrote.Sidharth said that an American woman was falsely branded as a visa fraudster in front of 2.8 million people and faced no repercussions. “US Attorney @USAttyReitz invoked the authority of his office, confirmed she is a naturalized citizen, needlessly disclosed her citizenship status and then thanked the false accuser,” Sidharth wrote.
