US visa applicants have been cautioned against the use of fraudulent documents as the US Department of State is taking all allegations of visa fraud seriously for ensuring the integrity of the US visa process.
The US Embassy in Dhaka has noticed a steep increase in the use of fraudulent documents to obtain US visas, said a US embassy press release in Dhaka on Tuesday.
“The US Embassy doesn’t hesitate to inform local law enforcement [agencies] when a visa applicant commits any of these offences,” the US mission warned the visa applicants saying that document forgery, false document possession, and conspiracy related to the creation, distribution, and use of counterfeit documents are all crimes under US and Bangladeshi law. To combat this alarming trend, the US Embassy is working closely with Bangladeshi law enforcement agencies to arrest not only the brokers who produce these documents, but also the applicants who use them in their visa interviews, it noted.
Arrests for document fraud are increasing as consular officers identify fraud trends and as the cooperation between the US Embassy and Bangladeshi law enforcement strengthens, the US embassy said.
“When a visa applicant uses a broker, both the applicant and his or her broker are responsible for the content of the application and the legitimacy of the documents presented at the interview,” it warned.
An applicant who is discovered with counterfeit documents cannot expect to avoid legal prosecution by claiming ignorance. US consular officers often encounter legitimate travelers who place their trust in an unscrupulous broker and are not only refused a US visa, but are subsequently arrested for violating Bangladeshi law, the mission said.
The US Embassy reminds visa applicants that using a broker will not improve chances of receiving a US visa. Brokers have no influence over the visa process, it added.
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