<p>It is a big problem because some parts of the world are heck bent on immigrating to the US, and some US companies are heck bent on paying as little as possible for US-based workers. </p>
<p>Visa mill schools accomplish both goals :-)</p>
<p>There won’t too many allegations of discrimination against Asians at this school! :)</p>
<p>I tried street view on both google and bing. Bing may be more accurate. It puts the address in the middle of a parking lot. -:)</p>
<p>^^ You can see the ‘school’ if you google street view on the address I posted - you just have to be sure to look ‘above’ the Asian restaurant or market in order to see the ‘school’!</p>
<p>A while back I read of a similar place in California that was raided and, I think, got shut down. It went into a little more detail and some of the students appeared to actually think they were going to be able to get a valid education as opposed to simply a student visa and those people were left in the lurch.</p>
<p>That was Tri-Valley University :-)…</p>
<p><<i’d guess=“” that=“” creating=“” confusion=“” with=“” the=“” legitimate=“” “northern=”" virginia=“” community=“” college"=“” was=“” an=“” intention=“” of=“” founders=“” for-profit=“” outfit.=“”>></i’d></p>
<p>They might also may want to create confusion with University of Virginia. Maybe they hope foreigners will think there’s a connection.</p>
<p>On Google it says the school rents two rooms in the building. Obviously not enough space to hold legitimate classes.</p>
<p>i hope the ICE sues the “accreditation agency” and the school’s owners for the cost of this enforcement, and the cost of flying these kids home.</p>
<p>This has been going on at this College for sometime. Daniel Ho and David Lee got rid of employees who were well aware of what was going on but could not do anything about it. This ICE should also get search warrants to all of the homes of the Administrative staff such as Jack Ku, Paul Cho, Daniel Ho, David Lee. I hope they get what is coming to them. They also provide visas for future students in China. Also I think they still have records in there old Manassas, Va location on the 1st floor. They also have a school in Ohio. I hope they get burnt and have to close down. I have been laughing ever since I saw them on TV tonight.</p>
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<p>I saw exactly what you point out on google maps. On Bing, the pointer showed an empty spot in the parking lot at the back. That was amusing as in essence there appears to be no school from what the posters have said, it is just a diploma mill where the most valuable piece of equipment in the school is the printer that prints the graduation certificate. The parking spot seems to sums up what the school is “empty space”. So does the “For rent sign” on google stree view.</p>
<p>^^ Yes and actually sometimes Google’s street view is a little off on the addresses. I think this time they were by about a half block or so. I use Bing aerial view as well to get a good perspective.</p>
<p>You’d think anyone from India/China/etc. with enough resources to come here to ‘attend’ a school like this would be able to Google/Bing view it beforehand and would see the big red flags. Of course, it may be exactly what some of them want if they’re only after the visa and entry to the country but it does seem some of them actually wanted an education and ended up being duped by the outfit.</p>
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<p>And/or they want to suggest that it is state supported. Most schools which have a direction and state name are usually public schools (University of Southern California for example is an exception and there may be a few others). E.g. Northern Arizona or Central Florida or Eastern Michigan or Southern Illinois etc.</p>
<p>[University</a> of Northern Virginia - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia](<a href=“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Northern_Virginia]University”>University of Northern Virginia - Wikipedia)</p>
<p>I am coming to the belief that many of these students and their parents were looking for something other than a 4 year education…</p>
<p>What parent is going to send their child overseas without thoroughly researching the school?</p>
<p>This was highly predictable:</p>
<p>[Little-Known</a> Colleges Exploit Visa Loopholes to Make Millions Off Foreign Students - Global - The Chronicle of Higher Education](<a href=“Little-Known Colleges Make Millions Off Foreign Students”>Little-Known Colleges Make Millions Off Foreign Students)</p>
<p>From the article:</p>
<p>These students, like roughly 1,500 others from India, were enrolled at Tri-Valley University, a California institution that was raided by federal agents in January. The government seized property, threatened to deport students, and in legal filings called Tri-Valley a “sham university” that admitted and collected tuition from foreign students but didn’t require them to attend class. Many students allegedly worked full-time, low-level retail jobs—in one case, at a 7-Eleven in New Jersey—that were passed off as career training so they could be employed while on student visas. The university listed 553 students as living in a single two-bedroom apartment near the college; in fact, students were spread out across the country, from Texas to Illinois to Maryland.</p>
<p>While these institutions are well-known among Indian students looking to work full time, they have managed to go mostly unnoticed in the United States. That anonymity is just fine with Daniel Ho, the owner of the University of Northern Virginia, an unaccredited college that has called itself the most popular American university for Indian students. Says Mr. Ho: “We don’t want people to know us.”</p>
<p>Tri-Valley became very successful very quickly. The university was started with a $5,000 investment in 2008 and approved by the government to admit international students a year later. By 2010, it was bringing in more than $4-million, according to government estimates—though if Ms. Su’s claim of 5,000 students and alumni is accurate, the revenue may have been much higher. Ms. Su had upgraded her lifestyle in accordance with the university’s newfound affluence. She purchased a 6,384-square-foot house in December for $1.8-million and made the 15-minute drive to Tri-Valley’s headquarters in a Mercedes-Benz.</p>
<p>The heart of that model, according to Daniel Ho, its founder and the majority owner, is its ability to enroll foreign students in the United States. Still, much of how the university operates remains unclear. “We are very big,” Mr. Ho says with understandable pride.</p>
<p>Daniel Ho is an engaging, energetic presence who’s in his mid-50s but seems younger. He is also an entrepreneur with a hand in multiple businesses. Mr. Ho is knowledgeable about a range of foodstuffs, in part because he owns three grocery stores in the Washington metropolitan area. The headquarters of his grocery business, Super Q Mart International Food, is in the same building as the university.</p>
<p>“It is very profitable,” Mr. Ho says, leaning back in his chair. “Very profitable.”</p>
<p>“I can sell degrees. I can sell diplomas. But I won’t,” he says. “Who’s going to supervise me, control me? Myself.”</p>
<p>Also from Xiggi’s article -</p>
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<p>What the heck were they thinking when they changed this ruling???</p>
<p>Each institution in the US who wants to enroll foreign students on student visa has to apply with the Immigration department. Each student enrolled is issued a document called I-20 alongwith their enrollment materials. I-20 is issued by the school with the approval of Immigration. The student takes the enrollment materials, I-20 and proof of necessary funds to their American Consulate/embassy and applies for a student visa. The American consulate/embassy can issue or deny student visa even if all documents are in order. It seems to me that a lot of links were broken. Immigration did not properly whet these “sham” schools and kept approving these I-20s and American consultate/embassy probably kept issuing student visas without looking at the quality of schools. My feeling is this is all tied to money. Foreign students pay in full and many even upfront for all four years. School gets higher revenue and assured enrollment. There is a possibility that these schools/or their associations have a strong lobby as well. And to call themselves accredited they create their own accredition boards and accredit themselves as they have no chance to get accredited by a reputed board. Just like Rand Paul created his own accredition board for Opthalmology when he could not get Board certified by the the widely accepted opthalmology board.</p>
<p>There seems to be TOO many steps where things could have gone wrong. Those students shouldn’t even have been issued I-20s or approved at the consulate. If people already knew about these schools, why wasn’t anything being done before?</p>
<p>ETA: Sorry, this just makes me mad.</p>
<p>The primary reason ‘students’ come here is not to educate themselves - they know well in advance what they’re getting into. The primary reason is ‘first day OPT’ or the ability to get a stamp on their passport authorizing practical training of up to 18 months (12 or 18, used to be 12 in my days). Also, school officials can authorize ‘part time’ work for holders of F-1 visas. </p>
<p>Put two and two together, and the ‘distance education’ model + ‘part time’ + ‘first day OPT’ suggests that everyone in the loop knows what they’re into.</p>
<p>The reason the ‘system’ did not catch this earlier is likely to be the huge volume of student and other temporary visa applications from, ehem, certain countries.</p>
<p>"^^Me too. I’ve driven past that building on Little River Turnpike countless times & always thought it was a Korean restaurant. Who knew?! " – LOL!!!</p>