Indian immigration agent Brijesh Mishra, who stands accused of defrauding students out of substantial sums of money by issuing counterfeit college admission letters to facilitate Canadian visa procurement, has been apprehended and now faces criminal charges.
The majority of the 700 students currently facing potential deportation from Canada had submitted their visa applications between 2018 and 2022 through Jalandhar-based Education Migration Services, which is headed by Mishra.
Initially, these students had arrived in Canada on study visas, but the fraudulent scheme was exposed when they recently applied for permanent residency (PR).
Prompted by information received about Mishra’s presence in Canada and his alleged involvement in counselling misrepresentation, the Canadian Border Services Agency (CBSA) initiated an investigation, as stated in a CBSA press release.
Since the fraud came to light, Mishra had been evading authorities. Notably, he had been previously arrested in 2013 on charges of falsifying documents to facilitate overseas student placements through the Easy Way Immigration agency.
The immigration minister has directed officials from Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) to collaborate more closely with Institutions territories, and organizations that represent Canadian colleges and universities. Their objective is to enhance their ability to identify and counter fraud while maintaining the integrity of immigration programs.