An Indian-origin woman in the United States has spoken out after she was falsely accused of “student visa fraud” in a viral social media post, prompting the US Attorney for Houston to clarify that she is a naturalised American citizen.
The controversy began after an X account with the username “CyberGreen09” shared a post on July 30 targeting Sadhana Gollapudi, a Houston resident, biomedical engineer and Kuchipudi dancer.
The post alleged that Gollapudi had remained on a student visa for over a decade and also mocked the ancient Indian dance form.
“Meet Sadhana Gollapudi, forever F1 student since 2014. Sadhana enjoys traditional barefoot crab dancing in Houston, Texas. For 12 years, she has played the student visa game, enrolling in multiple programs,” the post read.
The account further claimed that Gollapudi “Works as a dancer & cash tutor violating her visa,” and used the hashtag #visafraud while sharing a video of Gollapudi performing the classical Indian dance form.
As the post gained traction online, US Attorney for the Southern District of Texas Aaron Reitz responded to the allegations on August 4, saying his office had looked into the matter.
Thanks for flagging. My office looked. She’s a naturalized US citizen, not here on student visa.
— U.S. Attorney Aaron Reitz (@USAttyReitz) ...
As US Atty 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.
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