January 17, 2014, India
has reportedly detected violation of visa and tax laws in the American
Embassy School
in New Delhi. A number of teachers
are working there illegally, allege Indian government sources. This comes after
the arrest of Indian diplomat Devyani Khobragade in New
York for visa fraud relating to her claims about the
wages she was paying her housekeeper Sangeeta Richard. Since then, New
Delhi has carried out three weeks of investigations,
including the scrutiny of bank accounts and school records. The New York Times
reported Thursday that a handout released by the school ensnared it in the
diplomatic row. Addressed to new teacher couples, the handout asks spouses to
list their occupation on visa applications as “housewife” and not to declare
that they would be working. This amounts to visa fraud, say Indian government
sources contacted by The Indian Express. They cite a 1973 agreement under which
16 American teachers are to be given visas with “tax-free” status; any teachers
beyond that number would have to pay tax. The sources allege the school has
been hiring couples in what they call a “piggyback” scheme, with one partner
coming on a “work” visa and the spouse on a “spouse” visa. The salary of the spouse, too, is allegedly
being credited to the bank account of the partner on a work visa, so that the
spouse could evade tax. This is an “institutionalised fraud”, one source told
The Indian Express.
charges up to $30,000 a year as fees. Located next to the embassy, it has about
1,500 students, nearly 500 of them American. The rest include some Indians. The New York Times report quoted a senior Indian
official as estimating that the school has at least 16 teachers working
illegally. “We have seen reports (about the school),” external affairs ministry
spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin told The Indian Express. “These are serious
matters relating to the Indian visa regime and tax laws. We will examine them
very carefully and take appropriate decision.” The US
embassy, when contacted, did not comment on India’s
allegations. It drew attention to a US
statement released early this week that said issues pertaining to the school
are among those raised by the external affairs ministry with the US
government and which figured in discussions between Deputy Secretary of State
William J Burns and Indian Ambassador S Jaishankar in Washington.
“Deputy Secretary Burns conveyed that we take their concerns very seriously and
will continue to address them via appropriate diplomatic channels,” the
statement said.
