![President Todd Pfannestiel poses with Jeremy Thurston chairperson Board of Trustees [left] and former chairperson Robert Brvenik [right] after accepting the university's institutional charter.](https://uticatangerine.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/unnamed.jpeg)
Campus Safety and the Office of International Education have received several notices from international students who received a threatening call from someone claiming to be from the U.S. government, telling them that there is a problem with their I-20 that will lead to a cancellation of their visa. The scammers sometimes ask for an immediate payment to avoid arrest or deportation.
An email was sent on Jan. 28 from a representative of the Office of International Education to international students regarding this matter.
The email consisted of how the scam was made, how to identify a scam, what actions need to be taken if receive such call and a reminder that no one has the authority to cancel an individual’s visa other than the Principal Designated School Official (PDSO) or Designated School Officials (DSO) of Utica University.
According to Elizabeth Nassar, Utica University’s PDSO and director of Academic Business Development, this is a nationwide scam and it is unfortunate that two international students at Utica University have experienced this as well. The best thing to do if any individual receives such a call is to hang up and report it to the Campus Safety or the Office of International Education.
The first thing the university did to protect and educate students is sending out the email to spread the message and making sure they know the situation. Campus Safety has also been in touch with the police department about these calls.
Nassar said students should be aware of these scammers as they can also disguise and use phone numbers that seem familiar to people, such as the Campus Safety number.
“These kinds of scams unfortunately happen more and more,” Nassar said. “One thing students should remember is that USCIS would not call people independently so people should just hang up.”
Nassar said Campus Safety and Vice President for Facilities and Emergency Management Shad Crowe have a good plan in place to deal with these incidents coming forward.
“If students obey the rules, go to class, go to school legally, they don’t have concerns for this,” Nassar said. “I don’t think students should worry about it, they are protected in the U.S. and have legal J-1 and F-1 [visa] status. Don’t worry about it, but if they have any concerns, they should come talk to me or VP Crowe. Transitions in the world can become unsettling to people but international students become a community here. Nothing to worry about.”
